"Women's bodies are shops": beliefs about transactional sex and implications for understanding gender power and HIV prevention in Tanzania
"Women's bodies are shops": beliefs about transactional sex and implications for understanding gender power and HIV prevention in Tanzania
Although transactional sex has been linked to undesirable sexual health outcomes, there is a lack of clarity as to the meaning of the practice, which appears to extend beyond behaviors related to women's economic circumstances. This article explored the perspectives of parents and unmarried young people on motivations for, and beliefs about, transactional sex in rural Tanzania using an ethnographic research design. Data collection involved 17 focus groups and 46 in-depth interviews with young people aged 14-24 years and parents/caregivers. Transactional sex was widely accepted by both parents and young people. Male parents equated sexual exchange to buying meat from a butcher and interpreted women's demand for exchange before sex with personal power. Young men referred to transactional sex as the easiest way to get a woman to satisfy their sexual desires while also proving their masculinity. Young women perceived themselves as lucky to be created women as they could exploit their sexuality for pleasure and material gain. They felt men were stupid for paying for "goods" (vagina) they could not take away. Mothers were in agreement with their daughters. Although young women saw exploitation of the female body in positive terms, they were also aware of the health risks but ascribed these to bad luck. Interventions aimed at tackling transactional sex in the interests of women's empowerment and as a strategy for HIV prevention need to understand the cultural beliefs associated with the practice that may make it thrive despite the known risks.
Wamoyi, Joyce
5b8d6738-8538-4493-b15d-3ea8be2e0c14
Fenwick, Angela
95a1f4fa-7f6f-4c07-a93b-9ea39c231c31
Urassa, Mark
00e0ab52-c0b3-4067-932e-66b0ea24e672
Zaba, Basia
e5d3b7e2-e51a-4b2d-a6cd-c90d152623f0
Stones, William
e1cb5658-a244-49fc-b1f5-e805fbc1f309
21 July 2010
Wamoyi, Joyce
5b8d6738-8538-4493-b15d-3ea8be2e0c14
Fenwick, Angela
95a1f4fa-7f6f-4c07-a93b-9ea39c231c31
Urassa, Mark
00e0ab52-c0b3-4067-932e-66b0ea24e672
Zaba, Basia
e5d3b7e2-e51a-4b2d-a6cd-c90d152623f0
Stones, William
e1cb5658-a244-49fc-b1f5-e805fbc1f309
Wamoyi, Joyce, Fenwick, Angela, Urassa, Mark, Zaba, Basia and Stones, William
(2010)
"Women's bodies are shops": beliefs about transactional sex and implications for understanding gender power and HIV prevention in Tanzania.
Archives of Sexual Behavior.
(doi:10.1007/s10508-010-9646-8).
(PMID:20652390)
Abstract
Although transactional sex has been linked to undesirable sexual health outcomes, there is a lack of clarity as to the meaning of the practice, which appears to extend beyond behaviors related to women's economic circumstances. This article explored the perspectives of parents and unmarried young people on motivations for, and beliefs about, transactional sex in rural Tanzania using an ethnographic research design. Data collection involved 17 focus groups and 46 in-depth interviews with young people aged 14-24 years and parents/caregivers. Transactional sex was widely accepted by both parents and young people. Male parents equated sexual exchange to buying meat from a butcher and interpreted women's demand for exchange before sex with personal power. Young men referred to transactional sex as the easiest way to get a woman to satisfy their sexual desires while also proving their masculinity. Young women perceived themselves as lucky to be created women as they could exploit their sexuality for pleasure and material gain. They felt men were stupid for paying for "goods" (vagina) they could not take away. Mothers were in agreement with their daughters. Although young women saw exploitation of the female body in positive terms, they were also aware of the health risks but ascribed these to bad luck. Interventions aimed at tackling transactional sex in the interests of women's empowerment and as a strategy for HIV prevention need to understand the cultural beliefs associated with the practice that may make it thrive despite the known risks.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: 21 July 2010
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 169101
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/169101
ISSN: 0004-0002
PURE UUID: 76f4c3c2-ee64-4712-8dca-ad32b1a8d073
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 09 Dec 2010 14:28
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:19
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Joyce Wamoyi
Author:
Angela Fenwick
Author:
Mark Urassa
Author:
Basia Zaba
Author:
William Stones
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics