The Social Construction of Gender in Response to HIV/AIDS : Tanzanian Professional Couples

Generally, normative gender relations and poverty are among the main factors precipitating the spread of HIV/AIDS. This research project examines the impact of HIV/AIDS on gender relations and sexuality. The author examines gender dynamics in interactions among young adults. In particular, she analyzes the cultural constructions of masculinity and femininity in couple relationships and the subjective experiences among young Tanzanian professionals from two different generations, in the context of past and recent processes of sociocultural change and the influence of HIV/AIDS.The author selected young adult professionals because, as a group, they embody the processes of social transformation,as they are creations of post-colonial Tanzania.The findings reveal that HIV/AIDS is occasioning changes in the cultural constructs of femininity and masculinity.This study describes processes of change in gender and sexuality in response to HIV/AIDS epidemic as part of individual initiatives to prevention, and hence contributes to HIV prevention research.