Iain: Hi hon. I thought this article about female veterans would interest you.
Liss: Thanks for the heads up! Question: Do you think a male soldier would ever be described as being "moody" because of PTSD?
Iain: Answer: No!
Liss: Way to reinforce the gender disparity while writing about it, AP!
In Which I Substitute an Email Conversation with Iain for an Actual Post
Assvertising
[Trigger warning.]
Everyone in the multiverse is emailing me about this Toyota advert, which was "produced, directed, and entered by Brisbane-based Play TV, with post production by Graetz Media – and was last week named by Toyota as the winner of its Clever Film Competition, which was organised by Saatchi & Saatchi."
[Transcript, courtesy of Lauredhel, below.]
I don't think I can say anything about this advert I haven't already said about a billion times before, so I'll leave it to you to dissect in comments, Shakers. I will, however, point out the most unintentionally hilarious YouTube comment possibly ever written (which is really saying something), found at the top of the thread associated with this commercial:
["this is funny... those who do not like it are sexually oppressed idiots"]
Awesome. Totally awesome.
(If you don't get why that's funny, it's because the commenter meant to accuse critics of the ad of being sexually repressed; sexually oppressed quite obviously has a whole other unintended—and unintentionally accurate—meaning.)
[A white bloke in his late teens or very early twenties, dressed in dark pants and a white collared shirt, arrives at a large house in the evening. I'll call him Date. He rings the bell, and adjusts his clothing, looking slightly nervous, yet cocky. A middle-aged white man in a suit and tie answers the door. I'll call him Dad.][Assvertising: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One, Forty-Two, Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six, Forty-Seven, Forty-Eight, Forty-Nine, Fifty, Fifty-One, Fifty-Two, Fifty-Three, Fifty-Four, Fifty-Five, Fifty-Six, Fifty-Seven, Fifty-Eight, Fifty-Nine, Sixty, Sixty-One, Sixty-Two, Sixty-Three, Sixty-Four, Sixty-Five, Sixty-Six, Sixty-Seven, Sixty-Eight, Sixty-Nine, Seventy, Seventy-One, Seventy-Two, Seventy-Three, Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five, Seventy-Six, Seventy-Seven, Seventy-Eight, Seventy-Nine, Eighty, Eighty-One, Eighty-Two, Eighty-Three, Eighty-Four, Eighty-Five, Eighty-Six, Eighty-Seven, Eighty-Eight, Eighty-Nine, Ninety.]
Date, cheerfully: Hi, I'm Horny.
Dad, looking cross: Hi, I'm Seething.
Date, still cheerful: I'm here to take Jennifer's virginity out tonight. Is she ready to go?
[Dad furrows his brows.]
Date: I hope I haven’t come too prematurely. [grins]
A young woman's voice off-screen; I'll call her Woman: I'm coming! I'm coming!
[Woman appears just coming down off the stairs, dressed in a little black dress and jewelery, long brunette hair loose and wavy.]
Date, lasciviously: You will be soon. [raises an eyebrow and leers]
Woman: Bye Mum! Bye Dad! [kisses Dad on the cheek]
Dad: Waiiit…
[Woman stands back in the doorway. Dad advances through the doorway, and talks 'privately' with Date.]
Dad, sternly: Do you have any protection while you're driving my daughter home?
Date: Oh, yeah, of course! [fumbles in pocket, produces keys] I've – I've got a Yaris. [clicks the central locking, the red car beeps]
Dad: Oooh! [raises eyebrows approvingly, smiles at Date]
Date: Yep! Couple of, ah, nice big SRS airbags up front, to ah, throw my head into [holds hands up as if cupping giant breasts, makes brbrbrbrbrbrbr noise as if putting head between breasts and mucking around]
[Dad smiles.]
Date: Oh, and traction control for when it gets a bit [lowers voice slightly] slippery and wet. And the best part – it has special [unintelligible] Safe-T-Cell technology!
Dad: Really?
Date: Mm-hmm!
Dad: So she can take a good pounding in any direction! [makes fisting motion]
Date: [mouth hangs open] Um – you bet!
[Dad grins.]
Woman: Come on. [nudges up beside Date, looks lasciviously at him] I'm ready to blow.
[Date and Woman walk down the path.]
Date: [turns around] Oh, and I'll have her on her back by eleven, I promise.
