While HIV researchers have attempted to respond to the call for culturally relevant work, significant, if unintentional, distortions can occur. Space and time limitations in presentation often mean that the complexity of cultural norms and their related influences are diminished or lost. Over time, this can lead to “conventional wisdom” about a culture which greatly diverges from important realities of that culture. A number of considerations described here may be beneficial in preventing this kind of over-simplification and distortion from occurring.