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PDF hosted at the Radboud Repository of the Radboud University Nijmegen The following full text is a publisher's version. For additional information about this publication click this link. http://hdl.handle.net/2066/56076 Please be advised that this information was generated on 2021-10-08 and may be subject to change. ABC_Cover 1214207 23:12 Pagina 1 A n The ABC o u The ABC k of unsafe sex a v Gendered sexualities of young a n of unsafe sex people in Dakar (Senegal) E e r d _ e Gendered sexualities of The ABC of unsafe sex takes a critical perspective on mainstream research w and policies on AIDS in general, and young people’s sexual and reproductive i j _ Anouka van Eerdewijk k young people in Dakar (Senegal) health in particular. Central are the intimate lives and sexual relationships of Dakarois girls and boys. Contrary to dominant norms valuing virginity, _ young people in Dakar are sexually active prior to marriage. They are, T however, not universally practising safe sex, as amongst others is signified h by the number of unwanted teenage pregnancies. Unsafe sex also exposes e them to HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. This thesis investigates A B how the safe sex practices, or lack thereof, of unmarried girls and boys are C embedded in the construction of their gendered sexualities. o f u The largely qualitative analysis is based on participant observation, n secondary statistical data, and most importantly ‘talking about sex’ with s Promotieplechtigheid a young people, aged 16 to 23, in focus group discussions and individual f Donderdag 1 maart 2007 e interviews. How do these Dakarois girls and boys of varying backgrounds 13.30 uur precies s look at intimate relationships, love and sex? What kind of relationships e Aula van de x are they engaged in? What strategies do they adopt to protect themselves Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen against unwanted pregnancies and HIV infections? Comeniuslaan 2, Nijmegen Distancing herself from the behavioural paradigm and the notion of ‘African Vanaf 20.00 uur feest sexuality’, Anouka van Eerdewijk builds on the social constructionist and in café Vivaldi’s intersectional understanding of both sexuality and gender. By understanding Waalkade 66, Nijmegen gendered sexualities as performative, space is created to explore the agency of both girls and boys to practice abstinence, fidelity or condom use – the three strategies in the ABC approach to safe sex. The ABC of unsafe sex Paranimfen provides an alternative perspective on safe sex by showing how it is affected Yvonne Bekkers by processes of giving meaning and interpretation. 06-52697764 Anne Kempers 06-18683202 Anna-Karina Hermkens ISBN 90-9021515-8 _ Anouka van Eerdewijk 020-7718895 ABC_Inhoud 1215207 00:07 Pagina 1 The ABC of unsafe sex _ Gendered sexualities of young people in Dakar (Senegal) ABC_Inhoud 1215207 00:07 Pagina 2 ABC_Inhoud 1215207 00:07 Pagina 3 The ABC of unsafe sex Gendered sexualities of young people in Dakar (Senegal) Een wetenschappelijke proeve op het gebied van de Sociale Wetenschappen Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen op gezag van de rector magnificus prof. dr. C.W.P.M. Blom volgens besluit van het College van Decanen in het openbaar te verdedigen op donderdag 1 maart 2007 des namiddags om 13.30 uur precies door Anouka Huiberta Jacqueline Maria van Eerdewijk geboren op 25 mei 1973 te Loon op Zand ABC_Inhoud 1215207 00:07 Pagina 4 Promotor Prof. dr. W.H.M. Jansen Copromotor Dr. F.Th.M. van Driel Manuscriptcommissie Prof. dr. L.J. de Haan (Rijksuniversiteit Leiden) Prof. dr. A.P. Hardon (Universiteit van Amsterdam) Dr. L.S. Nencel (Vrije Universiteit) This publication has been realized with the financial support of the J.E. Jurriaanse Stichting and the Radboud University Nijmegen. © Anouka van Eerdewijk, 2007 ISBN 90-9021515-8 Cover design, graphics and layout: Erna van Eerdewijk Printed by: Ipskamp B.V. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm or any other means, without prior written permission from the author ABC_Inhoud 1215207 00:07 Pagina 5 - Contents List of maps, tables and figures ix List of abbreviations x Preface xi 1 – Introduction 1 1 Dakar: a first impression 2 Religion, politics and urban poverty 5 Young people in Dakar 7 Policy interventions on young people’s sexual and reproductive health 9 2 The international debate 11 Sexual and reproductive health and rights 12 Young people’s sexuality 14 Questioning premarital sexuality 15 3 Conceptualising safe sex and gendered sexuality 15 Sex and safe sex 16 Safe sex in surveys 17 The social construction of sexuality 20 Discourse, subjectivity and agency 22 Gender, girls and boys 24 4 Research questions: safe sex reconsidered 26 5 Choice of Dakar - Senegal 