ABSTRACT
Brazil reflects a diverse history of governmental structures–colonialist rule, constitutional monarchy, military dictatorship, and modern democratic authority. Social constructionists argue that constructions of sexuality–categories of understanding sexual practice–vary among nations, cultures, classes, and subcultures In Richard Parker's work with Herbert Daniel, Sexuality, Politics, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Brazil, it is argued that understanding sexual culture in Brazil is a crucial prerequisite to any examination of the introduction, spread, and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS among Brazilian people. The structure of gender serves as the foundation on which all sexual claims, desires, and practices are organized. The categories of masculinity and femininity serve as the basis for sexual socialization throughout the life-course, though particularly so during the formative years of childhood and adolescence. The ideology of the erotic in Brazil can be seen as linked to the ritual of Carnival. Drug use and its consequences are growing concerns throughout much of Brazil.
