"The Night is Young" takes us past the the stereotypes of macho hombres and dark-eyed senoritas to reveal the complex nature of sexuality in modern-day Mexico. Drawing on field research conducted in Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city, Hector Carrillo shows how modernization, globalization and other social changes have affected a wide range of hetero- and homosexual practices and identities. Carrillo finds that young Mexicans today grapple in a variety of ways with two competing tendencies. On the one hand, many seek to challenge traditional ideas and values they find limiting. But they also want to maintain a sense of Mexico's cultural distinctiveness, especially in relation to the United States. For example, while Mexicans are well aware of the dangers of unprotected sex, they may also prize the surrender to sexual passion, even in casual sexual encounters - an attitude which stems from the strong values placed on collective life, spontaneity and an openness toward intimacy. Because these expectations contrast sharply with messages about individuality, planning and overt negotiation commonly promoted in global public health efforts, Carrillo argues that they demand a new approach to AIDS prevention and education in Mexico. A Mexican native, Carrillo has written an insightful and accessible study of the relations between sexuality and social change in Mexico during the time of AIDS. Anyone concerned with the changing places of sexuality in a modern and increasingly globalized world should profit greatly from "The Night is Young".

About the Author
Hector Carrillo is a researcher at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Center for Community Research of the Institute on Sexuality, Inequality, and Health at San Francisco State University.

Reviews
"This timely work offers a remarkable look at the sexual lives of both heterosexuals and homosexuals in contemporary Mexico. Hector Carrillo enters the complex worlds of masculinity, marriage, and dating in that country, and provides a rich and persuasive analysis of how AIDS and HIV have vastly transformed sexual culture." - Gilbert Herdt, author of Same Sex, Different Cultures



Book Information
ISBN 9780226093031
Author Hector Carrillo
Format Paperback
Page Count 379
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 23mm * 16mm * 2mm