As relações de gênero no campo da saúde da população negra: as especificidades em HIV/AIDS

Abstract

In this article I analyze the discourses and practices regarding health and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS of the black population by the black movement women and men-and-women organizations of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and the importance of this topic in their political agendas. The analysis is based on the gender relations within the black movement. The members of two female and two male and-female organizations participated in this qualitative research, in which the main research technique was the ethnographic interview. The research showed that, women tend to engage in health actions, both out of a search for autonomy in their agendas and of their marginal position within the men-and-female organizations. Besides that, the field of health, as the case of HIV/AIDS shows, is favorable to the NGO format, which tends, in turn, to be more flexible in its partnership with the public power and, thus, transform local demands into policies.