The Role of Men
Men are not as biologically susceptible to HIV/AIDS as women, but they are still at risk.
Yet men, too, are constrained by gender constructions that determine what is seen as appropriate male behaviour. Cultural and societal expectations and norms create an environment where risk is acceptable, even "encouraged" for real men. Prevailing norms of "masculinity" include:- Expectations that men are more informed and experienced in sexual matters, which can prevent them from seeking information or admitting lack of knowledge
- Socialisation into being self-reliant and not seeking help in times of need — seemingly this creates a sense of invulnerability, yet in fact renders men more vulnerable to risky behaviour
- Thus, men are less likely to seek health care than women and are more likely to engage in behaviour that puts their health at risk, such as alcohol abuse
- Migrant labour disrupts marital and family ties and contributes to unsafe sexual behaviour (for an interesting study on masculinity on the mines in South Africa see Campbell , C. (2004). Migrancy, Masculine Identities and AIDS: The Psychosocial Context of HIV Transmission on the South African Gold Mines. In HIV/AIDS in Africa: Beyond Epidemiology
- Socially "acceptable" and rewarded behaviour: flesh-on-flesh sex, cross-generational partners and multiple partners, for example
Men Behaving Positively
Philippa Garson. Sunday Times
Mandla Mthethwa and Neo Makaqa — facilitators of the HIVSA support group for men in Soweto. Photo by: Andrew Bannister.
June 12, 2005 — The AIDS virus is forcing infected men to rethink their behaviour and look to one another for help in living with the disease. Philippa Garson sat in on a male support group.
... For these men, most of whom live in Soweto, problems often seem insurmountable. HIV squats on top of their daily struggles with poverty and unemployment, adding new risks like broken relationships, ill-health and rejection by family or friends.
In addition, HIV is forcing them to rethink the typically macho behaviours that probably got them through life before — such as bottling up their feelings, having girlfriends on the side, intimidating their partners or shrugging off their health problems.
Before, they felt they didn't have to worry too much about how they had sex or their emotional well-being. But to ignore these things now could be an express train to death. If they have unsafe sex, they will re-infect themselves with new strains of the virus.
...Mthethwa and Makaqa have a tough job. Every Wednesday morning these two youngsters must traverse a prickly terrain with a diverse group of men who are there because of one thing — HIV. Many are twice their age; some would rather be elsewhere. While most are enthusiastic regulars, a few — plucked from the queue of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit's Wellness Clinic and assured they will not lose their place while they attend the group — look dazed or disgruntled.
...Many speak of how refusing to accept or disclose their HIV status almost killed them or those they know.
"Don't delay in disclosing," says an elderly man in denim. "My friend knew he was positive but didn't tell anyone. The strain of keeping it inside is what killed him. If you don't disclose you will bring problems to your family and everyone around you."
But many men fear that if they tell their wives or girlfriends, their story will be "all over Soweto". Others agonise over how to break the news to potential girlfriends or whether to start a new relationship at all.
"How do you take a wife and marry her if you are sick?" asks a burly man in baggy cotton pants. "Is your manhood affected if you are positive? All guys don't want to live as bachelors for the rest of their lives." ... Read more.Dominant discourse on men's role and responsibility is often focused on "blame". Men are seen as fuelling the epidemic by engaging in unsafe sex with multiple partners and other irresponsible and risky behaviour, resistance to condom use and alcohol abuse.
However, "men" are not a homogenous, monolithic whole and should not be addressed in a way which overlooks the differences between men. The existence of dominant and subordinate masculinities, or of alternative or oppositional ways of being a man, is often unacknowledged. Studies show that some men are attempting to transform their attitudes and behaviour (see Garson, 2005). In addition, gender roles and expectations are not entirely created by men but instead are created by both men and women. The "tone of blame" has little value in building the kinds of partnerships which are needed to address gender relations.
Purnima Mane and Peter Aggleton (2001) argue that efforts that encourage and support positive behaviours and responses and which challenge both male and female gender stereotypes should be encouraged. These are not to replace programmes that empower women and girls, but should work alongside and with these efforts. Programmes do exist: the Men as Partners initiative and couples counselling at Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg, are just two examples.
Mane and Aggleton point to two ways we can begin to understand and address notions of masculinity: changing the ways boys are raised and working with younger and older men on HIV/AIDS prevention and care.
"Men Think We Bring the Disease": Challenges facing HIV-positive mothers in Soweto
Mane, P & Aggleton, P. 2001. Gender and HIV/AIDS: What do men have to do with it? Current Sociology 49.6. 23-37 (see abstract).
