@conference {6337,
	title = {The Personal is Political: Re-claiming Identity in South African HIV/AIDS Interventions},
	booktitle = {WCFIA Undergraduate Thesis Conference},
	year = {2012},
	month = {11 February 2012},
	publisher = {Weatherhead Center for International Affairs},
	organization = {Weatherhead Center for International Affairs},
	address = {Cambridge, MA},
	abstract = {As opposed to historical instances of politicization of sexuality{\textemdash}anti-sodomy laws, prohibitions on interracial sex, marriage restrictions, for example{\textemdash}South Africa{\textquoteright}s post-apartheid transition to democracy positively politicized sex within the country by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and legalizing same-sex marriage. These changes were part of a larger effort on the part of South African society to fashion itself as beyond racial/gender/sexual inequality, despite the fact that social attitudes remained vastly intolerant. Moreover, the emergency scale HIV/AIDS intervention that was occurring in South Africa at the time, absent of attention to or understanding of difference, further coincided with the greater social shift away from identity as an influence on behavior. Despite the billions of dollars poured into these initiatives, HIV infection rates in many parts of Southern Africa, South Africa included, continue to rise while HIV knowledge among males and females of all age groups has seen significant decreases. Using populations of marginalized sexual identity such as LGBT, straight-identified men who have sex with men (MSM) and sex workers as a lens, this project demonstrates how the failure to address identity within HIV/AIDS interventions has propagated a {\textquotedblleft}one size fits all model{\textquotedblright} of HIV prevention that, due to its generality, might not actually fit anyone. Rather, this project will advocate for identity-based interventions with greater ability to take into account the complicated intersections of sexuality, race, and gender that often affect how individuals understand and practice sexuality. This project calls for a re-politicization of sexuality within HIV/AIDS interventions and discourse and a re-claiming of {\textquotedblleft}the personal is political{\textquotedblright} as a component of socially influenced health crises. 
},
	author = {Kristin N. Rose}
}
