The Socio-Cultural Context of Adolescents’ Notions of Sex and Sexuality in Rural South-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Interest in the socio-cultural context of adolescents’ sexual knowledge and behaviour has proliferated recently. But the irony is that very little of this debate is informed by what adolescents themselves say about sex, sexuality, and their experiences of them. This study uses data emerging from a survey of adolescent boys in rural south-eastern Nigeria to track the influence of socio-cultural forces on adolescents’ views of sex, sexuality, and sexual relationships. Findings suggest that social gatekeepers (parents, mass media, peers, teachers and others), local gender norms, and cultural narratives about sex, sexuality, and sexual expectations exert considerable influence on adolescents’ ideas of sex, sexuality, and relationships. We argue that the mediation of adolescents’ notions of sex and sexuality by prevailing and deeply embedded patriarchal norms of gender relations and sexuality may facilitate unsafe sexual practices among male adolescents and sustain the cultural devaluation of women. We conclude that sexuality education programmes urging courses of action, which involve only individual adolescents, must find ways to identify and reach out to those groups and individuals that are critical to shaping the behaviours and views of adolescents on sex and sexuality.