7 - Adolescent Sexuality and Culture: South African Mothers` Perspective
Corresponding Author(s) : Pilot Mudhovozi
African Sociological Review,
Vol. 16 No. 2 (2012): African Sociological Review
Abstract
This study explores South African mothers’ perspective on adolescent sexuality within their cultural prism. Forty-four (44) mothers were purposefully selected for the study. Data was collected through six focus group discussions. The results indicated that culturally embedded reasons inhibited mothers from effectively imparting knowledge about sexuality to their daughters.
Insufficient information, lack of role models and fear of sensitising their daughters to sexuality issues were other inhibitory factors.
Keywords
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- Aggleton, P. and Rivers, K. (1998). ‘Behavioural interventions for adolescents’ in L.Gibney, R.DiClemente and S. Vermund (Eds.) Preventing Hiv infection in developing countries. New York: Plenum publishers.
- Aggleton, P. and Warwick, I. (1997).‘Young people, sexuality, HIV and AIDS education’. In L. Sherr (Ed.) AiDS and adolescents. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Harwood Academic publishers.
- Alan Guttemacher Institute (1994). Sex and American teenagers. New York, Author. Balmer, D.H., Gikundi, E., Billengsley, M.C., Kihuho, F.G., Kimani, M., Wang’ondu, J. & Njoroge, H. (1997).
- Adolescent knowledge, values and coping strategies: implications for health in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of adolescent health, 21,33- 38
- Bang, R. A., Bang, A. T., Baitule, M. Choudhary, Y., Sarmukaddam, S. and Tale, O. (1989). High prevalence of gynaecological diseases in rural Indian women. lancet, 1(8629), 8-88.
- Blanche, M.S. and Durrheim, K. (1999). Research in practice applied methods for social science. Cape Town: University of Cape Town.
- Brown, J.D. and Keller, S.N. (2000). Can the mass media be healthy sex educators. family planning perspectives, 32(5), 255-256.
- Creswell, J.W. (1994). Research design qualitative and quantitative approaches. London: Sage Publications.
- Croft, C.A. and Asmussen, L. (1992). Perceptions of mothers, youth and educators: a path toward détente regarding sexuality education. family relation, 41(4), 452-459
- Delius, P. and Glaser, C. (2002). Sexual socialization in South Africa: a historical perspective. African studies, 61(1), 28-54.
- Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.) (1998). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. London: Sage Publications.
- De Vos, A.S. (Ed) (1998). Research at grass roots: a prime for the caring professions. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
- Durkin, K. (1995). Developmental social psychology: from infancy to old age.Cambridge: Blackwell.
- Friedman, H.L. (1993). Overcoming obstacles to good adolescent health. Network, 14(2), 4-5.
- Fuglesang, M. (1997). Lessons for life-past and present modes of sexuality education in Tanzania society. Social science and medicine, 44(8), 1245-1254.
- Garenne, M., Tollman, S., Kahn, K., Collins, T. and Nwoga, S. (2001). Understanding marital and premarital fertility in rural South Africa. Journal of Southern African studies, 27 (2), 277-291
- George, A. and Jaswal, S. (1995). ‘Understanding sexuality: ethnographic study of poor women in Bombay’. Women and AIDS research report no 12. Washington DC: International Center for Research on Women.Gupta, G. R., Weiss, E. and Mane, P. (1996). Talking about sex: a prerequisite for AIDS
- prevention. In L.D. Long and E.M.
- Ankrah (Eds.). Women’s experiences: an international perspective. New York: Columbia University Press.
- Hoffman, N. D. and Futterman, M. D. (1996). Youth and HIV/AIDS in J. Mann and D. Tarantola (Eds.). AiDS in the world ii: Global dimensions, social roots and responses. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Hollander, D. (2000). Has there been a talk about sex? Teenagers and their mothers often disagree. family planning perspective, 32(4), 199-202.
- Holloway, I. (1997). Basic concepts for qualitative research. London: Blackwell science.
- Huberman, B. K. (2003). Age appropriate sexuality education: what to tell your children and when with Barbara Huberman. live events transcript archive @ WebMD Health.
- Hutchinson, M.K. (2002). The influence of sexual risk communication between parents and daughters on sexual risk behaviour. family relations, 51(2), 238-247.
- Jaccard, J., Dittus, P.J., and Gordon, V.V. (1998). Parents adolescents congruency in reports of adolescence sexual behaviour and in communications about sexual behaviour. Child Development, 69 (1), 247-261.
- Jaccard, J. and Dittus, P.J. 1991). Parent-teen communication: toward the prevention of unintended pregnancies. New York: Springer-Verlag.
- Klein, M., and Gordon, S. (1992). Sex education. In C. E. Walker and M. C. Roberts (Eds.), Handbook of clinical psychology (2ⁿᵈ ed., 933-949). New York: Wiley.
- Krueger, R.A. (1994). focus groups: a practical guide to applied research (2nd Ed). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
- Lovelife. (2002). Lovelife report on the effectiveness of sex education in South Africa. Johannesburg.
- Malinowski, B. (1932). The sexual lives of savages in North-Western Melanasia. London: Routledge.
- Mashego, T. A. B. (2000). Perceptions of father-daughter incest in African families with special reference to the mothers’ role: A cultural contextualization for intervention. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of the North, South Africa.
- Nduna, M., Jama, N. and Jewkes, R.(2001).“Stepping stones: preliminary findings”. Paper presented at AiDS in context conference.Johannesburg,University of the Witwatersrand, Patton, M. Q. (1987). How to use qualitative methods in evaluation. London: SAGE.
- Petchesky, R. P. and Judd, K. (Eds.) (1998). Negotiating reproductive rights: women’s perspectives across countries and cultures. New York: Zed Books
- Ponton, L. (2001). The sex lives of teenagers: revealing the secret world of adolescent boys and girls. Child and adolescent behaviour letter: The Brown University.
- Rafferty, Y., and Radosh, A. (1997). Attitudes about AIDS education and condom availability among parents of high school students in New York City: A focus group approach. AiDS Education and Prevention, 9(1), 14-30.
- Rosenthal, D.A. and Feldman, S.S. (1999). The importance of importance: adolescents’ perceptions of parental communication about sexuality. Journal of Adolescence, 22, 835-851.
- Runganga, A. O. Aggleton, P. (1998). Migration, the family and the transformation of a sexual culture. Sexualities, 1(1), 63-81.
- SAHR. (2000). National youth Policy. Reproductive Health Research Unit.
- SEICUS (2001). Issues answers: facts sheet on sexuality education. SEiCUS Report, 29 UNAIDS (2000). Report of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Geneva, Switzerland. Vasconcelos, A., Neto, A., Valenca, A., Braga, C., Pacheco, M., Dantas, S., Simonetti, V. and Garcia, V. (1993). Sexuality and AIDS prevention among adolescents from low-income communities in Recife, Brazil. Women and AIDS research program reports-in-brief. Washington DC: International center for research on women.
- World Health Organization (1995). Women and AIDS: an agenda for action. Geneva: Author.
- Zelaya, E., Marin, F.M., Garcia, J. Berglund, S., Liljestrand, J. and Persson, L.A. (1997). Gender and social differences in adolescent sexuality and reproduction in ragua. Journal of adolescent health, 21, 39-46.
References
Aggleton, P. and Rivers, K. (1998). ‘Behavioural interventions for adolescents’ in L.Gibney, R.DiClemente and S. Vermund (Eds.) Preventing Hiv infection in developing countries. New York: Plenum publishers.
Aggleton, P. and Warwick, I. (1997).‘Young people, sexuality, HIV and AIDS education’. In L. Sherr (Ed.) AiDS and adolescents. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Harwood Academic publishers.
Alan Guttemacher Institute (1994). Sex and American teenagers. New York, Author. Balmer, D.H., Gikundi, E., Billengsley, M.C., Kihuho, F.G., Kimani, M., Wang’ondu, J. & Njoroge, H. (1997).
Adolescent knowledge, values and coping strategies: implications for health in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of adolescent health, 21,33- 38
Bang, R. A., Bang, A. T., Baitule, M. Choudhary, Y., Sarmukaddam, S. and Tale, O. (1989). High prevalence of gynaecological diseases in rural Indian women. lancet, 1(8629), 8-88.
Blanche, M.S. and Durrheim, K. (1999). Research in practice applied methods for social science. Cape Town: University of Cape Town.
Brown, J.D. and Keller, S.N. (2000). Can the mass media be healthy sex educators. family planning perspectives, 32(5), 255-256.
Creswell, J.W. (1994). Research design qualitative and quantitative approaches. London: Sage Publications.
Croft, C.A. and Asmussen, L. (1992). Perceptions of mothers, youth and educators: a path toward détente regarding sexuality education. family relation, 41(4), 452-459
Delius, P. and Glaser, C. (2002). Sexual socialization in South Africa: a historical perspective. African studies, 61(1), 28-54.
Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.) (1998). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. London: Sage Publications.
De Vos, A.S. (Ed) (1998). Research at grass roots: a prime for the caring professions. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Durkin, K. (1995). Developmental social psychology: from infancy to old age.Cambridge: Blackwell.
