HIV stigma influenced by perceptions of masculinity, study reveals
A research team led by Titilayo Okoror, associate professor of Africana studies at Binghamton University, conducted in-depth interviews with 17 heterosexual HIV-positive men in Nigeria, all of whom were receiving antitretroviral therapy, which is used to slow the rate at which HIV makes copies of itself in the body. Without using the word stigma, discussions and interviews were guided by four questions that explored participants' experiences of living with HIV/AIDS. Findings indicated that participants' experiences of stigma might be moderated by the social context surrounding their HIV diagnosis, and whether they have met the socio-cultural construction of masculinity. Participants whose diagnoses were preceded by their own sickness were more likely to report isolation, stigma and feelings of being less than a man. Contrarily, participants whose diagnosis were preceded by immediate family members' diagnoses were less likely to report experiencing HIV stigma and more ...