Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN PhD Dissertation Christian Groes-Green Transgressive Sexualities Reconfiguring gender, power and (un)safe sexual cultures in urban Mozambique Unit of Women and Gender Research in Medicine Department of Public Health Faculty of Health Sciences University of Copenhagen Academic advisors: Margrethe Silberschmidt, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen Richard G. Parker, Professor, Columbia University Submitted: 18/10/10 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Table of contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ENGLISH SUMMARY RESUMÉ PÅ DANSK 2 4 9 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 15 AIM OF THE PROJECT AND ANALYTICAL APPROACH REFLECTIONS ON METHOD AND LIMITATIONS OVERALL CONCLUSIONS AND PERSPECTIVES MAIN RESULTS OF INCLUDED ARTICLES 15 23 43 55 CHAPTER 2: METHOD, SEXUAL SLANG AND (UN)HEALTHY DISCOURSES 75 ARTICLE 1. HEALTH DISCOURSE, SEXUAL SLANG AND IDEOLOGICAL CONTRADICTIONS AMONG MOZAMBICAN YOUTH: IMPLICATIONS FOR METHOD 75 CHAPTER 3: CLASS IDENTITIES, TRANSGRESSIONS AND (UN)SAFE SEX 98 ARTICLE 2: SAFE SEX PIONEERS: CLASS IDENTITY, PEER EDUCATION AND EMERGING MASCULINITIES AMONG YOUTH IN MOZAMBIQUE 98 ARTICLE 3. ORGIES OF THE MOMENT: BATAILLE’S ANTHROPOLOGY OF TRANSGRESSION AND YOUNG MEN’S DEFIANCE OF DANGER IN POST-SOCIALIST MOZAMBIQUE 123 CHAPTER 4: CONTESTED MASCULINITIES AND SEXUALITIES 155 ARTICLE 4. HEGEMONIC AND SUBORDINATED MASCULINITIES: CLASS, VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL PERFORMANCE AMONG YOUNG MOZAMBICAN MEN 155 ARTICLE 5. PHILOGYNOUS MASCULINITIES? THE GLOBALIZATION OF WOMEN’S SEXUAL RIGHTS AND MEN’S SEXUAL CAPITAL IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 180 CHAPTER 5: CONTESTED FEMININITIES AND SEXUALITIES 212 ARTICLE 6. ‘THE BLING SCANDAL’: SEXUAL DEFACEMENT AND TRANSFORMING YOUNG FEMININITIES IN MOZAMBIQUE 212 ARTICLE 7. ‘TO PUT MEN IN A BOTTLE’: EROTIC TRICKS, FEMALE POWER AND TRANSACTIONAL SEX IN MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE 243 ENDNOTES 284 1 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Acknowledgements Many people have been supportive in the process of finalizing this PhD dissertation and I am deeply indebted to you all. During the many months I spend in Maputo a range of greatly inspiring souls have contributed to my understanding of their lives, thoughts and dreams: My informants, or as I would prefer to call them, my friends, brothers, sisters and teachers. My field assistants did their outmost to put my research on the right track, especially in the beginning when I was trying to come to grips with the complexities involved in studying intimate matters. I wish to thank Ana Loforte for allowing me to be affiliated to Universidade Eduardo Mondlane during my stay and Cristiano Matsinhe at the Anthropology Department, Birgit Westphael at CNCS and Júlio Pacca at Pathfinder International for giving feedback on my presentations of preliminary findings. My colleagues at the Unit of Women and Gender Research at the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen gave me optimal working conditions under which to work day and night to finish the project. I thank for inspiring discussions with Birgit Petersson, Barbara Barrett, Merete Laubjerg and other colleagues. My supervisor Margrethe Silberschmidt was an extraordinary sources of inspiration and provided excellent guidance. Margrethe Silberschmidt stood by my side through thick and thin. Indeed, it was her work that evoked my interest in the field of masculinities and opened my eyes to analyzing African men’s sexualities within a cultural and socio-economic framework. At a personal and professional level she kept assuring that I received the support I needed. My co-supervisor Richard G. Parker was a great mentor long before I met him in New York. His anthropological studies of sexuality, gender and HIV/AIDS in Brazil have been very influential towards understanding the complexities of sexual cultures and risk behavior in contested ideological settings. During my stay at the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, his advice and encouragement contributed immensely to my development as a researcher and to my productivity. I am grateful to the Department of Sociomedical Sciences and colleagues there for accepting me into a wonderful research environment. Thanks also go to the Danish 2 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Council for Development Research which funded the project and to the Department of Cultural Encounters, Roskilde University for a great reception and support towards continuing my research. I am indepted to colleagues who generously commented on my ideas, papers and articles: Henrik Vigh, Chimaraoke Izugbara, Marie Heinskou, Bjarke Oxlund, Helene Kyed, Gary Dowsett, Deevia Bhana, Robert Sember, Graeme Reid, Diane Di Mauro, Niko Besnier not to forget some of the scholars who at different stages shaped me as anthropologist and helped me understand the importance of critical engagement: Tereza Burmeister, Michael Jackson and Signe Arnfred. My girlfriend Katrine Møller came in to my life at a crucial point when I began the intense work of writing the dissertation. She has been extremely understanding and patient and it is hard to imagine how I could have succeeded had it not been for her care, love and support. My