Abstract
Although young people in Zimbabwe are becoming sexually active at a very early age, there is no unified body of knowledge on how they regard sex and construct sexuality and relationships. In many circumstances adolescence sexual agency is denied and silenced. This study explored adolescents’ discourses on sexuality, factors affecting adolescent sexuality, and sexual health. Fusing a social constructionist standpoint and an active view of agency, we argue that the way male adolescents perceive and experience sexuality and construct sexual identities is mediated by the sociocultural context in which they live in and their own agency. Although adolescents are mistakenly regarded as sexual innocents by society, we argue that male adolescents are active social agents in constructing their own sexual realities and identities. At the same time, dominant structural and interactional factors have a bearing on how male adolescents experience and generate sexuality.
Highlights
This study explores empirically adolescents’ construction of sexuality
Against representations that associate children with sexual innocence, this study examined adolescents’ discourses on notions of sexuality as well as their sexual health as it has been demonstrated that their needs are different from those of adults
It is generally recognized that African adolescents are sexually active and suffer from consequences of routine unsafe sexual practices such as teenage parenthood, illegal abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV/AIDS
Summary
This study explores empirically adolescents’ construction of sexuality. According to Nyanzi [1] sexuality is constructed as the domain exclusive to adults with preconditions of physical and social maturity. Notions of child sexuality are often viewed as taboo, antithetical, nonissues, or even dangerous and cause for moral panic Such perceptions of “unknowledgeable or ill-informed adolescents” and “high-risk adolescents” are rife in the literature on youth and HIV/AIDS [2]. Longstanding tropes of sexual innocence position the child as an object of concern, thwarting sexual curiosity [5] In spite of such narrow conceptualizations of children, a number of studies demonstrate that adolescents are active sexual beings. Adolescents in Zimbabwe face unprecedented challenges; among them are sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS, high levels of teenage pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and limited access to sexual and reproductive health rights [10]. There is unavailability of youth friendly Sexual and Reproductive Health services (SRH) and adequate related information contributing to young people engaging in sexual behaviors that put them at risk of HIV infection
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