The Inevitability of Infidelity

Sexual Reputation, Social Geographies, and Marital HIV Risk in Rural Mexico

Bibliographic Data

ID11028064
AuthorsJennifer S Hirsch (0000-0001-9038-7832, At the time of this study, Jennifer S. Hirsch was with the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Sergio Meneses was a master’s student at Cento de Investigaciones en Antropología Social (CIESAS-Sureste), San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Brenda Thompson was a master’s student in the Department of International Health, Emory University, Atlanta Ga. Mirka Negroni and Blanca Pelcastre were with the Mexican National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos....), Sergio Meneses (At the time of this study, Jennifer S. Hirsch was with the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Sergio Meneses was a master’s student at Cento de Investigaciones en Antropología Social (CIESAS-Sureste), San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Brenda Thompson was a master’s student in the Department of International Health, Emory University, Atlanta Ga. Mirka Negroni and Blanca Pelcastre were with the Mexican National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos....), Brenda Thompson (At the time of this study, Jennifer S. Hirsch was with the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Sergio Meneses was a master’s student at Cento de Investigaciones en Antropología Social (CIESAS-Sureste), San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Brenda Thompson was a master’s student in the Department of International Health, Emory University, Atlanta Ga. Mirka Negroni and Blanca Pelcastre were with the Mexican National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos....), Mirka Negroni (At the time of this study, Jennifer S. Hirsch was with the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Sergio Meneses was a master’s student at Cento de Investigaciones en Antropología Social (CIESAS-Sureste), San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Brenda Thompson was a master’s student in the Department of International Health, Emory University, Atlanta Ga. Mirka Negroni and Blanca Pelcastre were with the Mexican National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos....), Mirka J Negroni (Centro de Investigación y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social), Blanca Pelcastre (At the time of this study, Jennifer S. Hirsch was with the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Sergio Meneses was a master’s student at Cento de Investigaciones en Antropología Social (CIESAS-Sureste), San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Brenda Thompson was a master’s student in the Department of International Health, Emory University, Atlanta Ga. Mirka Negroni and Blanca Pelcastre were with the Mexican National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos....), Blanca Estela Pelcastre‐villafuerte (0000-0003-4755-1881, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social), Carlos Del Rio (0000-0002-0153-3517, At the time of this study, Jennifer S. Hirsch was with the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Sergio Meneses was a master’s student at Cento de Investigaciones en Antropología Social (CIESAS-Sureste), San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Brenda Thompson was a master’s student in the Department of International Health, Emory University, Atlanta Ga. Mirka Negroni and Blanca Pelcastre were with the Mexican National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos....)
Year2007
Volume97
Issue6
Pages986-996
Publication date2007-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2006.088492
PMID17463368
PMCIDPMC1874214
OpenAlexW2163461361
LanguageEN
Citations received94
References cited7

Marriage presents the single greatest risk for HIV infection among women in rural Mexico. We drew on 6 months of participant observation, 20 marital case studies, 37 key informant interviews, and archival research to explore the factors that shape HIV risk among married women in one of the country’s rural communities. We found that culturally constructed notions of reputation in this community lead to sexual behavior designed to minimize men’s social risk (threats to one’s social status or relationships), rather than viral risk and that men’s desire for companionate intimacy may actually increase women’s risk for HIV infection. We also describe the intertwining of reputation-based sexual identities with structurally patterned sexual geographies (i.e. the social spaces that shape sexual behavior). We propose that, because of the structural nature of men’s extramarital sexual behavior, intervention development should concentrate on sexual geographies and risky spaces rather than risky behaviors or identities

Family medicine · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) · Intervention (counseling) · Marital status · Population · Psychiatry · Reputation · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Demography · Gender Studies · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Social Psychology

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