By Ilse Bulit

I am listening to the radio. It is just another interview with an imperfect woman speaking about her perfect husband. She can not over-praise him enough: "He helps me a lot. I was able to complete my university studies thanks to him. He takes our son to the day-care center. He cooks better than I do". A few accidental, skin-deep examples show how easily the chain breaks. I do not question the existence of men who really believe they are responsible for supporting their families. I am not in doubt either about the fact that younger generations have a better understanding of this than their predecessors. I would like to think that these behavioral changes flow like a powerful waterfall rather than like a drought-stricken river with a dropping volume of running water. When I asked a reporter about her long list of interviews, in which most women did not speak honestly about their couple relations, she answered me that her guests were afraid of causing a row and annoying their husbands if they revealed the truth.
There is no doubt: The impact of double standards, which have for centuries provided a pretext for hypocrisy, is no trivial matter.

By Dixie Edith

After listing the qualities of a workmate, a man on a television spot says: He has a different sexual orientation, but that does not matter. And immediately afterwards, he asks viewers: Does it matter to you? Broadcast in the evening over Cubavisión, a national TV channel, this and other messages in the form of cartoons, where same-sex couples appear, have raised the issue of sexual diversity in the island. "When I saw it for the first time, I thought I had misunderstood it", said Rolando Domínguez, a 21-year-old art student. "I had heard a lot about Strawberry and Chocolate and the impact of this film when it was premiered. I was very young at the time, he told SEMlac. There came The hidden side of the moon. There were many loose ends in this television soap opera", he stressed. "The good thing about the spot is that it raises the issue, gives food for thought, and urges to take action", he emphasized. These messages and other communication actions have a lot to do with HIV/AIDS prevention work, indicated Raúl Regueiro, coordinator of the Men Having Sex with Men (MSM) Project, at the National Prevention Center for STIs, HIV and AIDS.