XI. VENEREAL DISEASES AND CONDOMS

Another behavior associated with machismo is to argue that men refuse to use condoms and protect themselves from venereal diseases as a sign of virility.⁹¹ The traditional interpretation is that men are permanently demonstrating their capacity to have sex to others and one way to do so it by showing the “consequences”. If we consider that alcohol and active and varied sexuality put people at risk, it is hardly surprising that STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) form part of the menu. However, as we shall see, the lack of prevention is more the result of compartmentalization than a way of showing their manhood. Strange theories about the non-venereal nature of STDs, discussions among friends and the shame of being seen with sex workers, suggest that truckers do not boast about their sexual exploits or about their venereal diseases.

Truckers are well aware of sexually transmitted diseases. Those most frequently mentioned in the region are, in order of importance, gonorrhea, Aids and chancre, with percentages above 90% (Table No.10). Another well-known disease is syphilis (76%) and genital herpes is known to half of those surveyed. The option “others” was mentioned by 30%. The truckers are also aware of the main symptoms. For example, the oozing of pus and a burning sensation when urinating, typical of gonorrhea, are the best known symptoms (92% and 82% respectively)⁹². The sores or lesions (present in syphilis, chancre and herpes), and the bad odor (present in chancre and gonorrhea) and itching (present in chancre) were other symptoms mentioned by large percentages (70%, 75% and 74% respectively). Other symptoms were mentioned to a lesser degree.⁹³

It seems that truckers’ considerable scientific knowledge of these symptoms can be explained not only by the possible information they may have received, but also by their experience of the disease. For example, 67% knew a trucker who had been infected with a disease, and 73% believe it is common or very common for truckers to contract an STD (Table No.11). When they were asked about their own individual experience, 43% admitted to having been infected some time in his life, with gonorrhea being the most frequently mentioned disease (71% of those who had been infected at some time).

During the in-depth interviews, we also obtained evidence of the considerable levels of STD infection among truckers. Carlos told us that “once I felt a lot of burning in my penis and it was a venereal (disease).” Juancho admitted “I suffered from gonorrhea once” and Enrique said, “I’ve been hit several times by gonorrhea”. Juan gave a more detailed account:

I’m familiar with syphilis, gonorrhea and chancre. There are many venereal diseases that can destroy you if you don’t stop them in time. When I had it, my penis oozed and when I urinated it was punishment, like putting salt on a wound. It burned so much and if I got turned on it was another problem, because that hurt too.

Jose also explained what happened to him:

Once I got hit with gonorrhea. I slept with a woman one Saturday afternoon and on Sunday morning I work with a fever. Then I told a friend that I had terrible body ache, fever and everything. He said it was flu and when I said it was very painful to pee he said, “hey, man, you got the clap!”

It is interesting to note that when they were asked about their perception of being at risk, few truckers thought they had a high probability of contracting a disease now or in the future. In general, they consider this probability to be low (59% said it is low at present and 41% considered it low in the future) (Table No.12).

Evidence that truckers are not proud of STD’s and that these do not increase their manliness is the belief that these are not always transmitted sexually. This helps even the sufferers to attribute their infection to other factors. Victor said he had “caught the clap several times, but sometimes it appeared without my having sex, it just appeared for no reason.” Although Victor insists the disease appeared out of the blue, Barbas mentions more specific ways of catching it.

I’ve never suffered from that, but they say that colds can produce venereal disease. I also had a friend who suddenly caught the clap and it wasn’t because he’d had sex with an infected woman. Sometimes it’s because of something you drink or the food, when something upsets your stomach.

Soft drinks and food were mentioned as examples mentioned of ways in which such diseases are transmitted. Jose explains why this can happen with food.

I’ve been infected twice at work without having gone near a woman. I’m being honest with you, because I have no reason to lie. The blood has its weaknesses and sometimes the body gets out of control because of chemicals produced by the food, so you end up with a venereal disease. It’s happened to me without having a woman and I’ve been surprised.

