Ties of Dependence: AIDS and Transactional Sex in Rural Malawi

Swidler, Ann; Watkins, Susan Cotts

doi:10.1111/j.1728-4465.2007.00127.x

Cited by 208 publications

(168 citation statements)

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“…The Malawi National Statistical Office and ORC Macro (2005) estimated that in the age groups 15 -19 and 20 -24 years, 3.7% and 13.2% of females, and 0.4% and 3.9% of males were infected with HIV, respectively. Swidler and Watkins (2007) have suggested that economic imperatives may be driving the transactional nature of sexual exchange in these relationships. It is therefore important to design interventions that are gender sensitive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in university students' HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and sexual behaviours in Malawi: a pilot study

Ntata

Muula

Siziya

et al. 2008

SAHARA-J: Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS

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A cross-sectional study was conducted among first-year university students in Malawi to determine distributions of HIV/AIDSrelated knowledge, and sexual behaviours. A total of 314 (199 male and 115 female) students were eligible to participate, and of these 221 (70.4%) participated in the survey. Generally, levels of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge were similar between sexes. Overall, 68.9% of students of both sexes felt that they knew enough about HIV/AIDS. Altogether, 83.3% of students reported that they knew where to access HIV testing on campus, but only 19.0% reported that they knew their HIV status. Some 60.3% of students who had never been tested intended to have an HIV test. A history of having ever been tested was not associated with sex. Most (68.4%) students felt that they were not at risk of acquiring HIV infection. Overall, 66.8% of students knew where to get a condom on campus, and 38.7% stated that they knew exactly how to use it. About half (52.6%) of the students used a condom at last vaginal sexual intercourse. Having multiple sex partners in the last 12 months was reported by 40.4% of students.Keywords: University students, HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, sexual behaviours, Malawi. RésuméUne étude transversale a été réalisée parmi les étudiants de première année en université au Malawi pour déterminer la distribution des connaissances relatives au VIH/SIDA et les comportements sexuels. Au total, 314 étudiants (199 hommes et 115 femmes) ont été sélectionnés pour y participer. Un total de 221 (70.4 %) sur les 314 étudiants éligibles a participé à l' étude. Généralement, les niveaux de connaissances relatives au VIH/SIDA étaient similaires selon les sexes. Dans l' ensemble, 68.9% des étudiants des deux sexes pensaient en savoir suffisamment sur le VIH/SIDA. En tout, 83.3% des étudiants ont rapporté qu'ils savaient où accéder à un test de dépistage sur le campus et seulement 19.0% des étudiants ont rapporté connaître leur état sérologique. Quelques 60.3% des étudiants qui n'avaient jamais été testés ont essayé de passer un test de dépistage du VIH. Le fait de n'avoir été jamais testé n' était pas associé aux rapports sexuels. La majorité (68.4%) des étudiants pensait ne pas courir le risque d'une infection par le VIH. Dans l' ensemble, 66.8% des étudiants savaient où aller pour se procurer un préservatif sur le campus, et 38.7% des étudiants ont déclaré savoir exactement comment s' en servir. Environ la moitié (52.6%) des étudiants a utilisé un préservatif au cours du dernier rapport sexuel vaginal. Le fait d'avoir eu plusieurs partenaires sexuels au cours des 12 derniers mois a été rapporté par 40.4% des étudiants.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in university students' HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and sexual behaviours in Malawi: a pilot study

Ntata

Muula

Siziya

et al. 2008

SAHARA-J: Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Seeing transactional sex as guided by the same logic as patron-client relationships, Swidler and Watkins (2007) argue that redistribution of resources through sexual affairs is not just a matter of sexual satisfaction. It is also about keeping good connections and being respected by society.…”

Section: The Moral Grammar Of Transactional Sexmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is also about keeping good connections and being respected by society. Sponsoring younger women is applauded as morally good and rewarding, whereas an older rich man who keeps money to himself, hoarding his resources, or who 'eats alone', as the local Malawi saying goes, is gossiped about and vulnerable to witchcraft (Swidler;Watkins 2007). In Maputo, similar notions prevailed, sometimes in a vulgarized fashion, as in a popular song called "Patrão é Patrão" (Patron is Patron) by local music star MC Roger, where young women are asked to be more grateful for what they receive from rich men.…”

Section: The Moral Grammar Of Transactional Sexmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Curtidoras would proudly tell me about these men as their patrocinadores (sponsors or donors). But I realized that this logic to some degree applied to all intimate relationships and sexual-material exchanges, from loose and semi-professional exchanges in sex work to lover relationships or even marriage: Men with money were obliged to redistribute wealth to intimate partners, especially poor younger women (see also Swidler;Watkins, 2007). Now, in order to illustrate this logic of intimate exchange among couples and the misunderstandings that occur, lets turn to Mariana, a 24-year-old woman from the suburbs.…”