mother, Birgit Kjems Groes, whom I lost at an early age, was a very dedicated and talented anthropologist, but she was not allowed to fully pursue her dreams and projects in life. Her thesis on class dynamics, poverty and elite formation in Kenya from 1974 can still today remind me how access to this world is unequally distributed. She did not live to see her son do fieldwork in Africa, but I hope that somehow I have lived up to her expectations. Of course my parents Poul and Susanne, my sister Bodil and brother Jacob are always on my mind and I missed them greatly every time I was in the field. I owe thanks to my extended family, Uffe, Maj, Sidsel, Sara, Katrine’s family as well as to my urban family, Annika, Anders & Lise, Helene & Mark, Janne & Arun, Irina & Mikkel, Morten, Janus, Christoffer, Nico, Jeppe, Jakob, Sofie, Rasmus, Thomas, Christian, Puk & Rene and many others. 3 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. English summary Transgressive sexualities: Reconfiguring gender, power and (un)safe sexual cultures in urban Mozambique Based on fifteen months of fieldwork in urban and suburban Maputo in Mozambique, the PhD dissertation investigates how gender notions and sexual cultures inform safe and unsafe sex among young people in the context of social inequality and peer sex education in secondary schools. Drawing on theories from qualitative gender studies, sexuality and HIV/AIDS prevention research as well as from anthropology and other social sciences, the dissertation analyzes the cultural, socio-economic and political context in which young men and women define themselves and each other. The dissertation shows that masculinities and femininities are highly contested across unequal life worlds which mould specific perceptions of danger and pleasure, power and position, respect and status as well as life and death, all of which circumscribe young individual’s choice to use or not use condoms to prevent HIV infection. The fieldwork was carried out among young men and women aged 16-28 years and included surveys, individual interviews, focus group discussions and extended participant observation. Exploring the influence of class relations and poverty the fieldwork was concentrated on the lifeworld of youth in the poor suburban areas of the city and then compared with my experiences from the very different life world of youth living in the city’s affluent neighborhoods. The investigation of the impact of peer sex education, which was introduced in Maputo in 1999, was carried out by comparing data collected among students from secondary schools with and without peer sex education. The findings revealed that peer sex education did favor condom use among 4 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. all student youth, but in particular among middle class young men and women in urban schools, while poor youth in suburban schools were less likely to use condoms as a consequence of exposure to sex education. The reason, it seemed, was that the messages and the health language in which sex education was taught did not resonate with the life world of socially marginalized youth. In many cases ‘protection’ from HIV/AIDS was associated with people who have ‘a future’ and ‘something to live for’ in the realms of work or family life. During the last decades Mozambicans have experienced a radical change in the socioeconomic landscape due to national policies of neo-liberal reform, imposed by the IMF and The World Bank since 1987. Rising unemployment, deepening social inequality and an emerging consumer culture has had a dramatic impact on youth in Maputo. The divide between the haves and the have-nots has been widened and has led to a polarization of youth cultures. The dissertation shows that these social changes have consequences for sexual cultures, gender relations and unsafe sex. Furthermore, global influences of popular culture and discourses on health and gender equality emanating from Brazil, South Africa, the US and Europe have produced new constraints and opportunities for young people, for example through an identification with erotically assertive female pop stars or by using gender values in sex education as basis for developing sexual skills. These developments have in different ways shaped notions about female eroticism and men as ‘lovers’ and have fertilized the ground for tendencies to transgress established norms and boundaries related to morality, identity, inequality and ideas of what it means to be a woman or a man. A growing number of impoverished young women in Maputo enter the sexual economy and engage in sexual relationships with patrocinadores (literally sponsors or donors) in exchange for money of gifts as a direct response to a consumer culture in which bodies, sexuality, money and goods are seen as exchangeable. In this process, the values of virginity and respectability, formerly maintained by kin to secure the bride wealth (lobolo), have become obsolete since impoverishment has made many young men unable to pay the bride price. Against this background, poor young women make less effort to 5 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. appear ‘decent’ and ‘respectable’ and instead seek a broad and flexible network of sexual partners. At the same time poor young men look for casual relationships or girlfriends instead of trying to achieve a stable life with a wife