July 20, 2008
Overdue first post!
Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand! This entry is long overdue, so first I apoloize for not being more current with my postings. I've been very busy with work and research recently, and the end of my time in Thailand seems to be fast approaching, sadly...
When I first began research at UNAIDS, I originally thought that I would focus on women and HIV/AIDS here in Bangkok specifically, but over time I've narrowed my focus somewhat to ethical and human rights issues surrounding both women and men living with HIV. To that end, I have interviewed several leaders in the HIV/AIDS NGO community, and I have also held focus and discussion groups to talk about human rights issues with everyday people living with HIV. Aside from interviews, most of my time during the weekday at the UNAIDS office is spent going through a ton of literature, articles, and reports related to HIV in Thailand and around the world. In the next few weeks, I hope to bring together the background information that I've learned from these documents along with the insight that I've gained from one-on-one and group interviews with people whose professional and personal lives are deeply affected by the epidemic.
Although these formal modes of information-gathering have been eye-opening and interesting on their own, I think that I have learned just as much, if not more, from informal interactions with other people working at the UN, other students doing similar research in Bangkok unaffiliated with the UN, and just from casual, passing observations and conversations with people on the street.
Gender dynamics here are an endlessly fascinating topic and an undeniable driver of patterns of HIV transmission here. Just the other day, I stepped into a bookstore on Sukhumvit Road -- a lively, diverse neighborhood with lots of international influence -- and there was an entire pop anthropology section at the very front of the store that was devoted to the Thai-woman-with-"farang" (foreigner)-man phenomenon that is so prevalent here. Bangkok is famous for its sex tourism industry, although prostitution is technically illegal, and everywhere I go, I see white, old, tall European men holding hands with younger Thai women. People talk about this "sex tourism" industry changing slightly into a more relationship-based "industry" of white men coming to Thailand to find women to settle down with long-term. When I first arrived here, I felt very judgmental of this entire enterprise. Rich, white men were taking advantage of poor, young Thai women, I thought. But as time goes on, I have become much less judgmental of these couples... If there's one thing I have learned so far, it's that there are a vast number of different kinds of marriages and relationships, and all have their pros and cons. Why shouldn't a Thai woman look for financial security from a safe, supportive older European man? Is there anything wrong about a shy, self-conscious white man looking for companionship from a less-threatening, loyal, younger Thai woman? These are the questions I find myself asking... Except in the cases of obvious exploitation, I don't feel that I'm in the position to judge many of these couples anymore.
Anyway, those are my thoughts for the day. I hope to include in my report some more organized explorations of gender dynamics and how they relate to human rights and ethical issues surrounding HIV/AIDS.
Cheers!
Sarah
Posted by Sarah Lane Schoenbrun at July 20, 2008 10:24 AM
