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Culture is a large part of morality. There are many different aspects of life that go into the determination of moral vs. immoral. According to an article titled Cultural Influence on Morals, you can find influences in the culture of family, popular culture, and generational change. Within the family you see different values that are set in stone and different understandings of what is right vs. what is wrong. Popular culture generates ideas of morality through the news and media as well ad television and movies. Change in generations institutes a change in the way values are looked at and expressed.
This idea of morality is a crucial aspect of STIs/AIDS. This applies to both testing and having the disease(s) itself. Often times, people with STIs/AIDS are looked upon as immoral. They do not have values. They do not use protection while having sexual intercourse. They did something wrong. That word makes a regular appearance when discussion of people with STIs/AIDS is going on. Wrong. Wrong decision. Wrong timing. Wrong intentions. Was what the person did actually a decision? Did he/she really have a choice? Was the timing even optional? Were the intentions actually bad? Questions like these need to be answered before society decides to go ahead and tell someone they are morally incorrect.
Among many other things, something that needs to be taken into consideration when deeming a persons actions immoral is what their circumstances are. In the text, Women, Povery, and AIDS, there are many stories of different women discussed. These women come from different backgrounds, cultures, religions, etc. The one thing that they share in common is that they have acquired a disease that subjects them to social stigmas, health problems, relationship issues, and many more. For example, for some of these women sex has become a means of survival. The sex work industry is in itself looked upon as a complete immoral way of life, but for many of these women this is not a real choice. Living in an impoverished community with a lack of education a lot of times women turn to sex work. The "choice" is whether to steal, sell drugs, or exploit your body to provide for yourself/your family. In all reality, there is no better choice.
The sex work industry does not only exploit adults, but children as well. "In a perverse twist, fear of HIV infection has led to further exploitation of children in many parts of the world. Men seek low-risk sexual partners and so press "virginal" adolescent girls for sexual relations" (Farmer, 44). These children have no say in what their futures will turn into. For example, Women, Poverty, and AIDS states a statistic for children in Thailand. These children are of ages as low as 8 or 10 years old and are sold into sexual slavery (Farmer, 45). Do these children not have any values? Should we be telling them they are morally incorrect? No. This is not a way of life that anyone would want to live, but it is a way that many are coerced into living. With limited options, many turn to sex work in order to live day-to-day life. By turning to sex work they become part of a high-risk group for HIV/AIDS as well as STIs. A large part of this risk is the fact that many men do not find it necessary to inform their partner(s) if they are infected with HIV/AIDS or any other STIs (Farmer, 50). Another issue is the idea of protection. Many women either do not have access to forms of protection or they do not know how to tell their partner(s) that they have to use protection.
What I would like to ask these judges of moral character, whomever they may be, is to look at the circumstances of these people worldwide. To take into consideration the things they have seen, experienced, and done to try and make a living for themselves. To look at their "options". To realize that no option is necessarily better than the other and not everyone has a good "choice" to make. To understand that the intentions are not always bad, but often times good. To sympathize and empathize with the fact that different people are in different situations. To realize that it is not the idea of morality or immorality that we should be looking at, but the measurment of strength it takes to get through things that life throws at you. To look in the mirror and ask if it is morally correct to judge others based off of their actions without knowing the basis behind them. Where are your morals?
References:
Farmer, P., Connors, M., & Simmons, J. (1996). Women, poverty, and AIDS: Sex, drugs, and structural violence. Monroe, Me.: Common Courage Press.
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