and a family, a life which they can never afford without a real job. Poor young women use what they see as erotic and spiritual power as a means of transgressing boundaries of age, class and race in search for money and excitement. Thus, poor young Mozambican women, called curtidoras (literally meaning women who enjoy life), engage in sexual relationships with men who are much older, with middle class men and members of the elite and sometimes with white expatriates or local Indian or Arab businesspeople. In order for them to feel a sense of control over wealthy lovers they often insist that condoms cannot be used, because lack of contact nhyama ni nhyama (flesh against flesh) during intercourse diminishes their ability to ‘put men in a bottle’, meaning to extract money from them. This is because certain erotic tricks contain magic and spiritual powers which are dependent on a free exchange of body fluids and on vaginal techniques that push the man into a state of ecstasy where he loses control, both over himself and his material possessions (see article 7). Conventions about proper and improper sexual behavior in public are increasingly challenged by poor young women, inspired by female pop singers and popular culture. In response, part of the older generation, the church and the bourgeois elite criticize them for excessive erotic expressions used to seduce men (see article 6). Poor young men’s defiance of sexual risks pave the way for an assertion of manhood by engaging in ‘orgies of the moment’ against the backdrop of social marginalization and a delegitimized ideology of education and work. In opposition to middle class morality, moluwenes (wild, unruly men) transgress societal norms through criminal activities, violence as well as excessive or ‘pure sex’. In sexual orgies young men find the danger of unsafe sex particularly alluring, due to the sense of exception and sovereignty which transgressive acts give way to (see article 3). Both poor young men and women showed tendencies to exceed limits of what formerly defined a ‘real’ man or woman. Some poor young women contested ideas about female decency and restraint, and poor young men left behind notions that a man’s sexual satisfaction is more important than the woman’s. As an alternative they 6 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. made women’s pleasure a priority in order to generate what I call ‘sexual capital’, notably by developing sexual skills, using aphrodisiacs and grooming their looks in sexual relationships with girlfriends or lovers. While this could sometimes involve safe sex, since use of condom can signal male responsibility, the use of ‘latex’ could also be seen as an obstacle towards creating pleasure and emotional intimacy. In general I found that young people from impoverished suburbs were driven towards transgressing moral and ideological divisions between proper and improper behavior, between correct and ‘educated’ language and illicit sexual slang, between conventional sex for procreation and sex for pleasure, power or money (see articles 1, 3 and 6). The results of the study testify to the way social inequality, consumerism and commoditization have overwhelmingly put sexuality at the forefront of social struggle and new selfdefinitions to an extent where sexual practice constitutes the very basis for social existence. To some sex becomes the means of acquiring goods and money. To others sex becomes an instrument for pleasure, and to others yet sex becomes a substitution for commodities by itself becoming a commodity which can be exchanged. Young masculinities become socially polarized, and some poor young men tend to develop sexual skills and ‘lover’ identities vis-á-vis female partners in a situation where the provider role is undermined by the lack of jobs and due to competition from older and younger affluent men. Meanwhile older patrocinadores and younger middle class showoffistas (men who show off) transform their monetary powers into status and support of broader networks of female lovers whom they shower with gifts such as mobile phones, fashion clothes, and safari trips (see articles 4 and 5). Finally, I also identified notions of manhood among young men that point towards a challenge of classic patriarchal gender hierarchies and priorities. Notions of respect for women, anti-violence and self-control, affection and a prioritization of women’s sexual satisfaction show signs of what I term ‘philogynous masculinities’, referring to progressive or ‘female-friendly’ practices and notions of manhood so as to underline their opposition to misogynous forms of manhood that have hitherto received much attention in gender and sexuality research. Inspired by Connell’s (1995) suggestion that respectful masculinities 7 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. are indeed possible and Arnfred’s (2007) argument that the thesis of universal female subordination perhaps cannot be substantiated across Africa, I describe how alternative masculinities and femininities are produced (see article 5). Contents of the PhD dissertation The dissertation consists of a general introduction to the study, the methods used and the overall conclusions that can be drawn from the study. Then follows seven articles; three of them have been published in peer reviewed journals, three are forthcoming and one is not yet submitted. 