"This book examines sexuality, gender and health in the Pacific with a focus on three key topics: young people, culture and learning; sexual and reproductive health and well-being; and belonging, connectedness and justice. Sex and Gender in the Pacific is an important read for students, researchers and practitioners working in sexuality and gender studies, public health, public policy, sociology, education, and anthropology"--
"This book examines sexuality, gender and health in the Pacific with a focus on three key topics: young people, culture and learning; sexual and reproductive health and well-being; and belonging, connectedness and justice. Sex and Gender in the Pacific is an important read for students, researchers and practitioners working in sexuality and gender studies, public health, public policy, sociology, education, and anthropology"--
AbstractChildhood is a time when children begin to constitute themselves as gendered subjects largely according to social norms that are rigidly framed within dominant discourses of heteronormative binary gender. This paper is based on the life histories of 42 sexuality and gender diverse adult men and transgender women conducted in PNG. Findings offer insight into the ways in which boys transgressed gender norms through dress, play, work within the home and in dance. We argue that gender transgression in childhood is not a contemporary phenomena and such childhood experiences of boys in PNG should be recognised as part of the country's rich cultural diversity.
AbstractThe contemporary global discourse of "HIV normalisation" is intimately linked to the scientific consensus that, with effective antiretroviral therapy, an "undetectable" viral load renders HIV "non-infectious" and "untransmittable" between sexual partners. Beyond this correlation, HIV normality is rarely defined, leaving the impression that it is an objective and universally applicable phenomenon. But what does normality mean in settings where these concepts are not widely known or part of local understandings of HIV? Our research in Papua New Guinea with "serodiscordant" couples (one partner has HIV, but not the other) found that while HIV normality was a widespread narrative, it pivoted on culturally specific values and expectations, not on undetectability. We argue that narrow assumptions of what constitutes "HIV normalisation" limit our capacity to understand how global discourses can translate and manifest in local contexts and with what consequences for personal lives, relationships, and the epidemic.
Globally, there is limited research exploring the positive role men play in reducing HIV vulnerability or in the care and support of women living with HIV. This paper draws on interviews conducted with men and women in heterosexual HIV serodiscordant relationships as part of a longitudinal qualitative study exploring the social aspects of biomedicine among serodiscordant couples in two high HIV-burden areas in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Findings highlight that some HIV negative men in heterosexual relationships are resisting hegemonic masculine norms they see as harmful and are embracing caring masculine identities as they seek to support their HIV-positive wives. We suggest that understandings of masculinity in the context of the HIV epidemic in PNG should be broadened from simplistic discourses and representations of men as largely uncaring and violent to incorporate deeper understanding of how men can and are embracing caring masculinities.
This paper offers a critical overview of social science research presented at the 2014 International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia. In an era of major biomedical advance, the political nature of HIV remains of fundamental importance. No new development can be rolled out successfully without taking into account its social and political context, and consequences. Four main themes ran throughout the conference track on social and political research, law, policy and human rights: first, the importance of work with socially vulnerable groups, now increasingly referred to as "key populations"; second, continued recognition that actions and programs need to be tailored locally and contextually; third, the need for an urgent response to a rapidly growing epidemic of HIV among young people; and fourth, the negative effects of the growing criminalization of minority sexualities and people living with HIV. Lack of stress on human rights and community participation is resulting in poorer policy globally. A new research agenda is needed to respond to these challenges.
AbstractIntroduction: Various forms of penile foreskin cutting are practised in Papua New Guinea. In the context of an ecological association observed between HIV infection and the dorsal longitudinal foreskin cut, we undertook an investigation of this relationship at the individual level.Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional study among men attending voluntary confidential HIV counselling and testing clinics. Following informed consent, participants had a face‐to‐face interview and an examination to categorize foreskin status. HIV testing was conducted on site and relevant specimens collected for laboratory‐based Herpes simplex type‐2 (HSV‐2), syphilis, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) testing.Results: Overall, 1073 men were enrolled: 646 (60.2%) were uncut; 339 (31.6%) had a full dorsal longitudinal cut; 72 (6.7%) a partial dorsal longitudinal cut; and 14 (1.3%) were circumcised. Overall, the prevalence of HIV was 12.3%; HSV‐2, 33.6%; active syphilis, 12.1%; CT, 13.4%; NG, 14.1%; and TV 7.6%. Compared with uncut men, men with a full dorsal longitudinal cut were significantly less likely to have HIV (adjusted odds ratio [adjOR] 0.25, 95%CI: 0.12, 0.51); HSV‐2 (adjOR 0.60, 95%CI: 0.41, 0.87); or active syphilis (adjOR 0.55, 95%CI: 0.31, 0.96). This apparent protective effect was restricted to men cut prior to sexual debut. There was no difference between cut and uncut men for CT, NG or TV.Conclusions: In this large cross‐sectional study, men with a dorsal longitudinal foreskin cut were significantly less likely to have HIV, HSV‐2 and syphilis compared with uncut men, despite still having a complete (albeit morphologically altered) foreskin. The protective effect of the dorsal cut suggests that the mechanism by which male circumcision works is not simply due to the removal of the inner foreskin and its more easily accessible HIV target cells. Exposure of the penile glans and inner foreskin appear to be key mechanisms by which male circumcision confers protection.Further research in this unique setting will help improve our understanding of the fundamental immunohistologic mechanisms by which male circumcision provides protection, and may lead to new biomedical prevention strategies at the mucosal level.
