Work

Rethinking Gender, Heterosexual Men, and Women's Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS

Year: 2010

Type: review

Abstract: Most HIV prevention literature portrays women as especially vulnerable to HIV infection because of biological susceptibility and men's sexual power and privilege. Conversely, heterosexual men are perceived as active transmitters of HIV but not active agents in prevention. Although the women's vulnerability paradigm was a radical revision of earlier views of women in the epidemic, mounting challenges undermine its current usefulness. We review the etiology and successes of the paradigm as well as its accruing limitations. We also call for an expanded model that acknowledges biology, gender inequality, and gendered power relations but also directly examines social structure, gender, and HIV risk for heterosexual women and men.

Source: American Journal of Public Health

DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2009.159723

Authors: Jenny A. Higgins, Susie Hoffman, Shari L. Dworkin

Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, Princeton University, HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Columbia University

Language: English

Topic: HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Mental Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development