In South Africa, contemporary research on adolescence and sexuality is undertaken within the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The type of information communicated is informed by research that has sought to identify specific factors that increase youth vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
Defining 'risk' and 'prevention'
Parents as primary sexuality educators
Parent-adolescent conversation on the topic of sex and sexuality is perceived to be an effective tool to encourage adolescents to adopt responsible sexual behavior. Research shows that parent-adolescent conversations about sex are more likely to focus on issues such as pregnancy, birth control, abstinence, HIV/AIDS, and other STDs (DiLorio et al, 1999;
Other sources of sexuality information
Numerous studies indicate that adolescents feel more comfortable talking with friends about sex and sexuality-related topics (eg, DiLorio et al., 1999; Pistella & Bonati, 1998), and that peers play a unique role in the acquisition and transmission of information and values about sexuality (Guzman et al, 2003; Moore & Rosenthal, 1993; Rozema,.
Contextualising sex talk: South African findings
It can be argued that this increases the stigmatization of already vulnerable individuals because it associates HIV/AIDS (or other sexually related 'risks') with particular group membership. It is necessary at this point to explain the relationship between gender and HIV/AIDS.
Context and mediation
Research that seeks to contextualise sex and sexuality-related issues in South Africa increasingly focuses on the way in which sexual behavior is mediated by social and cultural factors. This approach represents a fundamental shift from traditional psychological approaches that narrowly focus on internal (mental) processes in which the individual is the basic unit of analysis.
HIV/AIDS messaging
This change in research focus makes HIV/AIDS messages that continue to promote behavior change at the individual level inconsistent with contemporary approaches to understanding human sexual behavior. If social and cultural values and practices within a particular context have the effect of mediating sexual behavior within that context, then it is reasonable to assume that the social and cultural context must also mediate the way we talk about sex.
Concepts: sex, sexuality, talk, and communication
In other words, research in this area currently seeks to understand what hinders or facilitates the translation of safe-sex messages into safe-sex practices.
Theoretical framework
This was extended and theoretically integrated into the concept of mediated action in what has since become known as the second generation of activity theory (Engestrom et ah, 1999). The second generation of activity theory was influenced by the work of Leont'ev (1981), who expanded the distinction between individual action and collective activity by focusing on the division of labor.
Talk as a form of activity
In this regard, the researcher refers to Davydov (1999), who argues that communication and activity should not be seen as separable entities. Davydov (1999) reasons that communication and activity are inextricably linked, because collective and individual activity is realized in the form of social relations, and that communication is an expression of these relations (Davydov, . 1999).
Extending the framework: third generation Activity Theory
However, this can be explained by third-generation activity theory, which extended the previous generations to include at least two interacting activity systems. This is an aspect of activity theory that will be taken into account in the analysis of data.
Summary of literature review
To further investigate the role of social and cultural factors mediating activity, the current study selected participants from a different social and cultural context. In order to clarify how social and cultural factors have influenced the behavior of individuals in this context, the oral histories of individuals of different ages have been accessed through personal interviews.
CHAPTER TWO
Aim and rationale
Research question
Methodology
- Research design
- Sampling
- Data collection
- Research procedure
- Method of analysis
- Ethical issues
As mentioned earlier, the researcher intended to personally conduct all interviews and focus group discussions. Magnetic tapes and hard copies of interview transcripts were stored in a locked cabinet in the researcher's office. In the first part of the results section, the core codes for the participants' conversation on the topic of sex are presented.
Contextualizing sex
Cathy and then when you're married, when you get married, what would it be like if all your parents' friends came and you didn't wear a veil, because that means you enjoyed having sex. There is also an awareness of the threat of contracting HIV through sexual intercourse, and that condoms are not completely effective in this regard. Participants who view sex as a heterosexual activity indicate that heterosex is considered the norm in this community.
Responsibility normatively associated with engaging in sexual activity
The ambivalent attitudes illustrated in these extracts may reflect how young people's experiences of gay friends interrelate (contrast, conflict, and sometimes converge) with their portrayal. The Jill pill came out around the early sixties (.) and really changed the whole scenario. Jill because (.) um (.) the worst thing a girl could do in those days was get pregnant.
Coercive sex
What is particularly surprising about this extract is the change in adhesiveness initiated by Beth in the second half of the extract. Mandy not the council (.) but at the beginning of the leaf (.) where you write letters. The conversation on this topic was not pursued in the interview because it obviously caused great discomfort to the participant.
Taboo issues identified in peer talk
Pornography as a source of information about sex and sexuality was only mentioned in the 8th grade focus group discussion. Beth the tea bag is like when the guy dips these like two little round things into the bird's mouth and then the golden shower. As illustrated above, participants in the focus group discussion appeared to be quite bold.
Adolescents preference for peer talk
Jill's final comment in extract 28 about peer talk and the way in which “girls give other girls a bad name” indicates a risk association with talking about sex, and especially when it comes to talking about one's own experiences. In extract 29, female youth argue that young men have more opportunities to talk about their sexual experiences because social and cultural norms within this society validate male sexuality. The first part of the results chapter dealt with the way in which young people talk about sex among peers.
