Discursive Construction of Sexuality among School Going Adolescents in Kenya

Abstract

Adolescents grapple with many social issues as they strive to cope with the physical, social, and emotional changes that they are experiencing. This is not made any easier by the dictates of the social cultural values in the communities they live in. However, due to socio-economic and political changes many of these values are gradually being abandoned as the adolescents negotiate for their space and construct their individualities in ways they so choose. This paper focuses on one aspect of these individualities: adolescent sexuality. The paper argues that language as an element of culture and identity is important in understanding the adolescent’s world of sexuality. Through Discourse Analysis particularly van Djik’s framework adopted from “Politics, Ideology and Discourse” this paper explores the discursive strategies in the construction of adolescents’ sexuality. Seven strategies are discussed as featuring dominantly in adolescents’ discourse on sexuality: disclaimer, authority, categorization, euphemism, metaphors, number game and hyperbole. These strategies are seen as a means by which adolescents naturalize and rationalize their sexual behaviour. It is hoped that these findings will add to the existing body of knowledge on sexuality discourse and inform stakeholders involved in designing youth sexuality programs in Kenya