Staying strong: gender ideologies among African-American adolescents and the implications for HIV/STI prevention.
This paper explores adolescents' definitions of what it means to be a man and a woman, the psycho-social context surrounding the formation of gender ideologies and their relationship to HIV/STI prevention. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with fifty African-American adolescents living in Baltimore, Maryland. Female gender ideologies included economic independence, emotional strength and caretaking. Male gender ideologies emphasized financial responsibility, toughness and sexual prowess. Findings suggest that stronger adherence to male gender ideologies related to toughness and sexual prowess is influenced by male participants' perceived inability to fulfill their primary gender role as economic providers and the importance of gaining approval from male peers in the absence of adult male role models. Stronger adherence to female gender ideologies related to emotional strength and caretaking may be linked to a heightened desire for male intimacy and tolerance of male sexual risk behavior. Implications of the gender ideologies documented and their commonalities are discussed in terms of HIV/STI prevention.
Kerrigan
Deanna
D
John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Social and Behavioral Interventions Program, Department of International Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. dkerriga@jhsph.edu
Andrinopoulos
Katherine
K
Johnson
Raina
R
Parham
Patrice
P
Thomas
Tracey
T
Ellen
Jonathan M
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D015142:Baltimore; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D010379:Peer Group; D011203:Poverty; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population