Sexual Culture, Structure, and Change

This chapter discusses current depictions in the behavioral science literature of the relationship between Latino/a migrants' sexual cultures and HIV risk, and analyzes conceptual limitations that may hinder deeper understandings of how these two issues are interrelated. There is a tendency to draw conclusions about cultural differences between migrants and the U.S.-born Latino population that are often unsubstantiated by empirical findings, primarily because behavioral studies typically are not designed to measure cultural factors. The chapter also examines the limitations caused by a propensity to focus exclusively on the migrants' behaviors in the United States, without inquiring about their lives prior to migration or their continued contact with their home countries. Finally, the chapter analyzes the consequences of a widespread reliance on simple acculturation measures, and on now problematic constructs such as simpatía, familismo, machismo, and marianismo.