8 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Resumé på dansk Transgressive seksualiteter: Forandringer af køn, magt og (u)sikre seksuelle kulturer i det urbane Mozambique Baseret på femten måneders feltarbejde i urbane og suburbane områder af byen Maputo i Mozambique undersøger ph.d.-afhandlingen, hvordan forhold mellem køn og seksuelle kulturer indvirker på sikker og usikker sex blandt unge. Undersøgelsens komparative element består i at afklare betydningen af stigende social ulighed mellem unge i byen og indførelsen af seksualundervisning i skolerne for at forstå udviklingen af sikre eller usikre seksuelle kulturer. Med afsæt i teorier fra kvalitative kønsstudier, seksualitets- og hiv/aids-forskning samt fra antropologien og andre sociale videnskaber analyserer afhandlingen de kulturelle, socioøkonomiske og politiske sammenhænge, hvori unge mænd og kvinder definerer sig selv og hinanden. Afhandlingen viser, hvordan maskulinitet og femininitet omformes på tværs af ulige livsverdener, og analyserer hvordan unges opfattelser af fare og nydelse, magt og begær, respekt og status såvel som af liv og død omskriver deres brug (eller ikke-brug) af kondomer i seksuelle forhold. Feltarbejdet blev udført blandt unge mænd og kvinder mellem 16 og 28 år og omfattede en spørgeskemaundersøgelse, fokusgruppediskussioner, individuelle interviews og langvarig deltagerobservation på skolerne, hjemme hos de unges familier, i nattelivet og blandt deres venner, kærester og sexpartnere. Med henblik på at undersøge betydningen af social klasse og fattigdom blev hovedvægten af studiet udført blandt unge i de fattige suburbane områder af byen og derefter sammenlignet med mine erfaringer blandt unge i den mere velhavende del af byen. Desuden udforskede jeg virkningen af seksualundervisning fra unge til unge, i tre gymnasieskoler (secondary schools) ved at 9 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. sammenligne data, som jeg havde indsamlet blandt studerende fra skoler med og uden seksualundervisning. Denne type seksualundervisning bygger på at unge med en specialuddannelse på området uddanner andre ungre i kondombrug, seksuel sundhed, kønsforhold og seksuel tilfredsstillese. Seksualundervisning blev indført på forsøgsbasis i Maputo i 1999 og fra 2009 besluttede regeringen sammen med FN at den skulle være standard i alle landets skoler. Mine resultater viste, at seksualundervisning var med til at fremme kondombrug blandt alle unge uanset social klasse og køn. Dog var det blandt middelklasseunge fra urbane skoler, at effekten var størst, mens fattige unge fra suburbane skoler var mindre tilbøjelige til at bruge kondom som følge af at være eksponeret for seksualundervisning. Mine data indikerede, at en væsentlig årsag til dette var, at de budskaber og det sprog, som underviserne anvendte, ikke gav genklang i de marginaliserede unges livsverden, samt at beskyttelse imod hiv og aids var forbundet med ’at have en fremtid’ og at ’have noget at leve for’ i betydningen et arbejde, en karriere eller penge til at stifte familie. I de seneste årtier har Mozambiques socioøkonomiske landskab gennemgået en stor forandring i kølvandet på nye nationale politikker og en liberaliseringsreform, som er foranlediget af opfordringer fra Verdensbanken og gennemført siden 1987. Stigende arbejdsløshed, stigende social ulighed og en galoperende forbrugerkultur har tilsammen haft en stor indvirkning på unge i hovedstaden Maputo. Afstanden mellem rig og fattig er øget, og som følge deraf er der sket en social polarisering af ungdomskulturerne. Afhandlingen viser, at disse sociale forandringer har konsekvenser for udformningen af kønsforhold, seksuelle kulturer og for, hvorvidt unge dyrker sikker eller usikker sex. Derudover har globale påvirkninger i form af populærkultur og diskurser om sundhed og ligestilling fra Brasilien, Sydafrika, USA og Europa skabt nye begrænsninger såvel som muligheder for unge i en kompleks sammenvævning med koloniale og postkoloniale ideologier og moralsystemer. Denne udvikling har på forskellig vis formet begreber om kvindelig erotisme, unge mænd som ’elskere’ og gødet jorden for en tendens blandt unge til at overskride etablerede normer og grænser af moralsk, identitetsmæssig, kønsmæssig og social karakter. Fattige unge kvinder anvender, hvad de 10 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ser som erotisk og åndelig magt, til at overskride grænser knyttet til aldersforskelle, klasseforskelle og raceforskelle i deres søgen efter penge og øjeblikkelig fornøjelse (se artikel 7). Konventionl cultureer om god og dårlig adfærd i det offentlige rum bliver i stigende grad udfordret af unge, blandt andet inspireret af kvindelige popidoler og en populærkultur, der gør en dyd ud af erotiske billeder og udtryksformer, mens den ældre generation, den katolske kirke, politikere og middelklassen kritiserer unge kvinder for deres uanstændighed og opfordring til promiskuitet (se artikel 6). Fattige unge mænds leg med seksuelle risici via usikker sex baner vejen for forfægtelse af deres mandighed. Hvad jeg kalder ’øjeblikkets orgier’ erstatter drømmen om uddannelse og arbejde i en by hvor arbejdsløsheden er enorm, og hvor disse privilegier tilhører de mere velhavende unge. I opposition til middelklassens moral overskrider de unge mænd samfundets normer gennem kriminelle aktiviteter, voldelig adfærd og ubeskyttet sex (se artikel 3). Blandt