Poison in the honey
Schifferdecker, Karen Elizabeth / 2000

Research on the risk of HIV/AIDS among youth in Africa has often focused on sexual behaviors, but does not describe the larger contexts in which they take place. In addition, much of the research frames youth sexuality in terms of problems and consequences, without exploring youth's constructions of sexuality. My research looks beyond reported sexual behaviors for HIV risk by examining the role of gender ideologies in shaping the sexuality of female and male youth in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the connection of these ideologies to the larger contexts of their lives. Topics include an overview of the socio-economic features of Tanzania, a description of how adolescents become involved in sexual relationships, sexual behaviors within the context of these different relationships, and meanings attached to these relationships. Youth were trained to assist in the collection of in-depth interviews (N = 120), focus group discussions (N = 17), structured interviews (i.e., freelists, pilesorts), observations, and a random survey (N = 403) of youth between the ages of 13 and 22, both in- and out-of-school, living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.