health

In an ongoing effort to decrease HIV and AIDS globally, The Gates Foundation recently announced 11 winners of $100,000 grants meant to innovate a “new generation of condom”—to create a product that is more effective in preventing disease and pregnancy, as well as more enjoyable to promote its use. However, what may get lost in the shuffle of competition and punny condom names is the fact that bad condoms are not the only factor contributing to unprotected sex and the spread of STDs.

A focus on the individual behavior of condom use often misses the social conditions which make individuals vulnerable to disease.

• Bruce Link and Jo Phelan. 1995. “Social Conditions as Fundamental Causes of Disease”. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 35: 80-94.

While there is a shortage of condom availability in the global south, unprotected sex is not just a result of low supply; low demand plays a role as well.

• Jacqueline Papo et al. 2011. “Exploring the Condom Gap: Is Supply or Demand the Limiting Factor – Condom Access and Use in an Urban and a Rural Setting in Kilifi District, Kenya”. AIDS. 25(2): 247-255.

Relying solely on condom use for STD prevention also fails to consider gender roles and sexual power dynamics in different cultures. Often, women are not able to negotiate the terms of sex – or sex in general – and face unequal access to care.

• Campbell, Carol. 1999. Women, Families and HIV/AIDS: A Sociological Perspective on the Epidemic in America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• F. Nii-Amoo Dodoo and Maria Tempenis. 2002. “Gender, Power, and Reproduction: Rural‐Urban Differences in the Relationship Between Fertility Goals and Contraceptive Use in Kenya” Rural Sociology. 67(1):46-70.

Why would people experiencing homelessness refuse shelters in some cases? They are often trapped between policies which treat them as criminals for making their own shelter and sick if they seek help.

After rising steadily over the past decade, suicides across the military have dropped by more than 22% this year. Military suicides began rising in 2006, reaching their highest record in 2009 before leveling off for two years. Defense officials have launched increased efforts to eliminate the stigma of getting help, but are still unsure about what exactly prompts soldiers to take their own lives. While this drop in suicide will be a relief to some, there is no indication whether this is a trend or a one-year anomaly.

Suicidal thoughts among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have been associated with a range of family concerns, strains of leaving for deployment, depression, and direct effects of war such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, perceived social support can help with these effects.

• Martha Bruce. 2010. “Suicide risk and prevention in veteran populations.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1208(1):98-103.

However, the socio-cultural environment is also a crucial element in understanding military suicide. It can act as a cause through the military’s fatalistic masculinity ideology by internalizing individual problems, but also as a solution when soldiers perceive social support for dealing with their strain.

• Chad Lemaire and David Graham. 2011. “Factors associated with suicidal ideation in OEF/OIF veterans.” Journal of Affective Disorders 130(1):231-238.
• Harold Braswell and Howard Kushner. 2012. “Suicide, social integration, and masculinity in the US military.” Social Science & Medicine 74(4):530-536.

As of late, the media has paid more attention to  the Miami Dolphins’ locker room than their play on the gridiron. Much of this interest stems from off the field controversies regarding two of the team’s players, Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. Shortly after news broke that Martin had left the team to deal with “emotional issues,” it was revealed that he had been on the receiving end of a series of over-the-top hazing practices by Incognito. The practices in question involved numerous voicemails and text messages with racial slurs and threats of violence against him and his family. After initial public backlash towards Incognito and his inappropriate actions, many prominent figures around the league, including his teammates, have come to his defense. They and others argue that while Incognito’s antics may seem excessive to the public, they are acceptable, even appropriate, within the context of a professional sports locker room.

The enactment of hegemonic masculinity in professional sport reproduces steep hierarchies and exacts emotional and physical cost.

• Messner, Michael. 1992. Power at Play: Sports and the Problem of Masculinity. Boston: Beacon.

Sport culture generates and affirms a masculinist social order both on and off the field.

• Burstyn, Varda. 1999. The Rites of Men: Manhood, Politics, and the Culture of Sport. Toronto: University of Toronto Press

In a confusing twist of legal back and forth, some of the strictest abortion regulations in the country have taken effect in Texas. The state’s proposed abortion restrictions, including limiting medication-induced abortions and requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges to a nearby surgical center, were initially struck down by a district court because the restrictions would effectively deny women the right to abortions. A full appeal will be heard in January, but these restrictions have caused a third of the clinics in Texas to stop offering the service until then.

While this is a legal battle on the surface, the debate surrounding abortion stems from longstanding and deeply conflicted cultural norms regarding sexual behavior, the care of children, family structure, and gender roles in society.

• Kristen Luker. 1985. Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood. University of California Press.

Despite variations in state restrictions on abortions, legislative restrictions have very little impact on a state’s abortion rate.

• Marshall H. Medoff 2002. “The Determinants and Impact of State Abortion Restrictions.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology  61 (2): 481-493.