Bathing when one is hot is another way of becoming infected, though microbes may also lurk in toilets. Roberto expounds briefly on this matter.

There are situations when you sweat a lot, and your body gets all hot and you take a shower. That’s how you can get a venereal (disease) like gonorrhea. But you can also catch it in the toilet, because that’s where the microbes are and it can get into you without having sexual relations.

Colds may also lead to infection. This is linked to bathing when hot. Carlos explains how he caught „the clap’.

I had the clap, but I caught it without having sex. I was told I had caught it through a cold. It so happened that after doing a trip of more than 300 kilometers, the heat was intense and I took a shower and went to sleep. That was on a Sunday and on Thursday I noticed that my underpants were stained and I squeezed (my penis) and saw pus coming out. So I realized that I was sick. As I wasn’t married in those days, I told my father. He took me to a doctor who prescribed penicillin. Then it went away. Since then I never bathe when I’m hot.

Mario has been infected twice, once when young and another time when he was older and married. Mario’s powers of persuasion are such, that even his wife believed him.

I’ve never used a condom and I’ve only had gonorrhea twice, but not because of women but because of colds. The first time when I was fourteen and the second time when I was married. When I was fourteen I worked in the countryside. I’d start very early in the morning and leave at two in the afternoon. Once I bathed in cold water when I was hot and I got gonorrhea. The second time, when I was married, I had to dig a cesspit and one day I left work at four in the afternoon and went to bathe. Then I had sex with my wife and I got it again. I was cured with injections and neither my wife nor I could understand how it happened.

A final aspect that should be mentioned is that many truckers are ashamed of seeing a doctor and they consult each other. Sometimes, the cure is immediate, such as when they suffer from crab lice. Carlos describes the case of an assistant he once had.

I had an assistant who had crab lice. When I saw him scratching a lot I asked him why he touched his penis so much. He told me and asked me to help him. We took his pants down and put diesel on him. We did this three or four times until it disappeared.

If venereal diseases are seen as the logical consequence of using their organ-vehicle, the antidotes are hardly surprising. The use of diesel to eliminate crab lice, for example, is mentioned frequently. Vito claims he has never suffered from sexually transmitted diseases, he has only had crab lice three times.

I’ve never had those diseases, I’ve been lucky. I’ve only had fleeting things, like the one they call crab lice. I’ve had that three times. I have a cure to exterminate them. That’s what diesel is for.

Juancho’s ailment forced him to lie to his wife.

Condoms

We are interested in analyzing condom use: what are truckers’ attitudes to condoms? How much are they used? When? Why are they not used?

When we asked truckers about condom use, we found a number of different views. Some, Like Enrique, suggest that condoms are not part of their culture.

I doubt very much that truckers carry condoms. Prostitutes don’t either. When guys have been away from home for a month, they don’t think about things like that. When they have a lot of desire, they forget about it.

Paul has a personal opinion about the lack of condom use among the men in his trade.

Most drivers are married, but when a woman appears, that’s it! I think 100% will worry and 2% will use a condom, that’s all. In short, nobody’s interested in Aids or venereal diseases. Only a few take care of themselves.

Carlos reveals that, although many truckers are aware that condoms prevent sexually Transmitted diseases, they are not used in practice.

We all know that we have to use them. I think most guys know that they must protect themselves from diseases. But when the hour of truth comes, they’re not interested, they only think about the moment, they close their eyes, and away they go, like lambs to the slaughter.

At the other extreme are Marvin and Paul, representing those who suggest that condoms are a part of truckers’ culture. Marvin claims that “if you ask any driver for a condom, he’ll always have one. You can be without diesel, but not without condoms!” Paul has a similar view. “If you ever get to check the trucks with a search order or a special permit, you’ll find condoms in each truck.”

Some like Mario have a middle-of-the road position on condom use, affirming that “some do, some don’t.” Victor also gives us an estimate of how much condoms are used:

There are some that do and some that don’t. I think it’s around half. The problem is, the pleasure you get is different. Without a condom it feels good, but when you use one it’s like wearing a cover and it takes away the sensation. That’s why many don’t use a condom, because they don’t like it.