Friedman, H.L. (1993). Overcoming obstacles to good adolescent health. Network, 14(2), 4-5.
Fuglesang, M. (1997). Lessons for life-past and present modes of sexuality education in Tanzania society. Social science and medicine, 44(8), 1245-1254.
Garenne, M., Tollman, S., Kahn, K., Collins, T. and Nwoga, S. (2001). Understanding marital and premarital fertility in rural South Africa. Journal of Southern African studies, 27 (2), 277-291
George, A. and Jaswal, S. (1995). ‘Understanding sexuality: ethnographic study of poor women in Bombay’. Women and AIDS research report no 12. Washington DC: International Center for Research on Women.Gupta, G. R., Weiss, E. and Mane, P. (1996). Talking about sex: a prerequisite for AIDS
prevention. In L.D. Long and E.M.
Ankrah (Eds.). Women’s experiences: an international perspective. New York: Columbia University Press.
Hoffman, N. D. and Futterman, M. D. (1996). Youth and HIV/AIDS in J. Mann and D. Tarantola (Eds.). AiDS in the world ii: Global dimensions, social roots and responses. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hollander, D. (2000). Has there been a talk about sex? Teenagers and their mothers often disagree. family planning perspective, 32(4), 199-202.
Holloway, I. (1997). Basic concepts for qualitative research. London: Blackwell science.
Huberman, B. K. (2003). Age appropriate sexuality education: what to tell your children and when with Barbara Huberman. live events transcript archive @ WebMD Health.
Hutchinson, M.K. (2002). The influence of sexual risk communication between parents and daughters on sexual risk behaviour. family relations, 51(2), 238-247.
Jaccard, J., Dittus, P.J., and Gordon, V.V. (1998). Parents adolescents congruency in reports of adolescence sexual behaviour and in communications about sexual behaviour. Child Development, 69 (1), 247-261.
Jaccard, J. and Dittus, P.J. 1991). Parent-teen communication: toward the prevention of unintended pregnancies. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Klein, M., and Gordon, S. (1992). Sex education. In C. E. Walker and M. C. Roberts (Eds.), Handbook of clinical psychology (2ⁿᵈ ed., 933-949). New York: Wiley.
Krueger, R.A. (1994). focus groups: a practical guide to applied research (2nd Ed). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Lovelife. (2002). Lovelife report on the effectiveness of sex education in South Africa. Johannesburg.
Malinowski, B. (1932). The sexual lives of savages in North-Western Melanasia. London: Routledge.
Mashego, T. A. B. (2000). Perceptions of father-daughter incest in African families with special reference to the mothers’ role: A cultural contextualization for intervention. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of the North, South Africa.
Nduna, M., Jama, N. and Jewkes, R.(2001).“Stepping stones: preliminary findings”. Paper presented at AiDS in context conference.Johannesburg,University of the Witwatersrand, Patton, M. Q. (1987). How to use qualitative methods in evaluation. London: SAGE.
Petchesky, R. P. and Judd, K. (Eds.) (1998). Negotiating reproductive rights: women’s perspectives across countries and cultures. New York: Zed Books
Ponton, L. (2001). The sex lives of teenagers: revealing the secret world of adolescent boys and girls. Child and adolescent behaviour letter: The Brown University.
Rafferty, Y., and Radosh, A. (1997). Attitudes about AIDS education and condom availability among parents of high school students in New York City: A focus group approach. AiDS Education and Prevention, 9(1), 14-30.
Rosenthal, D.A. and Feldman, S.S. (1999). The importance of importance: adolescents’ perceptions of parental communication about sexuality. Journal of Adolescence, 22, 835-851.
Runganga, A. O. Aggleton, P. (1998). Migration, the family and the transformation of a sexual culture. Sexualities, 1(1), 63-81.
SAHR. (2000). National youth Policy. Reproductive Health Research Unit.
SEICUS (2001). Issues answers: facts sheet on sexuality education. SEiCUS Report, 29 UNAIDS (2000). Report of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Geneva, Switzerland. Vasconcelos, A., Neto, A., Valenca, A., Braga, C., Pacheco, M., Dantas, S., Simonetti, V. and Garcia, V. (1993). Sexuality and AIDS prevention among adolescents from low-income communities in Recife, Brazil. Women and AIDS research program reports-in-brief. Washington DC: International center for research on women.
World Health Organization (1995). Women and AIDS: an agenda for action. Geneva: Author.
Zelaya, E., Marin, F.M., Garcia, J. Berglund, S., Liljestrand, J. and Persson, L.A. (1997). Gender and social differences in adolescent sexuality and reproduction in ragua. Journal of adolescent health, 21, 39-46.