Review - The Wisdom of Whores

[By Jamie Cusworth - First published in ForgePress 7 November]

For many of us, the circumstances surrounding the transmission of the HIV virus may seem simple. You practise unsafe sex, or you share needles.

The Wisdom of Whores, the work of Elizabeth Pisani, a scientist who has worked in the field for a decade, reveals that the issue is not quite so simple. Pisani’s account takes us on a whirlwind tour of the sex underworld of places varying from Jakarta to Nairobi, through the brothels, gay clubs, slums and massage parlours, providing riveting interviews with the people whose practices help spread the pandemic.

No subject is deemed too controversial for Pisani, due in part to her evident reporter’s curiosity, leading to a bizarrely compelling read. Indeed, the concept of the ‘waria’, a type of transsexual prostitute popular among South East Asian men, is so alien to a Western audience that you can’t help but read on in an effort to understand such an unconventional mentality.

Her investigation into the transmission of the disease is morbidly compelling, as is the revelation that simple statistics regarding sexual practises can never suffice to determine the most high-risk groups. Further to the simplest assumptions regarding how HIV is spread, Pisani emphasises that who is having sex, with whom, how often, and in what context, all create variables meaning it becomes too difficult to find a simple solution to the problem. Most worrying of all, perhaps, is the speculation that readily available medication for HIV has created a somewhat blasé attitude among gay men in particular, leading to irresponsible behaviour.

In the end, Pisani boils it all down to one key issue: responsibility. If everyone used condoms and clean needles, the epidemic would undoubtedly go away. Making them readily available and changing people’s attitudes are the problems. Let’s just hope those who can make a difference take on board Pisani’s advice, as it comes from a person who clearly knows her subject and can write about it in a hugely entertaining manner