fattige unge mænd og kvinder var der en tendens til at bryde grænserne for, hvad der tidligere definerede en rigtig mand eller kvinde. Enkelte fattige unge kvinder, der kalder sig ’curtidoras’ (som betyder kvinder der nyder livet), bestred de generelle ideer om kvindelig anstændighed og påholdenhed. Enkelte fattige unge mænd gjorde op med den kulturelt nedarvede ide om, at mandens seksuelle nydelse er vigtigere end kvindens, og i stedet gjorde de kvindens nydelse til en prioritet i seksuelle forhold med henblik på at skaffe sig, hvad jeg kalder ’seksuel kapital’, det vil sige den status, der følger med at være en sexet mand, der er i stand til at tilfredsstille en kvinde. Helt generelt kom unges transgressive seksualiteter til udtryk i nedbrydninger af moralske og ideologiske opdelinger mellem anstændig og uanstændig adfærd, mellem ’dannet’ og korrekt sprogbrug og utilladelige seksuelle slangudtryk, mellem sex med forplantning for øje og sex for fornøjelsens, pengenes eller magtens skyld samt ved at udfordre den gerontokratiske dikotomi mellem voksne, seriøse og ansvarlige principper og ungdommelige, kåde og lystslupne tilbøjeligheder (se artiklerne 1, 3 og 6). Et større antal unge kvinder i Maputo indtræder i den seksuelle økonomi og danner forhold med såkaldte ’patrocinadores’, der betyder donor eller sponsor og henviser til ideen om en 11 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. forbrugerkultur, hvor alt, inklusive sex, kroppe og penge, kan udveksles. I denne proces bliver slægtskabsidealet om jomfruelighed og anstændighed før giftermål i nogle tilfælde forældet, i takt med at stadig færre unge mænd har råd til at betale den fastsatte brudepris. På den baggrund søger fattige unge kvinder et bredt og fleksibelt netværk af mandlige partnere, mens fattige unge mænd uden arbejde leder efter flygtige erotiske forbindelser frem for at kæmpe en umulig kamp for et stabilt liv med arbejde, kone og familie. De mere velhavende patrocinadores og unge middelklassemænd kaldet ’showoffistas’ (der betyder mænd, der viser sig frem) derimod er, grundet deres økonomiske magt og forbrugerkulturen, i stand til at understøtte en række seksuelle partnere fra de lavere sociale lag, samtidig med at de har koner eller kærester ved siden af. Det viste sig, at mange fattige unge kvinder ikke ønsker at bruge kondom i deres forhold med patrocinadores og showoffistas, fordi det ses som fordelagtigt at blive gravid med dem. Årsagen er, at mænd ifølge nyere mozambiquisk lov skal understøtte kvinden, hvis de er fædre til hendes barn, men ikke bor sammen med hende. En graviditet kan også være fordelagtig, fordi den kan bruges som afpresningsmiddel, hvis manden er i et forhold og ikke ønsker at blive afsløret. Det hænder, at unge fattige kvinder dermed erhverver sig store summer fra disse mænd til gengæld for en abort eller for ikke at fortælle koner og kærester om graviditeten. En anden grund til ikke at bruge kondom var, at unge kvinder så ’ren sex’ som en mulighed for at styre akten selv og få en fornemmelse af kontrol over manden ved under samlejet at bruge, hvad de anså som erotisk magi og spirituel overmagt, der kan føre til, at mænd mere frivilligt giver deres rigdomme fra sig. Mange unge og ældre middelklassemænd insisterede derfor på at dyrke sikker sex, både for at undgå at få en kønssygdom, der kunne afsløre deres udenomsægteskabelige affærer og for at undgå afpresning eller økonomiske tab, mens risikoen for at få HIV var en sekundær årsag til kondombrug. Fattige unge mænd, der ønsker at tilegne sig seksuel kapital, viste derimod ofte at de befandt sig i et dilemma når det kommer til sikker sex. På den ene side kan de spille på rollen som den ansvarlige og moderne seksuelle mand, der sørger for at have kondomer med sig og bruge dem, og på 12 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. den anden side ved de, at det er af afgørende betydning at tilfredsstille kvinden seksuelt. Tilfredsstillelsen af kvinden kan blandt andet ses som en vanskelig opgave, når kondomet forbindes med impotens eller med mangel på følsomhed, begær, intimitet og kærlighed. Studiets resultater vidner om, at social ulighed, forbrugerkultur og vareliggørelse på en overvældende måde placerer seksualiteten i centrum af den sociale kamp for anerkendelse, magt og kønslige definitioner af selvet i en grad, hvor seksuel praksis danner grundlaget for ens sociale eksistens. For fattige unge kvinder bliver sex en genvej til nydelse og erhvervelse af goder og penge. For ældre og unge mænd af middelklassen bliver sex ofte et instrument for bekræftelse af økonomisk overmagt og status og for en del fattige mænd og kvinder bliver sex en erstatning for varer og kapital i den forstand at sex i sig selv bliver en slags vare og kapitalform, der kan udveksles og veksles til magt, nydelse og status eller rigdom alt efter omstændighederne. I takt med at unge mænd bliver socialt polariserede, bliver stadig flere fattige unge mænd fokuseret på at udvikle seksuel kapital ved at dyrke deres seksuelle færdigheder, bruge afrodisiaka og tage råd fra lokale heksedoktorer for at kunne konkurrere med middelklassens finansielle magt og kapital. Enkelte fattige unge mænd viste tegn på, hvad jeg kalder ‘filogyne’ maskuliniteter. Udtrykket refererer til de kønsmæssigt progressive og ’kvindevenlige’ praksisser og begreber der kommer til udtryk hos unge mænd. Udtrykket anvendes for at understrege modsætningen til ’misogyne’ former for mandighed, hvor det mandige er forbundet med destruktiv adfærd, uansvarlig seksuel adfærd og mangel på respekt for kvinder og kvindelige partnere. Filogyne maskuliniteter kom blandt andet til udtryk i lokale dyder som mandlig tilbageholdenhed, ansvar, selvkontrol og tålmodighed i forhold til kvinder og seksualitet. Det mindretal af mænd der lagde vægt på disse dyder, definerede sig, identitetsmæssigt, i modsætning til den vold imod og undertrykkelse af kvinder, som foregår i mange seksuelle forhold og kærlighedsforhold. Således beskrev de unge mænd vold og aggressivitet som lig med at være ’nervøs’ eller ’ude af kontrol’, begge kendetegn, som i vid udstrækning ses som negative eller umandige (se artikel 5). 