COMMUNITYSCENE www.indianlink.com.au A Kinsey-style report on the A research study on sexual health in migrant Indian men could contribute to their future health and happiness, says an Indian researcher Indian community in Oz BY JYOTI SHANKAR In 1948, Alfred Kinsey created a furore with his ground-breaking research into the sexuality of human males. Now Vijay Ramanathan, an Indian researcher at Sydney University, has embarked on researching the sexual health of Indian male migrants, a subject of farreaching implications for the migrant group and the way it assimilates into its adopted culture. "Sexuality is the core component of being human. It is not just the act of sex, but also about how you think and how you relate to others," says Vijay. According to him, sexual behaviour is determined by a number of factors ranging from the place where you have spent most of your life, culture, religion, family values, health, your interaction with others in the community, amongst a host of other factors. Vijay's research aims to study if these factors indeed impact Indian migrants and how, as well as the areas of life they impact on, and the implications this has for the health and happiness of Indian origin men. It is also a topic that is not frankly or seriously discussed among the Indian community, though his preliminary studies show that it does have a great impact on migrants from the Indian sub-continent as they undergo the process of acculturation into this new society. "Many doctors can treat a sexual infection, but I am more interested in examining the issue holistically and understanding how I can help people to improve their general health" (Vijay) Vijay Ramanathan When people of different cultures are thrown together, there is a process of change and transference that occurs between both, followed by a process of adjustment and acceptance. Sociologists define acculturation as the process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group. It may manifest as Assimilation which is a strong identification with the host culture and society, and a weak identification with their ancestry; Integration, which is when an individual combines a strong dedication to their origin, but also a commitment and conformity to the host society; Marginalisation, which manifests in a weak dedication to or strong detachment from, both the host culture and the culture of origin; and, Separation, wherein the migrant shows an exclusive commitment to the culture of origin even after years of migration, with weak involvement in the host culture. (Source ­ inter-cultural models, John Berry). 20 <> DECEMBER (1) 2010 Now we have all observed our friends and acquaintances, and possibly ourselves too, exhibiting such varying degrees of acculturation. Vijay says that not all people acculturate in the same manner or to the same extent, and the impact of this on sexual health is what interests him. Because of taboos associated with issues around sexual health, people often seek help and information from dubious sources. Vijay says that because of this, people are conned into bogus remedies and made to part with large sums of money with a promise of instant solutions. But there is no instant solution for sexual problems ­ sexual infections could be contained with medicines, but one needs to explore the deeper issues of the problem. The problem of erectile dysfunction is not just a physiological problem of lack of blood supply to the area, but is often the precursor of cardiovascular problems. It could be because of issues relating to weight and obesity. Vijay, a registered medical practitioner in India moved to Sydney in 2005 to do his Masters in Medicine, specialising in sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV medicine. He got interested in sexual behaviours when he realised that to control STI and HIV, which was a product of sexual behaviour, he would first need to understand these behaviours. Sydney University is a world leader in the field sexual health education, he says. He decided to stay on to do a PhD in Sexual Health of Indian Migrant Men Living in Australia. This thesis aims to study the impacts of migration on attitudes toward human sexuality, sexual behaviours and sexual health of Indian men living in Australia. "Many doctors can treat a sexual infection, but I am more interested in examining the issue holistically and understanding how I can help people to improve their general health," Vijay explains. Vijay wears a few hats as he works towards his doctoral thesis ­ he works for Central Sydney GP Network Ltd which provides education and support to general practitioners. He also is an Accredited Sexuality Therapist, practising at Bondi Junction and is an honorary lecturer at the Sydney University. He also runs an online service via www. sexualhealthindia.com, where people can access unbiased and non-judgemental information on matters of sexual health. "Always look for credibility when you access information over the internet," says Vijay. "Earlier there was the problem of lack of information, but these days it is the other way around ­ a lot of it, but much of it may be wrong. There are no instant cures, people do need to realise this and not fall into a trap." When asked why his study is restricted to men, Vijay explained that the first stage of his research was speaking to a focus group in which 25 men participated, and being a male investigator, he was not comfortable talking about sexuality to women. A female colleague of his is now replicating the same study with South Asian women. A majority of the men in the focus group were Indians who are the major South-Asian group in Sydney, but the findings could possibly be generalised to migrants from South Asia. "Themes we got from the focus group suggested that acculturation is influencing a change in attitudes. To collect more quantitative data we are doing the online survey wherein we can get objective validated tools to prove this," says Vijay. He is looking to collect surveys from a sample of four to six hundred Indians (readers can participate anonymously at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/ WEB22BE4RHXXRL) from about 200,000 males living in Australia. It covers a range of topics about sexual behaviour, attitudes, perceptions and help-seeking behaviours. Following this research, Vijay hopes to use its learning to implement a plan to improve the health of migrants. "I want my PhD tied to community welfare and I want to see how this research can be transferred to the Indian community of 20 million Indian across the globe," he asserts. He wants patients to get educated and thus empowered. Vijay has post-doctoral work also lined up ­ researching how religion and media influence attitudes and behaviour. He also believes that there is a wealth of information in Hindu literature, but it is not expressed in a way that a lay person can understand. Everyone has heard about the book Kama Sutra but how many of us can claim to have read it, I wondered. Vijay believes that Kama Sutra is a fantastic guide to sensual satisfaction in a mindful way. "Sexuality is about thinking (which is about love), expressing (which is about eroticism) and doing (the actual sex act). Medical doctors and the scientific world do not speak enough about the pleasure aspect, about how to increase bonding," he says. Simplifying the Kama Sutra - that's another project in the offing for Vijay, it seems! INDIAN LINK