'The Wisdom of Whores' by Elizabeth Pisani - Book Club Questions

Elizabeth Pisani's The Wisdom of Whores is a witty, humorous page-turner that covers AIDS from angles most readers will have never considered. Use these book club discussion questions on The Wisdom of Whores to delve into Pisani's ideas with your book club.

Spoiler Warning: These book club discussion questions on The Wisdom of Whores by Elizabeth Pisani reveal important details about the book.

1. Why do some "warias" refuse to have a sex change operation?

2. When and where did Elizabeth Pisani first meet a prostitute?

3. What is a PEHRB and what do phrases like this suggest about the UN?

4. What type of sexual partnerships does Pisani say help spread HIV in Africa? How are these different from common Western patterns of sex?

5. What's a "beat up?" What are some examples of "beat ups" used to gin up dollars for HIV?

6. Why might government agencies offer better services for those infected with HIV and at risk, than NGOs?

7. Do people like to get HIV related support from those they are apparently similar to? Prostitutes like getting help from prostitutes? Gay men form gay men? Injectors from injectors?

8. What are Pisani's key points to addressing the spread of HIV?

9. What major myths and attitudes stand in the way of effective HIV prevention and treatment?

10. Rate The Wisdom of Whores on a scale of 1 to 5.