[Dad waves gormlessly.]
[Date and Woman get in the car and drive off. Music starts. Caption: "For good clean getaways." Dad, on the porch, does the Toyota triumphant-leap.]
NQDTR Discussion Thread - M091214
Hiya, Shakers, time for another Discussion Thread for the Not Quite Daily Teaspoon Report!
This is the thread in which you may offer congratulations or admiration for a teaspoon or teaspooner. If you're posting with just congrats or admiration, though, do take a moment and check the thread to see whether other people have said so a number of times already. Remember that no one is required to read here just because they posted over there, so there's no guarantee you'll get a response to a given comment.
The Not Quite Daily Teaspoon Report - M091214
Time for another Teaspoon Report, brought to you by Shaxco, proud purveyors of the smash new bestseller, Tautology for Dummies: Understanding Right-Wing Logic.
So, leave comments here that describe an act of teaspooning you encountered or committed. They don't have to be big, world-shaking acts; by definition, a teaspoon is a small thing, but enough of them together can empty the ocean.
If you would like to discuss the teaspoons here reported, or even offer congratulations or your admiration to a fellow Shaker, we ask that you do so over here in the Discussion Thread for today's NQDTR.
Shaker bgk has been kind enough to get a Twitter-pated version out there for you young twittersnappers (and by the way, get off my lawn, you meddling kids! *shakes cane*). You can find the details about the Tweetspoons project right here. That runs all the time, as far as I'm aware (*grumblenewtechnologygrumble*), and we encourage you to let other people know that there's at least one tweetstream talking about just going out and doing good things for the human species.
Teaspoons up, let's hear 'em, Shakers!
ô,ôP
Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, future publishers of the pop-pulp-and-politix zine Shakin'.
Recommended Reading:
Thomas Johnson and M. Chris Mason: Obama's Indecent Interval [via Matt]
Andy: Uganda 'Kill the Gays' Bill Will Include Death Penalty Provision; Obama, Grassley, Coburn, Feingold, Vatican Speak Out
C.L. Minou: Ron Gold, Choice, and the End of the Affair
Resistance: Eighteen Years [TW]
Echidne: Eek! Masculinity Threatened Again. Take #356894
Deborah: Full of Win
Angry Asian Man: Photoshop Fail: Just Add Brown/Yellow Heads for Diversity
Renee: Christmas at the White House Failure
Leave your links in comments...
Lieberman's Such a Jerk
Lieberman Rules Out Voting for Health Bill: "In a surprise setback for Democratic leaders, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, said on Sunday that he would vote against the health care legislation in its current form. The bill's supporters had said earlier that they thought they had secured Mr. Lieberman’s agreement to go along with a compromise they worked out to overcome an impasse within the Democratic Party. But on Sunday, Mr. Lieberman told the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, to scrap the idea of expanding Medicare and abandon any new government insurance plan or lose his vote."
Welcome to the Lieberman Administration: "Looks like Joe Lieberman decided to try for the old double-cross and say he now opposes the Medicare expansion compromise he'd hinted he would support. Lieberman wants no public option, no trigger that might create a public option, and no expansion of existing programs as a substitute for a public option. And he doesn't care about expressing that view in misleading ways, timed to cause embarrassment to the Democratic leadership. And, frankly, unlike some other troublesome Democratic Senators one can hardly be all that surprised that he's making problems for the Obama administration's #1 domestic priority. After all, Lieberman took the view that John McCain would be the better President."
Lieberman at It Again: "What's most telling about Lieberman isn't his positions, which are not that much different from Sen. Nelson's and perhaps Sen. Lincoln's. It's more that he seems to keep upping the ante just when the rest of the caucus thinks they've got a deal. If it happened once, a misunderstanding might be a credible explanation. But it's happened too many times. Sen. Nelson has driven Dems to distraction on this bill. But his demands have been fairly consistent over time. Lieberman just doesn't seem to be negotiating in good faith. He keeps pulling his caucus to some new compromise, waiting a few days and then saying he can't agree to that either."
I hate to say "I told you so," Dems, but I told you so.
In an administration where "bipartisanship" and "compromise" are prioritized above good ideas, it was always going to be a given that a bloke like Joe Lieberman would have too much power. That's what happens when you play the game-players' game.