Too young for sex
Beth exactly why it's a ho for a chick and then it's nothing for a guy (.) a guy can go and screw 10 million chicks in a year and you can make two guys in a year and you're a bitch. Group WHEN YOU MARRIED Lisa NO sex before you marry Cathy when your parents. Although the researcher pointed out that she was asking the group what age they thought was appropriate to start having sex ("when do YOU think"), the group unanimously responded by shouting.
Silencing talk about experiences
In response to the researcher's question about parents' concerns regarding sex, Tracy responds by saying, "we're too young to be doing this," indicating that, aside from these risks, her parents will not tolerate she becomes sexually active at her age (14). years). After determining that not everyone in the group prescribed this norm, the researcher attempted to clarify how the participants saw their parents' position on this ("but what do your parents tell you?"), at which point the group agreed unanimously. agreed that their parents ascribed this norm. In contrast, parents of today's adolescents talk about the "risk" of unintended pregnancy in terms of its impact on future prospects ("you'll have to drop out of school" and "you won't get a nice job").
Sex was never discussed
The approximate age difference between Renee and the focus group participants is 22 years, which means that she is old enough to be in the same age group as the focus group parents. The mention of HIV/AIDS in this case was significant because it represents the only instance in all the interviews and focus group discussions where a participant recalled talking to her parents about HIV/AIDS. Below is an extract from the only instance in all of the interviews and focus group discussions where a participant refers to a conversation with a parent on the topic of sexual abuse.
Parental regulation of adolescent sexuality
This shows an inconsistency in the conversation between parents and adolescents, in which mothers talk about risks and protection, but where the conversation on this topic stops when adolescents can ask for (or be given) contraception. The theme of the talk about sexuality (risk) is therefore mediated by unequal gender relations in a community in which the consequences of an unintended pregnancy are expected to be borne by women rather than men ("you will have to drop out of school and you will not be able to go abroad and find a good job, but you will always have this little person who will accompany you"). Within this community, parents and teens are given scripts to talk about sex.
Summary of results
None of the participants in this study, regardless of age, talked about their experiences with violent or coercive sex with a parent. A central feature of the results of this study was that participants' conversations about the topic of sex were framed by normative ideals: social and cultural values and beliefs about doing and doing appropriately. The discussion of the results will therefore be framed in terms of the rules that mediate sexual conversations between adolescents, their parents, and peers within this community.
Rules and the activity of talk
Normative ideals framing talk
Many of the ideals identified in the results of this study relate to some extent to relationships, and in particular to participants' understanding of the context in which sex occurs. The significance of relationships in participants' contextualization of sexual initiation is interesting when one considers that relationships do not feature as a significant topic in the literature on parent-adolescent sexuality. However, the lack of focus on relationships in the literature on parent-adolescent sexuality talk can be explained.
Factors mediating mother's talk
In this group, additional concerns in mother-daughter sexuality discussions included HIV/AIDS (Extract 36) and child sexual abuse (Extract 37). An analysis of mother-daughter sexuality talk using Engestrom's (1999) activity system model reveals the tensions and contradictions that mediate talk in this context. In the contemporary conversation about sexuality between mother and daughter, the tensions and contradictions that mediate the mother's speech emerged primarily between the various rules that mediate activity in the system.
Factors mediating daughters' talk
The results of this study indicate that this ambivalent positioning played a significant role in mediating mother-daughter sexuality talk. However, based on the participants' accounts of their debut experiences, it appeared that half (n=4) of the interview participants' first sex experiences involved coercive or forced sex. In line with some of the interview participants' forced or compulsive first sex experiences.
Factors mediating peer talk
The results show that adolescents' access to a wider range of sex-related information is reflected in the area of contemporary conversation with peers. In the literature review it was noted that homosexuality has been a historically marginalized area of research. In light of this, it is arguable that talking with peers provides a platform for teenagers to talk about issues related to sex and sexuality that they.
Parent and peer talk: different activities
While the finding that parent and peer conversations on the topic of sex are two different and distinct activities is quite clear, it problematizes parent-adolescent discussions about sex. This is not to say that peer talk and parent-teen talk do not have elements in common. Normative values and ideals espoused in parent-adolescent sexuality conversations, such as the framing of sex within the context of marriage, also presented in conversations with peers.
Summary
CHAPTER FIVE
Concluding remarks
Recommendations
Limitations of the study
In relation to the issue of transferability, it was noted in the methodology section that the ethnicity of two participants in the 8th grade focus group discussion was 'coloured' rather than 'white'. From the comments of these individuals in the focus group discussion, it appeared that they had more conservative attitudes towards sex than their 'white' peers. One example of this was the way an article about lesbianism prompted a conversation about the issue of homosexuality in an 8th grade focus group discussion.
Participation is voluntary, names and all identifying information will be withheld, sensitive nature of the research i.e. the researcher will answer any further questions about this research now or at any time during the course of the project. The researcher will answer any further questions about the research, now or at any time during the project.
INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS CONSENT FORM
