AIDS in brazil

[charlieRSJ]

i really plan on making a trip to brazil.probably next feb or march.even with what little contact ive had with brazillion women,im sold on their sweetness and beauty.consequently,since im interested in going soon...ive been reading "all things brazil"that i can find.i stumbled on a news link the other day dealing with womens issues in brazil.it descibed an "aids epidemic"among women there.the story also indicated that many married women are being infected by husbands that prowl around on the sly.i dont think ive read one good comment anywhere about brazillion males.especially when it comes to their attitudes and treatment toward women.but thats beside the point.what is the reality of AIDS in brazil?.anybody know if this news story is blown out of proportion?just curious

[HappyInBrazil]

... in response to AIDS in brazil, posted by charlieRSJ on Aug 31, 2002

Charles,

I didn't address this in the other post, but I think it's a little bit different subject and is well worth talking about.

I think the evil cheating man issue is part agency hype, part a woman telling you what you want to hear, and part truth.  Maybe there's some other parts too.  Someone will point them out.

I think when an agency says this, they want to get in your wallet. There may be some truth to it, but for certain there is some marketing reason for projecting this image.

I think when a woman says this, you need to consider her judgement in men.  Along the same lines, I think you need to be real careful about saying the same thing, aka ALL American women are bad.  If a woman told me she had 15 boyfriends and they all cheated on her, I wouldn't wonder what her part in it was, I'd move on.  No need to spend your time solving mysteries.

Another thing to consider is maybe they are talking about the men, but these guys are sleeping with someone.  Or like the old blues tune, while you were stepping out, someone else was stepping in.  I think it's likely that the women that are cheating are less open about it.  Culturally, there's no equivalent of "macho" for women sleeping around alot.  I remember someone commenting about Columbia on this subject and mentioning that they are cheating with young girls, but I have not observed this.  But this is not really a circle I travel in either.

I doubt there is any source of numbers on any of this to compare.

I think it is more of a concern for Brazilian women, because of some of the differences in culture.  It's more difficult to divorce there.  And the man is not going to be taken to the cleaners and may not even pay any obligations he does end up with.  Also, the economic outlook for a single woman with children there is worse.

This gets mixed up with the cultural differences too.  Men are more like men, and women are more like women.  By this I mean you don't see women that look like men or try to act like men.

In short, I'd say it's probably more likely there for a man to have a mistress or fool around on the side sometimes, but I'd say the normal relationship where both the man and the woman are faithful is by far the most typical situation.

If you compared Brazilian/Brazilian, American/Brazilian, and American/American couples, I really don't think you could say who would be more likely to cheat.

Keep it up with the good questions, this really helps get the board back on track.

[MarkInTx]

... in response to The evil cheating man issue, posted by HappyInBrazil on Sep 1, 2002

I was in Brazil on business. I met many women there in a "non-dating" environment, and this attitude about Brazilian men was universal. Many professional women in Sao Paulo told me that they would never marry a Brazilian man...

(Of course, This was Sao Paulo... which is a city. Bear in mind tha Brazil is larger than the US. So it is impossible to make any claim about Brazil which is true for the whole country...)

Sexual Promiscuity is more common in Brazil. This is true for men and women. Or, to put a positive spin on it: There are no sexual hang-ups in Brazil. It is a very sexually free society.

The difference, from what I was told, is that while the women are promiscuous when they are younger, when they settle down, they want to be loyal. The men do not.

I was with some well-educated, high income men who thought nothing of going to a club and picking out a woman to take to the hotel after work. A couple I knew had mistresses on the side, and they were not shy about the fact. When I compare that with the kind of men I find in America at work, it is vastly different.

I'm sure some American Men might have had an affair, too -- I mean, who knows? -- but they certainly would never flaunt it like the Brazilian men do.

I also met and dated some women in Brazil. They were sweet and very nice... and they all complained about Brazilian men.

Now... as to AIDS...

I actually read that AIDS was on the decline after years of rising. I think they are all being a little more careful there. However, in a "sexually free" society, things like bi-sexuality (amongst men) are more accepted. "Brazilian Transvestites" are infamous. There is a park in Sao Paulo that has nothing but Transvestities in it at night (I was told this matter-of-factly by one of the businessmen over lunch).

SO... is there a higher incidence of AIDS in Brazil? (ESPECIALLY the big cities???) I would guess so. I think that as you get farther north, away from Rio and Sao Paulo, this is less true.

I still think that Brazil would be a wonderful palce to search for a wife.

In fact, I was there when I found my fiance. (She just happens to be in Ukraine! Ain't life funny?)