The questionnaire distributed to 400 truckers gives a more accurate picture of condom use among this group. We found that 18% of drivers were carrying condoms at the time of the interview (Table No. 13). This percentage indicates that, approximately one-fifth of these men have immediate access to a condom. In other words, if an opportunity for sex had arisen at the time of the interview, one in five would have had the option of using a condom immediately.

More precise data indicates that 40% currently use a condom and a similar percentage have used a condom at some time. The remaining 20% said they had never used one. Based on this information, we can say that condom use among this group is average. However, the frequency with which it is used shows that only 15% use condoms always, in other words, a relatively low level. Condom use among the rest is irregular, in terms of frequency, even though it is known that to prevent sexually transmitted diseases condoms should be used always, in a consistent manner.

The reasons for using condoms always are as protection from STDs and to avoid infecting one’s partner. Marvin says he uses condoms “all the time, every time, to avoid diseases. “ Andres says he has made the decision to always use a condom, even though he doesn’t like them.

When I have a fling I always use one, otherwise, I prefer to beat a retreat, as they say. But it’s not the same. It’s never going to be the same. It’s better to have sex in the flesh, but if I do it that way, I’ll end up like the others, with a venereal disease or Aids. (Andres)

Other truckers said that they do not use condoms with their regular partner, but always use one when they have an “adventure”. This means that when there’s trust, the condom is discarded. Rafael is one such case:

Others corroborate this phenomenon of trust.

I use condoms, but with women I don’t know. You have to know a woman’s background to trust her. Of course, it’s not the same using a condom as doing it in the flesh, but it’s the only way to avoid diseases. Of course at home I don’t use one, because I’ve lived with my wife for fifteen years, and thank goodness, there haven’t been any problems. (Miguel)

I’ve used a condom with women I don’t trust. But when I see that it’s a family woman, who’s separated from her man for some reason, and the marriage isn’t going well, then I go for it. If I were to use a condom with them they’d feel like a street person, unclean. But if I have sex with a woman off the street that I don’t know, then I put one on. (Jose)

Javier admits that he seldom uses a condom, because seldom needs to. This is the strategy behind his decision:

If I had to use one, I would. And sometimes I use one, but I hardly ever need to. I feel safe with the person I’m with. You have to study the way they look, the way they think, the way they see things. I’m always examining them.

Napo is among those who only use condoms with prostitutes that they do not know. He even believes that prostitutes who are known to him use a condom with other clients, but since he is their friend, he is not at risk.

Such trust can lead to dangerous decisions that expose people to infections.

Another factor that discourages condom use is pleasure. According to Carlos, truckers who dislike condoms will pay a sex worker more for not having to use one. Rodrigo says truckers are very obstinate about this and that the women increase the price for sex without condoms.

Prostitutes might say “I don’t do it without a condom”, but sometimes they need to earn the money that they guy’s going to pay them, so they do it without. Others who don’t need the money so much charge extra for doing it without a condom.

Concern over loss of pleasure is so deeply ingrained in some truckers, that they simply prefer not to use condoms. The study revealed that 66% of truckers believe that condoms reduce sexual pleasure and 42% believe it can lead to a loss of erection (Table No. 13). Napoleon, an exponent of this view, says “it’s better without a condom, with a condom it’s ugly.” Paul confesses that he has never used one because “it’s uncomfortable”. Vargas explains, “I feel bad. I’ve tried it three times in my life and I feel bad”. Julio believes the best way to protect oneself is to only have sex with one’s wife, but we all know that doesn’t happen, “anyway, I don’t use it because with condoms I don’t feel anything.”