Rusari Turned on Its Head
In a new Iranian resistance movement, men are posting pictures of themselves wearing women's head scarves as a political statement in support of Majid Tavakoli, who, days after his arrest for anti-government protesting, was pictured in published news photos wearing a chador, the "black head-to-toe garment worn by Iranian women." The photo was also juxtaposed with a decades-old image of the first president of Iran in its post-revolutionary iteration, Abolhassan Banisadr, who was accused of wearing a women's head scarf to try to evade arrest. Tavakoli has no links to Banisadr, with the exception of their both having been accused of dressing as women to escape authorities (and both of the images being generally regarded as faked propaganda).
Within hours of the Fars report on the arrest of the 22-year-old protester, men both inside and outside Iran responded using a what appears to be a new tactic for the opposition -- they began posting pictures of themselves online wearing head coverings that are mandated for women in the Islamic republic.Blub. (Emphasis mine.)
..."They (Iranian government officials) use a standard cliche to try to humiliate men, as if being a woman were something bad, and thousands of Iranians respond by posting these pictures, showing there is absolutely nothing wrong with women or veiling," said [Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian studies at New York's Columbia University], who is a supporter of the arrested protester, Tavakoli.
...A blog that focuses on religion and politics in the Muslim world -- Spittoon.org -- interpreted the juxtaposition as being an attempt by the authorities "to humiliate [Tavakoli, using] an old practice by the government to prove to the public that the opposition leaders are 'less than men,' lacking courage and bravery."
One commentator on that site wrote, "It is ironic how [the] head scarf, which was traditionally seen as a symbol of women's oppression ... is now being used by men to show membership in a liberation movement."
...Alongside his own photo on Facebook, Dabashi describes the varied shades of meaning that this particular form of protest holds for him, referring to his rusari, the loosely tied head scarf that covers only the hair.
"Proud to wear my late mother's rusari, the very rusari that was forced on my wife in Iran, the very rusari for which my sisters are humiliated if they choose to wear it in Europe, and the very rusari that the backward banality that now rules Iran thinks will humiliate Majid Tavakoli if it is put on him -- He is dearer and nobler to us today than he ever was."
...Dabashi said the head scarf protest is a way of showing the same solidarity against a system that came into being after the Iranian Revolution.
"We Iranian men are late doing this," Dabashi said. "If we did this when rusari was forced on those among our sisters who did not wish to wear it 30 years ago, we would have perhaps not been here today."
[H/Ts to Iain and Shaker Sunnyhello.]
Radio Shakesville
Episode 14: Fever
Here is a link to the podcast blog where you can download the show.
And this is the list of all songs used in this week's ep.
You can also play the show in a pop-up.
(Which is the recommended way to read Shakesville, by the by.)
The show is available via iTunes, and on Feedburner. The RSS is here, for those who are into that kind of thing.
Five Steps
by Shaker Rowan_Bristol
Okay, so being a queer gamer, I know I'm nowhere near Kotaku's demographic of choice. The site is designed for straight white guys who, like the people marketing to them, believe they're the only gamers in existence. I tend to allow for more than a little fail from them, if it means I know when Qix comes out for Xbox arcade. But every once in a while, the fail just gets staggering.
Case in point: "Five Steps to Total Pwnage of a Gamer Girl's Heart."
So with the title, we're already talking conquest and beat-downs equaling romance. A submissively postured girl in a bikini, who happens to be the author of the article, who happens to be an adult film star, only adds to the imagery that "gamer girls" are things to be lusted after and acquired. And then we come to the hypothetical situation that's being developed in order to present the five steps. In this case, a LAN tournament:
You get all set up, when all of a sudden, out of the corner of your eye, you see a super hot chick standing by a really sick gaming system. Some guy's babe of a girlfriend must be dropping him off before she heads to the mall to go shopping, you think to yourself. Then you realize, holy shit, that water cooled, dream-machine is hers, and she's here to game.Obviously, the person in the scenario has never seen a girl gamer…ever. Secondly, the desire to play games is inversely proportional to attractiveness (the higher the attractiveness, the stronger the desire to shop apparently). And third, my favorite: The only reason she's there must be that she's someone else's property.
But shock! She games! She must be one of the gamers!
No, she's not. She's something to be acquired, like an achievement on Live.
GamerGirlfriend – 20 points.
