To fight AIDS, Indian ads channel manliness

Let’s talk about sex
One of the first sparks of the political will needed to combat the disease came by way of India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, who surprised many in the largely conservative country by publically highlighting the very private way that HIV/AIDS is transmitted in India — 85 percent the result of sexual encounters. (Most other infections are mother-to-baby and among intravenous drug users.)

“Leading a healthy and safe sexual life is one of the commitments we must all make,” Singh told a crowd of 1,000 youth leaders on World AIDS Day, which took place last December. “This is particularly important given our traditional inhibitions on discussing such matters within our families and among colleagues — quite apart from doing so in public.”

However, although Singh’s comments were symbolically significant, the Indian government has yet to follow his words with a national message regarding HIV/AIDS prevention.

And that's where Breakthrough’s “What Kind of Man Are You?” campaign has stepped in, broadcasting its ads on satellite television that reaches about 44 million.

But, Breakthrough was unable to get India's National AIDS Control Organization to agree to air its ads on government television, cutting off large segments of the rural and urban poor from the campaign’s message.

Despite that hurdle, said Dutt, Breakthrough’s message has seeped into pop culture — a question about one of the ads was included on India’s version of the game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.”

Also promising are signs of a greater openness about sex in the larger culture. For instance, Lakshmi, a former actress who is Tamil Nadu’s equivalent of Oprah Winfrey, recently focused one of her talk shows on homosexuality — a first for this culturally conservative state.

It hasn't all been plainsailing, though. Despite initial feedback showing that men in the north and western parts of the country understood and responded well to the campaign’s dual goal of gender sensitivity and HIV/AIDS awareness, in the south, where HIV/AIDS rates are the highest, men bristled at the idea that they did not care enough about their wives.

Pandora’s box
Part of the government’s reticence is steeped in cultural tradition and widespread belief that unfettered sexuality is promoted by discussion of safe-sex practices. In addition, says Breakthrough, publicly acknowledging the need to protect against HIV/AIDS would mean acknowledging that sex takes place outside the sphere of marriage. 

It is a dilemma that has dictated the AIDS debate in many cultures, but in largely conservative India it forces the country to confront issues that it has long avoided, including men having sex with men and women’s unequal status in their sexual partnerships.

Neilesh Shelat, a former HIV/AIDS outreach worker in Chennai, the largest city in southern India, said the stigma surrounding sexual activity is one of the biggest barriers to curbing the spread of the infection. Sex “is everywhere, but people won’t talk about it.”

Shelat cited the example of Khoovakam, an annual religious festival in Tamil Nadu, a state with one of the highest rates of HIV infection.

“Men from all over the country gather in a field to celebrate religious rites during the day, and at night it becomes a sexual free for all,” said Shelat. “These men then go home to their wives. Do you know what a public health nightmare that is?”

Breaking through the cultural taboos
To counter this, as well as the generally weak societal position of Indian women, the ads place the burden of responsibility of condom use on men. The idea behind the campaign is that “What kind of man are you?” becomes code for what kind of husband, father, protector are you? 

Dutt, Breakthrough’s founder, cautions that these are but initial steps on a long road to HIV/AIDS awareness and acceptance.

“Sex and sexuality is a difficult conversation in every culture,” said Dutt. “It was just as difficult in the U.S. when we started to grapple with gay identity and sexuality with HIV/AIDS.”

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