Compared to a large body of
work on how gender may affect young women's vulnerability to HIV, we know
little about how masculine ideals and practices relating to marriage and
fertility desires shape young men's HIV risk.
Using life-history interview data
with 30 HIV-positive and HIV-negative young men aged 15-24 years, this
analysis offers an in-depth perspective on young men's transition through
adolescence, the desire for fatherhood and experience of sexual partnerships in
rural Uganda.
Young men consistently reported the desire for fatherhood as a
cornerstone of masculinity and transition to adulthood. Ideally young men
wanted children within socially sanctioned unions. Yet, most young men were
unable to realise their marital intentions. Gendered expectations to be
economic providers combined with structural constraints, such as limited access
to educational and income-generating opportunities, led some young men to
engage in a variety of HIV-risk behaviours. Multiple partnerships and limited
condom use were at times an attempt by some young men to attain some part of
their aspirations related to fatherhood and marriage.
Our findings suggest that
young men possess relationship and parenthood aspirations that - in an
environment of economic scarcity - may influence HIV-related risk.
Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/8cwVC4
By:
- 1 Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health , Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health , New York , USA.
- 2 Department of Gender and Women's Studies , University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison , USA.
- 3 Independent Scholar , Dar es Salaam , Tanzania.
- 4 Rakai Health Sciences Program , Entebbe , Uganda.
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