In the United States, many people believe AIDS came out of the African rainforests and is spread by primates. But in Africa, many believe the virus was manufactured by the American government with the intention of killing minorities and homosexuals.
Tuesday night, sociology professor Njeri Mbugua discussed the misconceptions both Kenya and the United States have concerning AIDS. The lecture was the fourth in a series of lectures sponsored by the Sex Research Colloquium. Mbugua spoke to about 30 people on "Attitudes and Beliefs about AIDS in Kenya" Tuesday night in Swain Hall East.
Mbugua is a lecturer in the social work department at the University of Nairobi. She is part of a sociology exchange program and came to IU to work on her doctorate in 1993.
Graduate student Liahna Gordon, who organized the Sex Research Colloquium, said Mbugua was a good speaker to have because sociologists look at the connection between society and the individual.
"We're talking about the clash of traditional life versus modernity," Gordon said. "Social forces are really affecting beliefs and behaviors of individuals."
Originally intending to study domestic violence, Mbugua said she found Americans wanted to know more about AIDS in Africa. She said many people believed the virus was rampant in Africa and Africans were highly promiscuous. Wondering if it was a bigger problem in Kenya, she decided to study teenagers' beliefs about AIDS.
About 90 percent of AIDS cases in Kenya are spread through heterosexual sex, and it is estimated 3.5 percent of all Kenyan youth have AIDS. For her research, Mbugua surveyed 17 and 18-year-old Kenyan students and facilitated focus group discussions about sexuality.
Senior Barbara Clark, who attended the lecture, said the AIDS problems in Kenya and the United States are not much different. At her predominantly black high school, sex was treated as "shameful."
Clark said Americans treat sex education as a race issue and believe African Americans are more promiscuous and likely to get pregnant. She said we should "treat teen sex as teen sex and not make (racial) distinctions."
Through her research, Mbugua found Kenyans look down upon condoms because they come from the West. They also believe condoms were designed to spread AIDS and prevent sexual pleasure. Kenyan girls do not insist their partners use condoms because they don't want to be seen as prostitutes. Unlike the general public, Kenyan prostitutes are educated about sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS prevention and the use of condoms.
Senior Shannon Blackwell, who attended the lecture, said AIDS statistics in the United States are distorted because minorities are more likely to go to a public clinic, where the government has access to the records. She said AIDS should not be treated as a racial issue. "I don't think any one group is suffering more than anyone else," she said.
For the next lecture in the series, David Aveline will speak on "Parents of Gay Men and Stigma" at 7 p.m. April 20 in Swain Hall East 105.
Laura Taflinger
Friday, April 10, 1998
©1998 Indiana Daily Student