Safe sex and constructions of young male sexuality in one semi-rural Western Cape community

Abstract

Young people in South Africa are at risk of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In efforts to address these reproductive health problems, the dominant focus so far has been on young women. There is an increasing awareness that males need to be involved at all levels of reproductive health, and the importance of researching young men's sexuality has been emphasised. Sexuality researchers also argue for localised understandings of sexuality, because sexuality and sexual behaviour are likely to have different meanings for adolescents living in different communities. This article reports on the qualitative findings of a larger study that aimed to explore the sexuality of young heterosexual males living in a Coloured ¹ , semi-rural community in the Western Cape. The focus was on investigating adolescent men's constructions of their own sexuality and the implications for safe sexual behaviour. Social construc-tionist grounded theory was used to analyse interviews conducted with 7 young men between the ages of 16 and 18. It was found that these young men constructed their sexuality as being driven by physiological and social forces. It is argued that such a construction limits their ability to take responsibility for their own and their partners' reproductive health.

Keywords:

• male sexuality
• adolescent sexuality
• safe sex
• social construction
• grounded theory
• sexually transmitted diseases
• rural South Africa

The authors are mindful of the fact that the use of racial categories in South African scholarship is controversial. Such categories are socially constructed and carry important social meanings (Swartz, Gibson & Gelman, 2002). Leading South African psychological researchers (see for instance Walker & Gilbert, 2002) have argued that the use of such categories in social research is important in that it serves to highlight the impact that Apartheid had on specific groups of people. In this paper we make a further attempt to clarify our use of the term.

The authors are mindful of the fact that the use of racial categories in South African scholarship is controversial. Such categories are socially constructed and carry important social meanings (Swartz, Gibson & Gelman, 2002). Leading South African psychological researchers (see for instance Walker & Gilbert, 2002) have argued that the use of such categories in social research is important in that it serves to highlight the impact that Apartheid had on specific groups of people. In this paper we make a further attempt to clarify our use of the term.

Notes

The authors are mindful of the fact that the use of racial categories in South African scholarship is controversial. Such categories are socially constructed and carry important social meanings (Swartz, Gibson & Gelman, 2002). Leading South African psychological researchers (see for instance Walker & Gilbert, 2002) have argued that the use of such categories in social research is important in that it serves to highlight the impact that Apartheid had on specific groups of people. In this paper we make a further attempt to clarify our use of the term.