[HappyInBrazil]

... in response to AIDS in brazil, posted by charlieRSJ on Aug 31, 2002

Charles,

Here's some info from the CDC and UNAIDs websites.

http://www.unaids.org/fact_sheets/files/Successes_Eng.html

In Brazil, where over half a million people are living with HIV, efforts against AIDS – bolstered by government prevention and care measures – are leading to safer sex. In a survey of Brazilian men, almost half reported condom use at first sex in 1999 – a tenfold increase from below 5% in 1986. Also, close to 90% of 16-25-year-old men reported consistent condom use with casual sex partners – an impressively high figure corroborated by an upsurge in the sale of male condoms, from 70 million in 1993 to 320 million in 1999. In a survey of Brazilian women at increased risk of HIV exposure who tried out female condoms for the first time, 75% said they were satisfied. Subsequently, 43% of these continued using them.

http://www.unaids.org/epidemic_update/report_july02/english/table.html

Country Specific Information.
Page 198 for Latin America Information.
The quick read.
Adults between 15-49 living with HIV/AIDS, end 2001
Total for Latin America  .5%
Brazil .7%
Colombia .4%
Peru     .4%

Also on the Same page
USA .6%
Canada .3%

(The commentary now is my own interpretation)
If you look at the number of cases for Females as a Percentage of Total Number of Cases (Age 15-49))
USA 180,000/890,000
Brazil 220,000/600,000
The ratio is different, significantly.  Since your chances of getting infected with HIV is higher for the recepticle partner, I would guess that there are more gay men infected in the US.  So from the raw numbers, you are more likely to be exposed to HIV from a woman in Brazil than in the US.

There are also Hepatitis B to worry about.  Which you may not or may be protected from if you use a condom.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/b/fact.htm
("the efficacy of latex condoms in preventing infection with HBV is unknown, but their proper use may reduce transmission")

Also Genital Herpes, which you are not necessarily protected from if you use a condom.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/Fact_Sheets/facts_Genital_Herpes.htm
("However, condoms do not provide complete protection because the condom may not cover the herpes sore(s), and viral shedding may nevertheless occur.")

So what's this mean on the individual level? (Not directed at you personally)

If you correspond with someone in Brazil, and you decide to meet, you have this generalized risk, but you also have specific risks.

You might not have romantic chemistry.  Will you sleep with someone you don't like just because you took a plane ride?  Is this the kind of person ready for a deeper relationship?

You might have romantic chemistry, but she might not feel comfortable because of monthly womans issues.  Are you going to ask a women you have not yet met to chart their menstral cycle and duration for you before planning your trip?  Are you going to pressure someone you're supposed to like to have sex when they don't feel comfortable with it?

Taking a step back on the timeline, I'd really recommend making sure you can communicate and are friends before you even consider getting on a plane.  I would look at the process more as being driven by events rather than by a calandar.  I think you would do much better if you guarded against being swept up by events, and made the decision every step along the way.  It's definately a process where you need to be a man on the top of his game.

Also, it's between the two of you.  Especially when it comes to posting in a public forum.  Consider how she'd feel if she read it, and consider also how this makes you look.  It might really have an impact on how much people are willing to help you out in the future.  I think one of the worst cases of this I saw was on another forum where someone was boasting about his exploits until the woman asked for a break.  To add to this the poster in question is now married to a different woman, and also the woman who he had his exploits with was still listed at an agency.

To take this into a more general rant category, I think more posters need to think of what they write as something their future wife might be reading, or the person that will decide to introduce them to their future wife is reading.  I think one of the reason there are few women posting is that there are a lot more boys posting than men.  Have a woman read some of the threads about Women from Country X are like this, and see what they have to say about it.

OH! One last thing, I used notepad to write this post and you might want to do that on the longer posts.  Every so often you can have your post not go through.

[Pete E]

... in response to AIDS in brazil, posted by charlieRSJ on Aug 31, 2002

Its the highest in south america,many times higher than Colombia.The question is amoung what groups of the population and will you be dealing with those.I would do some research if I were going,but be safe is always good advice if in doubt,use protection.

Pete

[charlieRSJ]

... in response to Re: AIDS in brazil, posted by Pete E on Sep 1, 2002

thanks guys,i appreciate the sensible,practical and factual info.i got something out of each response post.thanks again.

[robbysanjuan]

... in response to AIDS in brazil, posted by charlieRSJ on Aug 31, 2002

Hey man,
Check out an official government website for info, you'll get too many different stories here, probably start a fight between posters, and that is not something you want to get from a self proclaimed expert on Brazil and disease. I'll keep my eyes open for a credible site and pass you the info.