Community Health and Prevention, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Department of Health Promotion and Policy, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.
Am J Mens Health. 2023 May-Jun;17(3):15579883231181570. doi: 10.1177/15579883231181570.
Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) inequities are well documented for historically excluded youth (i.e., youth of color, LGBTQIA+ youth, youth with disabilities, recently im/migrated youth) living in the U.S. Northeast. However, the lived experience of male-identifying young people from historically excluded backgrounds in ASRH remains largely unexamined. The purpose of this paper is to present findings related to male-identified perspectives on social constructions of sexuality, sexual and reproductive health, and sexuality education. A research team composed of two local youth-serving organizations, eight youth researchers, and university researchers, used Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) methods to examine how structural violence contributes to inequitable ASRH outcomes for historically excluded youth. Photovoice and community mapping were used as YPAR methods. We also completed individual interviews on the same topic with the youth and with 17 key stakeholders that either provide services to youth or are emerging adult service recipients. Community-driven data reveal two major themes around the silencing of male-identified voices in ASRH: lack of culture-centered and gender-expansive approaches for ASRH, and the subsequent toll of sexism and (cis)gendered social and educational norms on young people. Our findings highlight that sexuality education, cisgender hetero culture, and social norms have put the onus of responsibility on people identifying as women for sexual and reproductive health. An unintended consequence of that is that young people identifying as men may feel powerless and uninformed around their own SRH. Our findings illustrate the importance of using culture-centered and gender-transformative approaches to ASRH to address inequity.
美国东北部，历史上被边缘化的青少年（即有色人种青年、LGBTQIA+ 青年、残疾青年、新移民青年）的青春期性与生殖健康（ASRH）不平等现象已有大量记录。然而，历史上被边缘化的男性认同青年在 ASRH 方面的真实体验在很大程度上仍未得到研究。本文旨在介绍与男性认同者对性的社会建构、性与生殖健康以及性教育的看法相关的研究结果。一个由两个当地青少年服务组织、八名青年研究人员和大学研究人员组成的研究团队，使用青年参与式行动研究（YPAR）方法，研究了结构性暴力如何导致历史上被边缘化的青少年在 ASRH 方面的不平等结果。照片实证法和社区绘图被用作 YPAR 方法。我们还就同一主题对青年和 17 名关键利益相关者进行了个人访谈，这些利益相关者要么为青年提供服务，要么是即将成年的服务接受者。社区驱动的数据揭示了在 ASRH 中男性认同声音被压制的两个主要主题：缺乏以文化为中心和性别包容的 ASRH 方法，以及随之而来的性别歧视和（顺性别）社会和教育规范对年轻人的影响。我们的研究结果表明，性教育、顺性别异性恋文化和社会规范将性和生殖健康的责任归咎于女性。其带来的一个意想不到的后果是，认同男性的年轻人可能会感到无能为力和对自己的 SRH 缺乏了解。我们的研究结果说明了使用以文化为中心和性别转换的方法来解决不平等问题的重要性。