And this article is going to be the GameGuide to unlocking that achievement! Written by an adult film star! Who's into gaming!
The five steps are really insulting, and unsurprisingly treat the woman in question not as a gamer, but as some object to be acquired. It treats male gamers as socially maladjusted erection vehicles that can't relate to women as equals. And in the message being delivered via an adult film star, as both author and photo model for the article, it enhances the image of 'woman as achievement' rather than woman as 'gaming buddy' (but remember kids, it's not misogynist if it's written by a woman!).
It also bothers me that there's no perception that the female gamer might be at the LAN party to…well, game, just like everyone else there. That being hit on by someone who's arduously studied the 5 steps, might interfere with her gaming experience.
As a disclaimer, I did meet my boyfriend through online gaming. We met through a group that shared a common interest, spent time together discussing our interests while playing, were genuinely interested in each other's lives outside of gaming, found each other attractive intellectually, emotionally, and physically, and began a relationship.
Five steps.
What's Your Opinion on These Unstable Hysterics?
What the Method "Shiny Suds" campaign ad controversy really needed was for the fauxgressives over at HuffPo to ask "What's Your Reaction?" There's nothing I like better than to see news sites encouraging readers to weigh in on whether feminists and/or anti-rape advocates are taking the whole rape-is-bad thing a bit too far.
My favorite reader comment so far: "I sure hope the complainers but as much effort into stopping Bart Stupak and Ben Nelson as they did this."
The thing I like about it, aside from its being pregnant (pun intended) with the smugly confident assumption that we didn't, which is of course hilariously wrong, is that it's such an exquisitely perfect example of how the issue of sexual assault is casually dismissed as just another women's issue, lumped in with abortion rights and women's healthcare—y'know, stuff that doesn't concern men.
[Previously on the Method Shiny Suds Ad: Today in Rape Culture, I Write Letters, I Get Letters, Hysterical Bitchez, Well, I Guess That's Us Told, Wow.]
This is a Real Thing in the Wal-Mart
And, one fears, wherever games are sold.
The
I got an email from my sister TheLadyEve last night, an edited version of which appears here with her permission:
I was at Wal-Mart today [...] and I came across a card game called "Battle of the Sexes," packaged for kids, labeled "for kids ages 8 and up."The package reads as follows:
The card game that will determine who is the superior sex!
Does she know what an odometer is? Could he tell you how to stop a hole in your panythose from getting bigger?
Test your knowledge of the opposite sex through a series of gender-based questions. The first 'player' or 'team' to earn five cards wins the game!
Includes: 1 Player Guide, 39 Question Cards and 10 Wild Cards
See, it's just a fun card game. You know--for kids! Like Uno, only...totally sexist and cis-supremacist!
TheLadyEve continues:
Okay, first of all, eight-year-olds don't really wear pantyhose (at least not often), and in my experience, they don't care about runs in their stockings. But they should. Because they're GIRLZ!!! And silly girls, they SHOULD know how to stop a run in the pantyhose, but they couldn't possibly know what an odometer is. I was tempted to rip the thing open just to see the rest of the "gender-based questions." Second of all, I just cringe at the use of the term "superior," as if one group is fundamentally less-than. And it's for children eight and up. Yes, [our nephew's] age.
This game is a major example of not only sexism but cis-superiority. It's bad enough when you look at games that are "meant for girls," like "Mystery Date" or "Girl Talk." But when you see a game that seeks to divide all players into black and white gender categories and then reinforce stereotypes while encouraging animosity between the groups, it's one of the most depressing games I've seen since "The Game of Life."
Note added later: the deck pictured above has a 12-and-up age rating and is not the same one my sister saw. But it is the same game from the same company. I suppose they have ideas about which gender stereotypes are "age-appropriate". Sneer.
I notice that the "skills" attributed to girls are not nearly as useful as those attributed to boys. Pantyhose maintenance versus automobile maintenance pretty much says it all.
I won't link to Amazon, but they also offer Imagination Games "Battle of the Sexes" quiz books, desk calendars, and a "Battle of the Sexes--The Battle Continues" board game. The board game is "recommended for ages 14 and up". Fourteen is an especially bad age to be pushing gender stereotypes. Many women have told me that puberty is when they started to lose confidence in themselves.
If one is tempted to protest that "it's just a joke", "just for fun" and we're so post-gender that everyone obviously knows this is a send-up of outmoded stereotypes that don't apply anymore, stop and think. This is marketed for kids. It is in the kids section at Wal-Mart. Our niece and nephew are aged five and eight. Even without brainwashing from games, they have picked up messages about gender roles from the culture at large already. My niece recently informed me that "only men can be mayors". When I asked her who told her that, she replied, "nobody told me--I just know it already!"* My nephew and I had a discussion after he told his sister that only men can be doctors, and so she had to be the nurse in their surgery game. He had this idea in spite of the fact that his pediatrician at the time was a woman.
So no, we're not past it. Not by a long chalk.
*This event led to quite the Google session where we showed her pictures of female mayors from all over the country. And now we have another to add to her collection.
H/T, of course, to TheLadyEve
White House Strongly Opposes Ugandan Anti-Gay Legislation
As you may recall, during her statements on World AIDS Day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton obliquely condemned the proposed anti-gay legislation in Uganda that seeks to criminalize homosexuality and originally made it a crime punishable by death: "Obviously, our efforts [to address AIDS globally] are hampered whenever discrimination or marginalization of certain populations results in less effective outreach and treatment. So we will work not only to ensure access for all who need it but also to combat discrimination more broadly."
That was followed by a guidance from Clinton's State Department: "We are disturbed by violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization and prejudice that are directed against persons in all countries in the world because of sexual orientation or gender identity. We condemn human rights violations based on sexual orientation or gender identity wherever they occur. We urge states to take all the necessary measures to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties– in particular, execution arrest or detention. If adopted a bill further criminalizing homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda."
Finally, on Friday, in response to an inquiry from The Advocate, the White House issued its own statement: "The President strongly opposes efforts, such as the draft law pending in Uganda, that would criminalize homosexuality and move against the tide of history."
Good. And thank you, Madame Secretary, for leading the way.
I'd like to point out, btw, given the number of broken campaign promises about which we've had the occasion to groan lately, this situation has seen the keeping of one very important campaign promise: Clinton's promise to make global gay rights an active "part of American foreign policy." She's just doing it as Secretary of State, rather than president.
[Previously: Anti-Gay Legislation in Uganda, Anti-Gay Legislation in Uganda Sponsored by The Family, Quote of the Day, World AIDS Day, Uganda Drops Death Penalty, Life in Prison from Bill.]
Feel the Homomentum!
Houston Is Largest City to Elect Openly Gay Mayor:
Houston became the largest city in the United States to elect an openly gay mayor on Saturday night, as voters gave a solid victory to the city controller, Annise Parker.Blub. Congratulations, Mayor Parker.
Cheers and dancing erupted at Ms. Parker's campaign party as her opponent, Gene Locke, a former city attorney, conceded defeat just after 10 p.m. when it became clear he could not overcome her lead.
Twenty minutes later, Ms. Parker appeared before ecstatic supporters at the city's convention center and then joked that she was the first graduate of Rice University to be elected mayor. (She is, by the way.) Then she grew serious.
"Tonight the voters of Houston have opened the door to history," she said, standing by her partner of 19 years, Kathy Hubbard, and their three adopted children. "I acknowledge that. I embrace that. I know what this win means to many of us who never thought we could achieve high office."
Open Thread
Collectivization in India
Akimbo's Audacia Ray emailed me to let me know about a project she's just completed and was hoping I'd share with Shakesville. (Regular readers will note that I link to Dacia's work in the blogaround all the time.) I'm sharing part of her email about the new project with permission (and there's more at Akimbo):
Back in September, my job at the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) sent me to India with my co-worker Khushbu Srivastava to do media training and documentation of our partners in the country. One of the organizations, SANGRAM, works to ensure equal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support. Over 6,000 women in rural India have participated in HIV testing as a result of these efforts.There's so much in the world to regret; it's easy to forget how much there is to inspire, how powerful the possibilities of collectivization.
…For the last twelve years, they've worked with sex workers – women and trans people who are some of the most marginalized folks in their communities – to stand up for their rights against abusive cops, the government, and the public health system.
While I was with the amazing folks at SANGRAM, I shot more than 6 hours of video footage, took more than 400 photos, and took many many notes. This five and a half minute video is the first of several pieces of online media that we're producing in collaboration with SANGRAM to document their work and the work of the fierce sex workers they collaborate with and support in their struggle to have their rights recognized and respected. I learned so much from my time with them; I hope you enjoy the video!