13 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Indhold i ph.d.-afhandlingen Afhandlingen indledes med en generel introduktion til studiet. Den indeholder en beskrivelse af de analytiske og metodiske ændringer, der er foretaget undervejs, en præsentation af de anvendte metoder samt de konklusioner, der afledes af studiets resultater. Derefter følger de syv artikler, der ligger til grund for bedømmelsen; tre af dem er publiceret i videnskabelige tidsskrifter, yderligere tre er antaget, og en artikel er endnu ikke indsendt til et tidsskrift. 14 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Aim of the project and analytical approach1 The PhD project was originally aimed at exploring to what extent alternative gender notions and youth identities enhance safe sex practices among young people in Maputo city in Mozambique. The study intended to produce empirical knowledge on the significance of changing masculinities and femininities in constructions of safe and unsafe sex among young men and women in the city’s secondary schools in the context of social inequality and peer sex education. It is widely documented that the large majority of young people in sub-Saharan Africa do not use condoms, often despite a fair knowledge about the health risks of having unsafe sex (Coates et al. 2008, Yankah & Aggleton 2008, Pettifor et al. 2004, Ahlberg et al. 2001). The pervasiveness of unsafe sex makes young Africans highly vulnerable in terms of contracting HIV/AIDS. In Mozambique this is underlined by the fact that urban youth (age 15-24) account for 60% of new HIV infections (Unaids 2009), with young urban women being most vulnerable with an HIV prevalence of 25% (ibid.). According to one survey, 85,3% of all youth in urban areas in Mozambique have their sexual debut when they are between 15 and 24 years old and 90% of them know that condoms provide effective protection against HIV transmission (Gujral & Baretto 2004). Yet, only 40,6% of urban youth have used a condom at least once and among females the number is 34,2% (ibid.). In Maputo, the HIV prevalence rate was 22% in 2010, making it one of the cities in Africa which is most devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic (MISAU 2010). Young people’ risk-taking behavior is often a consequence of dominant sexual norms and gender inequalities preventing them from practicing safe sex2 (Wojcicki & Malala 2001, MacPhail & 15 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Campbell 2001, Mill & Anarfi 2002, Gujral & Baretto 2004). Nevertheless, the hypothesis of the project was that there is also a minority of young people who to different degrees defy these obstacles in order to practice safer sex. The project argued for shifting the focus of research towards ‘progressive’ gender notions and sexual cultures that enable young people to change their behavior in a ‘healthier’ direction. In terms of the project’s relevance for development policy the assumption was that a detailed understanding of factors that facilitate safe sex would contribute to an innovation of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts among young people.3 Therefore, the study was also dedicated to exploring the effect of a peer sex education program called Geração Biz which was introduced in Maputo’s secondary schools in 1999 and later in 2009 it was scaled up to cover all secondary schools in the country. The assumption was that this program might enhance young people’s propensity to practice safer sex, an assumption which I sought to test by exploring the possible connection between their exposure to the peer sex education program and their development of alternative gender notions and safe sex practices. While there is a vast literature on hierarchal gender notions conceptualized as male economic, social and cultural power versus a subordinated female position in households and job markets there is still a knowledge gap on masculinities and femininities that resist patriarchal structures and gender norms in Africa. Although some researchers today recognize the need to confront stereotyped notions of gender, reflected in literature on non-dominant African masculinities (Lindisfarne 1994, Miescher & Lindsay 2003, Morrell & Ouzgane 2005), research still lacks theory that addresses the implications of or possibilities for alternative ways of being a young woman or man. The fieldwork was carried out in urban and suburban areas of Maputo from March 2007 to April 2008 and from April to June 2010.4 The methods used encompass a survey, focus group discussions (FGDs), individual interviews and prolonged participant observation