Putting Risk in Perspective: Black Teenage Lives in the Era of AIDS [Paperback]

Today young adults are contracting HIV more rapidly than virtually any period during the past two decades. Young women, particularly those who are black and Latina, are bearing the brunt of this new wave of infection.

Putting Risk in Perspectiveexplores the many factors associated with HIV infection among young black women. HIV infection often occurs as a result of high risk behavior. Understanding what causes a young woman to take sexual and reproductive risks requires a consideration of the kinds of life issues she faces.

Drawing on ethnographic study and interviews, Ren?e T. White introduces to the reader many young women who are dealing with economic pressures, family relationships, dating and courtship, intimate relationship issues, and questions of sexual identity. These along with the mythology surrounding HIV and AIDS-and knowledge about contraception-influence whether or not a black teenager will engage in risky activity. This powerful book shows why the fight against AIDS must incorporate a commitment to improving the social and economic opportunities available to young black women.

Ren?e White listened carefully to teenage women speaking about love, sex, motherhood, HIV disease and the future, keeping in sight the links between the women's personal behaviors and broader social contexts. Her meticulous analysis shows us that adolescents and health organisations may hold different views about what constitutes risky sexual behavior, why condoms are so seldom used, and why current health education fails to have an impact on the lives of young black women living in poverty. Dispensing with many popularly held assumptions about teenage sexual behavior, this book clears the path for more finely tuned and effective forms of health intervention and evaluation. Shirley Lindenbaum, City University of New York

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