Pablo gave an account explaining, among other things, why he has never used one:

I had a relationship with a woman who was a widow. She was older and caught my attention for four long months. When I finally decided to talk to her, in a supermarket, I told her I was a trucker. She was so surprised that she dropped the packet of cookies she was buying and I saw that she wasn’t too keen on my job. So I decided to leave, because she made me feel bad. The story is that a couple of days later she came looking for me and said I was different from the rest, that I seemed more educated. Imagine, at the time I didn’t know what to think…we had sex for a long time. Before going home she said she thought that I would use a condom. And I said that I never used them and I didn’t have any on me, which was true. Then she said that if I’d used a condom, I would have given the impression that I go to bed with anyone. She was happy that I hadn’t used one. Up to now I haven’t used one, because I don’t go with just anyone. I had a lot of sex with her during the two or three months we were together, but then she left me for someone else.

Another argument used by truckers who have never used condoms, or do not use them at present, is the extreme view that death lies in wait everywhere, so why bother to protect oneself? Julio said he had never used a condom because “I’m not afraid of death”. For Antonio, condoms are not part of his world: “What for? It’s our fate and we have to die of something.” Ramiro was more philosophical and more explicit:

In this world the only thing we know is that we know nothing. We don’t know what we’re going to die of. I could have a fatal accident tomorrow, and it happens I don’t want to die in an accident. I don’t want to die of cancer either, but tomorrow in the hospital they might tell me I have it. Who wants Aids? Does a condom guarantee that I won’t be infected? Rubbish! I could get it anytime. So, it’s better to live life…

There are other reasons for not using condoms. The physical examination was most frequently mentioned. Rodrigo explains:

I don’t use a condom, but I know when a woman’s from the street. What I do first is to check for an odor. I do it casually, putting my finger into her vagina. For me it’s forbidden to introduce anything (the penis) unless it’s properly checked. If I smell or see something bad, I get up and leave.

Others mentioned different ways of carrying out a physical examination, such as checking for blemishes on the skin, tattoos and dark circles under the eyes. Roberto not only conducts a physical examination but “I also examine them psychologically, their past life and sexual record.” There is considerable creativity. Jose says he has a friend with a very particular style of doing things.

The guy told me that after having a woman he drinks five or six beers to prevent any disease. He thinks that by taking sufficient liquid into the body, he can pee a lot and that it washes out (any disease). He also said it’s a good way to clean out the duct and that he’s never been infected. I really don’t know what to think about that.

Prevention and masculinity

Truckers, like many other groups in the population, know the advantages of using condoms, but most do not use them. The traditional explanations for this phenomenon have already been presented. However, we were interested in finding our more about the relationship that exists between a compartmentalized masculine culture and prevention.

In order to explore this question more fully, we asked Cirino if he could tell us what he feels when he has an erection and puts on a condom. He confessed that the problem for him was not so much the sensation, but changing from an “erotic module” to a “preventive module”. He said prevention is an activity associated with women, who are usually responsible for family health matters. When he has an erection he tends to think about “totally masculine” activities such as penetration, and he cannot stop to “show concern about health” because he would lose his erection. Carlos admits that what bothers him most is to include in the sexual act “something that has to do with medicine”, like the condom. “When you’re thinking of putting it in and then you have to think about diseases, it takes the pleasure out of sex,” he confesses. Luis, who has difficulty maintaining an erection when he has to think about “laboratory things”, expresses the same view. Having to shift from an erotic discourse to a scientific one makes him lose interest.

Compartmentalization also includes people. Heriberto considers that his girlfriend and her friends are part of his “romantic” world and that casual dates are from the “erotic” world. In the world of romance and passion, venereal diseases do not exist. Thus, he has no problem using a condom with a prostitute, but would not use one with his girlfriend, whom he loves. Pedro also feels that Aids belongs to the world of “passion”, never to domestic life. He therefore uses a condom with his lover, but not with his wife.

Ervin has taken this polarization to extremes. Once he had a sex orgy with two female friends, his girlfriend and two truckers. He did not use a condom with his girlfriend, even though she was participating in the orgy. But he did with the two female friends. He took off and put on a condom, according to which of the three women he was penetrating. We asked him about this contradiction and he admitted that what he did was not logical, but that he could not convince his companions to use a condom and he did not want to “show a lack of trust to my girlfriend”.