28 6 About this thesis 31 2 – Studying sexuality: Theories and methods 35 1 AIDS discourse and ‘African sexuality’ 35 The Caldwell thesis and ‘African AIDS’ 36 Critiques on the African permissiveness thesis 38 Hegemonic AIDS discourse: ‘cultural barriers’ 40 An alternative perspective and the notion of ‘culture’ 42 2 Notes on methodology 44 Young people participating in this study 45 Intersubjectivity, positionality and performativity 49 ABC_Inhoud 1215207 00:07 Pagina 6 Talking about sex in the field 53 Access, consent and risks of participation 56 Research methods and techniques 58 3 – Being in-between 63 1 An in-between life stage 63 Defining adolescence and young people 64 Less family, more individual 66 2 What it means to be a youth in Dakar 71 Moving towards independence and responsibility 72 Peers and friends 75 Being young: not being married 76 3 Premarital sexuality and virginity: broken ideals 80 Virgin girls and potent boys 81 The wedding night: ‘jéballe’ 82 The social significance of virginity 85 Changing realities 88 4 Capturing the sexual activity of young, unmarried people in numbers 90 Age of sexual experience versus age of marriage 91 Premarital pregnancies and STI infections in young people 96 5 Conclusion 98 4 – Boys 101 1 Moussa and his girlfriends 102 2 Identifying types of girls 103 The ‘real’ girlfriend: love without sex 104 The ‘easy’ girls: sex for exchange 106 From typologies to reality 109 3 Sexual experiences of boys 111 4 Needs, pleasure, and ‘seizing the occasion’ 114 The social construction of boys’ sexual desire 114 Boys in a dominant position 119 5 Beyond hegemonic masculinity: ambiguity about control 121 Surprise and provocation 121 Embarrassment and insecurities: reconsidering abstinence 124 6 Conclusion 128 5 – Girls 131 1 Aida and her boyfriends 132 2 Love and the ideal boyfriend 135 The ideal of love 135 Why talk about love? 138 3 Money, presents and negative judgements 141 ABC_Inhoud 1215207 00:07 Pagina 7 4 What girls do not talk about: sex 144 “You should not even think about it” 145 A hypothetical case 148 5 Glimpses of pleasure 152 6 Sex, pleasure and female desire 154 A sex account: Ndèye 155 Talk of needs and desire: Nafissatou and Penda 158 7 Exchange, love and the sexual agency of girls 160 Judgements about materialism 160 Agency of girls 164 8 Conclusion 168 6 – (Un)safe sex 171 1 Statistics on knowledge and use 172 2 Abstinence, desire and sexual acts 178 3 Fidelity, monogamy and multiple partnerships 181 4 Condom use, ‘surprise’ and trust 183 Negative attitudes 184 Difficulties in practice 185 5 Match or mismatch: gendered sexualities and safe sex agency 189 Girls’ agency for safe sex 190 Boys’ agency for safe sex 192 Contradictions, indecisiveness and societal tensions 194 6 Conclusion 198 7 – Conclusions 201 1 Female and male premarital heterosexuality 203 The intimate lives of Dakarois girls and boys 204 Gender, love and exchange 208 2 The ABC of unsafe sex 210 Meanings of ABC strategies 210 Agency to practice safe sex 212 Beyond the medical and the individual: culture and negotiation 216 3 Policy implications 217 Glossary 221 Annex 225 References 235 Nederlandse samenvatting 257 Conclusions en français 265 Curriculum Vitae 287 ABC_Inhoud 1215207 00:07 Pagina 8 ABC_Inhoud 1215207 00:07 Pagina 9 List of maps, tables and figures Maps Map 1.1 Senegal, with the Cape Verde peninsula and Dakar in the mid-west 3 Map 1.2 Dakar: neighbourhoods and suburbs at the Cape Verde peninsula 4 Tables Table 2.1 Characteristics of groups of research participants 48 Table 2.2 Focus Group Discussions and Individual Interviews 60 Table 3.1 Sexual activity of unmarried women 92 Table 3.2 Sexual activity before marriage 93 Table 3.3 Virginity at marriage 95 Table 6.1 Knowledge of options to protect against HIV infection 175 Table 6.2 Condom use during last sexual encounter 177 Figures Figure 1.1 HIV prevalence in Senegal according to age 29 Figure 3.1 Marital status and sexual experience 94 ix ABC_Inhoud 1215207 00:07 Pagina 10 List of abbreviations ABC of safe sex Abstinence, Being faithful and Condom use as the three prevention strategies against HIV infection AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome CERPOD Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche sur la Population pour le Développement CRLP Center for Reproductive Law and Policy DCYP Dutch Council on Youth and Population (Raad Jongeren en Bevolking) EDS Enquête Démographique et de Santé (Demographic Health Survey) (I to IV) ESAM Enquête Sénégalaise Auprès des Ménages (Senegalese Household Survey) FGD focus group discussion Franc CFA Franc de la Communauté Financière Africaine GEEP Groupe pour l’Etude et l’Enseignement de la Population HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HDR Human Development Report ICPD International Conference