Gay Men and Loose Women – Southeast Idaho Mexican Migrant Women’s Beliefs About Who Gets HIV

Abstract

Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s, there have been stereotypes about certain groups of people being infected with the disease. This paper is based on a qualitative study consisting of twenty (n=20) interviews with Mexican migrant women in Southeast Idaho. The study investigated who Mexican migrant women believe are most likely to be infected with HIV, and then analyzed the beliefs in a socio-cultural context, examining a loss of both social and material capital as a catalyst for these beliefs.