Tito has a similar reaction. When he had group sex with three companions and a prostitute, he put on a condom after Henry, a very promiscuous trucker, had possessed the woman. However, the one who followed was Ernesto, a “guy I trust” and so when it was his turn again he took off the condom. His attitude varied in accordance with the degree of trust he had in each man.

If the people with whom condoms are used vary in accordance with the sexual compartments that are invoked, places and organs also come into the equation. Carlos, for example, thinks that he should use a condom when he visits a brothel. However, when he knows the woman and invites her to ride in the truck, “I don’t use a condom, because I only invite women I know into my truck, so I normally don’t use them on trips. In other words, it is used or not used even when the same woman changes venues from a brothel to a trailer. Cirino only uses condoms when he has sex with a woman for the first time. But on the second date, these women pass into another category, or compartment, of trusted friends, and so a condom is not used. Norberto has an even stranger idea. When he penetrates a woman through the rectum, he uses a condom, but when he penetrates her vagina he takes it off. He considers that Aids is an anal disease, not a vaginal one.

Apparently, the fact that sexual discourses in Latin America are so “compartmentalized”, means that a fusion of some with others, in the middle of the sex act, can disorient men. Moreover, another element aggravates the situation: subscribing to the “hydraulic” view Of sexuality, which regards the body as a machine moved by energy and mechanical reactions, makes men lose control when they have to change pace or place.

Mario explains how his idea that he feels a “pressure in the balls and that when I begin to fuck nothing can stop me until the semen explodes” means that he cannot tolerate any periods of rest or interruptions necessary to put on a condom. Pepe, for his part, is convinced that to achieve organism women need “non-stop penetration that gets stronger each time”, and that if he stops to put on a condom “the poor thing has to heat up all over again and start from zero.” Alan thinks that girlfriend is convinced that his penis is very big because he usually dries it quickly with the sheets and that if she sees him putting on a condom she’ll lose the idea that he’s “punishing her with a hot iron rod.” In the case of Luis, the interlude of silence between taking out his penis and putting on a condom makes him lose the erotic excitement of penetrating and talking “vulgar”. Apparently, he finds it difficult to “talk dirty” and “put on a condom”, because to do the first he need to have his “dick inside”.

Machos, it seems, do not feel more macho because they are infected with venereal disease, or because they reject the condom par excellence. The main reason lies in the high level of compartmentalization. Truckers themselves are aware that from the time they were children they were “trained” that sexuality is governed not by absolutes but by circumstances.

I’m going to tell you a story. When I was around 12 years old, my Dad caught me masturbating in my mother’s bathroom. He kicked me out and gave me a bloody nose. „You disgusting kid’, he yelled at me. „Why don’t you jack off in your own bathroom?” My mistake, as far as he was concerned, was to have used the wrong bathroom. (Julio)

My Dad took me to a brothel when I was 14 years old to make me into „a man’. However, when he found me in bed with my girlfriend he smashed my face and yelled: „you respect this house, you dirty kid!’ (Luis)

My brother-in-law told me very firmly that anal sex was only for whores, He said if he ever found out that I’d screwed his sister in the ass, he would kill me. (Cirino)

My father was a very sexual man. One day I saw him sodomizing a neighbor, a kid who was ten years old, behind our back yard. The he told me that if I wanted to begin having sex to do it with little boys, but not with girls, because I could get into trouble. He also told me that if I screwed them it was okay, but God help me if he found out that I was practicing passive sex! (Noe)

These behaviors reflect an enormous concern for maintaining certain spaces, people and practices separate. They also suggest that Latin masculinity is characterized by drastic splits between these and the prohibition of combining them. Thus, STDs and problems with condom use are a reflection not so much of macho principles, but rather of the consequences of their contradictions.

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⁹¹ Rafael M. Díaz, Latino Men and HIV…

⁹² Burning or painful urination also occurs with herpes and urethritis. However, the latter was not included in the questionnaire.

⁹³ Symptoms related to HIV-AIDS were not included in the questions, since the emphasis was on other STDs.