From the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the United States, cases of the disease in men have outnumbered cases in women, and this disparity has played a powerful role in constructing the epidemic's male profile. Early cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among male homosexuals, injection drug users (IDUs), and hemophiliacs reinforced this profile. Table 1 in Chapter 1, which breaks down transmission categories by gender, demonstrates this male profile of the disease.

As a result of the male profile of AIDS, the impact of the epidemic on women in America has often been underemphasized and even overlooked. To understand the magnitude of this epidemic, there is a need to construct a female profile for it. The aim of this book is to create such a profile by describing the sociological impact of the epidemic on women, including women who are caregivers. The figures cited in this book will be for the United States only, unless otherwise stated.

Women's risk of infection from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cannot be understood without closely examining gender roles and gender stratification. Toward this end, this book documents the relationship between poverty and HIV disease. In particular, this book will show that the concept of the “feminization of poverty” is vital to understanding the position of women in this epidemic.

Although the control and containment of the epidemic of AIDS among heterosexuals depends on male behavior, few studies have focused on the role of men in elevating women's risk patterns. Another aim of this book is, therefore, to thoroughly examine the behavior of heterosexual men as a determinant of women's elevated risk for HIV/AIDS.