What it starts to mean is that Sex is Death.
This is the translation that AIDS is imposing on people’s minds.
Now, reflect on what Sex personally means to you. Following this, link all those concepts, thoughts, and memories with Death and Illness.
For me, the concept of “Sex” conjures up ideas of pleasure, intensity, fun, maturing, love, intimacy, positives, reproduction, most basic need, most basic act, choice, exploration…. And onwards. Now I am meant to consider this next to ideas of death, dirt, illness, coughing, infertility…and onwards.
Not that I MUST link them. But rather it is an exercise to realise in what way many people are conceptualising AIDS and the human acts through which it shrewdly transmits itself.
Along with this, is that in South Africa, HIV and AIDS started to show themselves after 1994. [Update: It was very much around and causing problems in SA before, but it only exploded into an epidemic in the later '90s]. Apparently some people are questioning this, and coming up with disturbing links. One link is that - Freedom means Death.
These two points that came from some conversations with Social Scientists, have just been recalled when I read yesterday’s article by Jonny Steinberg.
His article makes you think. If you fight the stance of his article’s subject, Sizwe*, why so?
Why do you disagree that there is a problem with impoverished African people being dependant for the rest of their lives on drugs that come from the West.
Why should Sizwe not hold out hope for a traditional African medicine that will eradicate the sickness in one go, and prefer then to not know his status until his hope is met?
Or that there are many black South African men who perceive this disease to mean that their blood and semen are now forever dirty. And that this means “an attack on one’s permanence”. In spreading your seed is to be spreading disease.
You are committing murder through the “expression of your potency”.
Just something to reflect on.
4 comments:
Before 1994 we had sanctions. Travel was restricted and discouraged. Populations were segmented. When all the barriers dropped, AIDS made an appearance.
Of course westerners are going to be skeptical of tribal medicine. A large part of what it entails is based on superstitions. There is no medicine in the world to get your girlfriend back, but they do sell that here.
Sex is pleasurable because of the reproductive imperative. We are here to reproduce, if sex wasn't very pleasant we wouldn't do it, therefore we wouldn't reproduce.
Chews - HIV has been present in SA since the '80s. Judge Cameron was diagnosed with it in 1986.
You can follow its history in the 80s from this link to a chapter of his book. Look at Page 7.
http://www.witnesstoaids.com/Edwin%20Cameron%20-%20Witness%20to%20Aids%20-%20Chapter%202.pdf
So yes, the opening up on SA's borders definitely worked WITH Aids in its spread. However, there are many other factors that play into the link of rise of AIDS in SA. Lack of early political commitment being another (important) element.
It is not my concern that Westerners are nervous of traditional African medicines. It is my concern that people within African are nervous of Western medicines.
I would have to argue that sex is simply about the physical. Sex has many physical, emotional and psychological connotations. It is not simply about reproduction. And all these group connotations have to be recognised and addressed when encouraging people to confront and perhaps change their sexual attitudes and practices.
Thanks for the comment!
Also look at this link for a brief review of HIV History in SA.
http://aids.about.com/od/clinicaltrials/a/safrica.htm
"Today, HIV experts around the world believe that a combination of political unrest, poor government support and political denial has fueled the public health disaster in South Africa".
[Word rationing mode - this is good practice actually]
Sex is Death. Sex is also the opposidtw of Death. One is the Life Urge. The other the Death Urge. (Libido and Mortido).
One is encouraging tp creating, and building upon, a family, and friends, and through them, a community.
The other is useful for kicking the $%!^ out of unruly, dangerous neighbours.
This is done, at the beginning of time, to protect your loved ones (where it goes from there, to quote Neo, is up to you...).
But [large amount cut out due to word diet inforced by miss champers [I am trying!]) by having the ability to procreate sexually, as opposed to asexually, we necessarily have to... die... to make way for the next generation of slighlty different individuals...
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