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4

C H APT E R

Love, Sex,

and HIV/AIDS

Using Social Marketing to

Redefine Gender Norms

Among Mexican Youth

Ruth Massingill

La mentira dura hasta que la verdad llega. [A lie prevails until the truth
arrives.]
—Ballesteros, 1979

“If you really loved me, you would . . .”
Between raging hormones and peer pressure—an intoxicating combination—
teens often become sexually active before they are emotionally mature. To add to
the equation, in many cultures a “boys-will-be-boys” attitude gives tacit permission
for young males to act irresponsibly, especially in sexual matters. This has always
created social and health problems, but with the onslaught of HIV/AIDS, such cul-
tural norms have helped fuel the global spread of the disease.
Since first diagnosed in the early 1980s, HIV/AIDS has become one of the most
deadly health issues worldwide. More than 33 million people—2.5 million of them
children younger than 15—now live with the disease (UNAIDS, 2007). About half of
the infected are women, contrary to popular perception, and heterosexual transmis-
sion is the most common means of infection worldwide (UNAIDS, 2007). Often called
an “underground epidemic,” the associated stigma and discrimination associated with
HIV/AIDS discourage people from getting tested or accessing care (HIV infection and
AIDS in the Americas, 2003).