[Transcript below.]
Kamalabai Pani, Project Director for SANGRAM: Collectivization has made such a big difference. Before, I didn't even consider myself to be human.
Shatama Gollar, Sex Worker: Before, the police didn't respect us and would say, "Go sit outside; go sit far away."
Onscreen text, accompanied by image of marching men and women: "SANGRAM: Sex Worker Organizating in India."
Narrator: SANGRAM is in Sangli District, a rural area 235 miles southeast of Mumbai. In the state of Maharashtra, where Sangli is located, the rate of HIV infection is 4 to 5 times higher than in other Indian states. Since 1992, SANGRAM has worked to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic comprehensively, through prevention, treatment, and support. One of their projects is to support sex workers to collectivize and claim their rights.
Shashikant Mane, Executive Director of SANGRAM: Whether it's HIV/AIDS, whether it's violence, whether it's stigma and discrimination, we can't work on these issues unless people understand their rights. All of our staff, peer educators, outreach workers, and coordinators are always fundamentally talking about rights. But we talk about these concepts in such a smooth everyday language, in such a grassroots way, that it doesn't even seem like we're talking about rights.
Pani: We started to realize that it was important to learn about condoms and HIV, and it's been twelve years that we have been doing this work. With the collectivization, we started discussing the issues, how to deal with the gangs, how all of us would get together, confront them, and address the issues. As we started going to the meetings, we started becoming more aware.
Narrator: Every week, sex workers who work with SANGRAM distribute thousands of condoms to their community and provide information about HIV prevention. They also work to ensure equal access to vital primary health services.
Nilawa Shidreddy, Field Coordinator for SANGRAM: We are not proud of what we do. But it's still unfair for society to deny us medication. So we called upon all our fellow ladies from nearby places to speak to the doctor. The doctor said, "You're on your own." They sent us to a private clinic, but we didn't want to go there. The problem was in the village and so we want the government to start facilities to fight HIV here. They'll give medicine to other women with "decent" families, so why are we denied the opportunity to live? We wanted to fight against this injustice, so we went to speak to them. They wouldn't listen, but after Meena Seshu called them, they started treating us properly.
Narrator: Because of SANGRAM's success in advocating for equal access to services and information for sex workers, they were able to facilitate change for other vulnerable populations. Despite cultural barriers, SANGRAM has brought together sex workers and housewives to discuss challenges to women's health and rights.
Onscreen text: "Nearly 40% of adults living with HIV/AIDS in India are women. The largest number of new HIV infections occur among married women."
Sunita More, Women's Organizer for SANGRAM: Sex workers are seen as having a high rate of HIV; what do you think of this?
Meenkashi Kamble, Field Coordinator for SANGRAM: What we think is, since we are sex workers, the whole world looks down on us, as if HIV was present only because of us. The truth is, we do not entertain any customer if he won't use protection. We send him away. Let's say your husband steps out: There are so many other ways he might contract HIV other than us. And use of protection in the rest of the village is rare.
More: Yes, it is rare.
Kamble: So isn't it the duty of the village to check the ratio in people other than sex workers? [laughs] You can't say that there are no cases in the rest of the village. Earlier, the sex workers did not use protection since we didn't know the dangers. We worked hard to educate ourselves, and now we use protection 100% of the time. And we've started having meetings and discussions with the ladies as well as their employers. We explain to them how important their life is, and what would happen without protection. If you have 10 people and you forget to use protection just for one, there is a high risk factor of contracting HIV. This is how we have started explaining it to everyone.
Narrator: Drawing on 15 years of work in communities to strengthen and empower women against HIV/AIDS, SANGRAM is becoming an increasingly stronger policy advocate, nationally and globally. Founder Meena Seshu brings grassroots experiences to the international policy table and events like the biannual International AIDS Conference.
Meena Seshu, speaking at the conference in Mexico City, August 2008: Sex workers are the best educators of their male clients; it is true that they're able to educate men about sex and sexuality issues very effectively.
Narrator: Medical researchers and health policy shapers often reinforce the notion that sex workers are vectors of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. But through their grassroots work, SANGRAM is proving that sex workers are not agents of disease; they're agents of change.
[Credits.]