Section: The Moral Grammar Of Transactional Sexmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Drawing on postcolonial feminist scholarship, I extend existing frameworks of analysis by addressing how curtidoras' sexual-economic exchanges with men are never fully divorced from moral obligations toward their female kin as well as characterized by diverging and converging moral economies in the intimate encounter between the younger women and older European men. Curtidoras and their exchanges with white men can inform our understanding of gender, power, kinship, sexuality, and exchange in urban Africa and add to recurring debates in anthropology and neighboring disciplines on transactional sex and sexual economies (Cole, 2004;Cornwall, 2002;Haram, 2004;Hunter, 2002Hunter, , 2007Leclerc-Madlala, 2003;Luke, 2003;Maganja et al, 2007;Newell, 2009;Swidler;Watkins, 2007;Wojcicki, 2002). Yet, I also want shed light on these women's male partners, the sponsors who have hitherto received little attention in the literature.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Exploração ou gratidão? Patronagem íntima e a gramática moral das trocas sexuais econômicas entre jovens curtidoras e europeus mais velhos, expatriados, em Maputo – Moçambique

Groes-Green

2016

Cad. Pagu

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In this article, I explore a particular category of young women within local systems of exchange as well as within a transnational urban landscape of intimate transactions. What curtidoras in Maputo elucidate and what anthropologists perhaps have not sufficiently understood about transactional sex is the power of female eroticism and how this power connects to kinship, gender dynamics, and moralities of exchange. Drawing on postcolonial feminist scholarship, I extend existing frameworks of analysis by addressing how curtidoras' sexual-economic exchanges with men are never fully divorced from moral obligations toward their female kin as well as characterized by diverging and converging moral economies in the intimate encounter between the younger women and older European men.

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Sexual conflict in humans: Variations and solutions

Mulder

Rauch²

2009

Evolutionary Anthropology

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Growing interest in sexual conflict since the late 1980s reflects several developments within behavioral ecology. These include recognition of females as active participants in co-evolutionary interactions, 1-3 demonstrations of high levels of extrapaternity in many ''monogamous'' species, 4 remarkable evidence of life-threatening toxic compounds in the sperm of fruit flies, 5 and experimental studies revealing deleterious consequences of arms races for both males and females. 6 Many of the ideas in this new body of work were sparked by Parker's papers on how sexual conflict shapes physiological and behavioral traits. These ideas were brought to popular attention by Dawkins, 7:140 who posed the question: ''If there is conflict of interests between parents and children, who share 50% of each others' genes, how much more severe must be the conflict between mates, who are not related to each other?'' Research into sexual conflict among nonhuman primates is flourishing, 8 but has received less explicit attention in the study of humans, despite cogent arguments that women's strategies are often constrained by the forceful and manipulative behavior of men and their kin.3,9 Here we explore new hypotheses for the extent and direction of sexual conflict among humans, both within and between populations, focusing on signaling mate quality, family size preferences, and the marital bond.''It is a long way to school here, all the way from Mahmudabad. Dangerous. An hour at least. A girl shouldn't go to school if it is so far away. It just shows.'' ''He followed them . . . he jumped out from behind a rock. . .'' ''She won't get a husband after this.'' ''. . .the judge told her she has to marry Abbas as soon as they catch him.'' ''They'll beat her up at home until she says yes . . .''. 10:113-118Parker's 11:124 definition of sexual conflict (Box 1) as ''a conflict between the evolutionary interests of individuals of the two sexes'' is both intuitive and all-encompassing. Sexual conflict occurs in two primary contexts: over mating, where males typically benefit more from mating with multiple partners than do females, 12 and over bi-parental care, where parents can increase their individual fitness by reducing their own efforts if there is compensation from the other parent. 13 Such conflicts lead to complex dynamic ''unresolvable evolutionary chases.'' These are classically portrayed through Parker's 14 extraordinary descriptions of female yellow Box 1. Glossary Sexual conflict -''A conflict between the evolutionary interests of individuals of the two sexes '' 11:124 ; sexual conflict occurs when the optimal value of a trait differs between the two sexes.Conflict (or shared) traitTraits that differ in value for the sexes because of sex-specific costs and benefits.Sexually antagonistic selection -Occurs when selective forces act on males and females in different directions.Sexually antagonistic coevolution -A chain of adaptations and counteradaptations during the struggle over sex-specific optimality in a given conflict tr...

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Ties of Dependence: AIDS and Transactional Sex in Rural Malawi

Cited by 208 publications

References 46 publications

Gender differences in university students' HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and sexual behaviours in Malawi: a pilot study

Gender differences in university students' HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and sexual behaviours in Malawi: a pilot study

Exploração ou gratidão? Patronagem íntima e a gramática moral das trocas sexuais econômicas entre jovens curtidoras e europeus mais velhos, expatriados, em Maputo – Moçambique

Sexual conflict in humans: Variations and solutions

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