Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Global Health (IHCAR), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Glob Health Action. 2010 Jul 14;3. doi: 10.3402/gha.v3i0.5092.
The perspectives of heterosexual males who have large sexual networks comprising concurrent sexual partners and who engage in high-risk sexual behaviours are scarcely documented. Yet these perspectives are crucial to understanding the high HIV prevalence in South Africa where domestic violence, sexual assault and rape are alarmingly high, suggesting problematic gender dynamics.
To explore the construction of masculinities and men's perceptions of women and their sexual relationships, among men with large sexual networks and concurrent partners.
This qualitative study was conducted in conjunction with a larger quantitative survey among men at high risk of HIV, using respondent-driven sampling to recruit participants, where long referral chains allowed us to reach far into social networks. Twenty in-depth, open-ended interviews with South African men who had multiple and concurrent sexual partners were conducted. A latent content analysis was used to explore the characteristics and dynamics of social and sexual relationships.
We found dominant masculine ideals characterised by overt economic power and multiple sexual partners. Reasons for large concurrent sexual networks were the perception that women were too empowered, could not be trusted, and lack of control over women. Existing masculine norms encourage concurrent sexual networks, ignoring the high risk of HIV transmission. Biological explanations and determinism further reinforced strong and negative perceptions of women and female sexuality, which helped polarise men's interpretation of gender constructions.
Our results highlight the need to address sexuality and gender dynamics among men in growing, informal urban areas where HIV prevalence is strikingly high. Traditional structures that could work as focal entry points should be explored for effective HIV prevention aimed at normative change among hard-to-reach men in high-risk urban and largely informal contexts.
鲜有文献记录异性恋男性的观点，这些男性拥有包含多个同时性伴侣的庞大性网络，并从事高风险性行为。然而，这些观点对于理解南非的高 HIV 流行率至关重要，南非的家庭暴力、性侵犯和强奸率高得令人震惊，这表明存在有问题的性别动态。
探讨在拥有庞大性网络和同时性伴侣的男性中，男性气质的构建以及他们对女性及其性关系的看法。
这项定性研究是在对艾滋病毒高危男性进行的一项更大规模的定量调查中进行的，使用受访者驱动抽样来招募参与者，长的推荐链使我们能够深入到社交网络中。对 20 名拥有多个同时性伴侣的南非男性进行了深入的、开放式的访谈。使用潜在内容分析来探讨社会和性关系的特征和动态。
我们发现，主导的男性理想特征是明显的经济权力和多个性伴侣。拥有庞大同时性网络的原因是，他们认为女性过于有权力、不可信，并且无法控制女性。现有的男性规范鼓励同时发生性关系网络，而忽略了 HIV 传播的高风险。生物学解释和决定论进一步强化了对女性和女性性行为的强烈负面看法，这有助于使男性对性别构建的解释两极分化。
我们的研究结果强调了在 HIV 流行率极高的不断发展的非正式城市地区，需要解决男性的性行为和性别动态问题。应该探索传统结构，作为有针对性的切入点，以便在高风险的城市和大部分非正式环境中，针对难以接触到的男性，开展旨在实现规范改变的有效 HIV 预防工作。