among different segments of young women and men, their families and partners. A questionnaire based survey was carried out among 500 students from eight secondary schools in order to get a preliminary overview of the effects of peer education and socio-economic background on condom use.5 The students in the 16 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. survey were between 18 and 23 years old and a sample of 62-63 male and female participants were chosen randomly from each of the schools. Four schools had peer sex education whereas four other schools had not yet implemented peer sex education. To compare the influence of socio-economic factors on condom use we chose four schools located in the relatively affluent urban city centre and four schools located in the poor suburban parts of the city. Baseline data were collected on age, gender, residence and social background, age at sexual debut and number of sex partners in a lifetime, typology and categories for sexual partners, methods of contraception, notions of being ‘a real man’ or ‘a real woman’, reasons for using and not using condoms consistently and knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention. Besides attempting to identify young people who used condoms consistently the rationale behind the survey was that it would provide information about diverging gender notions, attitudes and norms which could serve as basis for a more detailed study of young people’s safer sexual practices across social strata. We decided to make the survey non-anonymous because it would allow us to get access to a large network of informants, whom we could later contact in order to set up FGDs, individual interviews and to carry out participant observation. The results showed that there were both male and female respondents who used condoms consistently in all social strata but safe sex tended to be much more common among middle class youth and youth exposed to peer sex education (Groes-Green 2009a). Based on the information obtained in the survey questionnaires we prepared 15 FGDs.6 The FGDs produced a wealth of useful data about socioeconomic differences, cultural perceptions of sex and gender, experiences and stories about the immediate context of the school and home, friends and families, of being young in the city and how to navigate as a young man or woman depending on constraints and possibilities in life. Based on the data retrieved from FGDs I moved on to do individual in-depth interviews with 13 young men and 13 young women who had participated in FGDs. These interviews yielded detailed descriptions of sexual practices and norms, individual fears and hopes about love life and intimate relationships as well as elaborate life stories containing personal secrets that could not be unveiled in FGDs. 17 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Changes in analytical and methodological approach It was during individual interviews and informal interaction with the 26 interviewees and their social network that the first changes in analytical approach occurred. For the remaining nine months of fieldwork, which consisted mostly in participant observation they became my key informants. They gradually introduced me to their friends, brothers and sisters, parents and lovers, all of whom constituted a social web which I could build on in the investigation of various social groups and ‘subcultures’.7 As confidentiality was established and I was let into their private sphere I found them practicing a range of other ‘identities’ and indulging in activities that did not resonate with the behavior that had been reveled in the survey and in the school setting. There were three major reasons why the study’s analytical approach shifted, all of which were related to concrete observations and experiences that affected my perspective on the field. Firstly, the collected data pointed to extreme social contrasts between the world of young people living in extreme poverty, marred by violence and bad health and the world of more well off youngsters with safer and affluent lifestyles in the centre of the city. Official statistics by the UN and the Mozambican government state that 69% of the country’s population lives in ‘acute poverty’ and that the large majority in Maputo lives below the poverty line (Jones 2005). As I realized that poor young people seemed much less motivated for using condoms I was inspired to address more meticulously the impact of social and ideological cleavages on sexual cultures and gender relations, as for example done by Parker (2009) in the Brazilian context. The harsh realities of poor housing and lack of water supply, electricity, sanitary conditions and food on the outskirts of Maputo where the majority of young people live were put in perspective by the emerging middle classes flashing their new cars, watches and fashion styles across the urban landscape. Taking the chapa (privately run minibuses) to the opposite end of the geo-social map called Maputo cimento (Maputo made of concrete) I was met by beautiful buildings and spacious malls where people with economic means consume the latest in fashion and display their power symbols. In Levi’s shops and sports bars, embellished French restaurants and KFCs, casinos and 18 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. discotheques one social class demonstrated who was in charge. Expensive ‘four by fours’ often with diplomatic number plates reveals that this social class consists not only of the Mozambican elite and middle class but also of a growing number of foreigners working in the ‘development industry’ or in the business sector. But the globalization that has taken place in Mozambique is not solely tied to economic processes. It also includes an increasing flow and distribution of cultural and symbolic products and images, particularly in urban settings. Through TV series, music, art and fashion emanating from the epicenters of cultural production in Brazil, South Africa, Europe and the US, alluring portraits of love, sex and riches circulate in the capital. Migration has also had some impact as Mozambicans in great numbers travel back and forth to foreign countries, especially South Africa and some of the afore mentioned countries. Besides, Western ex pats in Maputo occasionally bring with them their Mozambican girlfriends or boyfriends, wives or husbands to their country of origin, which has led to local families becoming dependent on remittances from kin who have settled abroad. Secondly, I began to understand the social consequences of the ubiquitous lack of legal jobs with a reasonable income for the poor majority of young people and that furthermore, of the fact that secondary school education, which was formerly free in Mozambique, was gradually being privatized. These developments clearly reconfigured both gender relations and the role of sexuality in young people’s lives. For young men trying to live up to the ideal of a consumer wearing the newest brands and being able to give presents to a girlfriend or financial support to family and friends it was ever more urgent to seek alternative means of yielding money. In addition, finding new sources of income was increasingly necessary for both young men and women’s abilities to pay the rising school fees. For some youngsters, searching for money also often became a question of avoiding hunger in the household or life and death of a sick family member who needs medicine. Almost all the female and male students from poor areas were looking for a way to contribute to their households since the income of their families was either non-existent or very low. Many families survived by growing crops on the machamba (small garden) and trying to sell them on the local market. Since private business is reserved 19 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. for middle class families and jobs in the public sector are distributed through opaque patron-client networks young people increasing look for a job in the informal sector of more or less legal forms of trade (Agadjanian 2005). Some were able to yield an income in the informal sector as street vendors, transporters of petty goods and manufacturers of handicraft while a few were lucky enough to get a job as house guard, maid or gardener in the estate of a wealthy family. Thus, the cumulative impact of recent economic developments has created contradictions for young men and women in Maputo by simultaneously targeting them as consumers and making them particularly vulnerable to socio-economic marginalization. Such contradictions sow the seeds for alternative ways of using one’s gender and sexuality in the search for survival, luxuries and money. Thus, I witnessed how poor young women, in or out of school, called curtidoras (in Portuguese literally meaning women who enjoy life), used their looks and charms to seduce older affluent men in bars and restaurants mainly with the intent of extracting money from them through sexual liaisons. In these relationships safe sex was difficult to negotiate vis-à-vis older men, while unsafe sex could be an advantage. For example pregnancy could lead to child support or money from the patrocinador (sponsor, in other contexts called sugar-daddy) in exchange for having an abortion. Other poor young women, who did not stand a chance in the race for rich men hoped that one day they would at least get married traditionally and have children. But as more and more young men find it hard to pay the lobolo (bride price) some women saw having children as the only realistic aim in life, in which case condom use no longer makes sense. Thirdly, I encountered a group of marginalized young men, unemployed and primarily out of school, who experienced similar challenges of not being able to find jobs and incomes that could bring them closer to getting access to mobile phones, jeans and gifts for girlfriends or even to pay the lobolo and start a family. These young men, most of whom had dropped out of school and who had given up finding a job chose the dangerous path of selling drugs or stolen goods and stealing in rich neighborhoods. As I argue this ‘lifestyle’ constitutes at once a source of income but it is just as much a 20 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. based on a desire for transgressions which involve excitement and an aversion of boredom. To these youngsters engaging in unsafe sex and drug orgies made sense precisely because of the sense of danger and excitement that encompass crime and car racing through the city. Sometimes this even translated into an explicit indifference towards the future in favor of ‘living in the moment’. This unsurprisingly, means indifference towards condom use and HIV not the least because, ‘death comes faster than ever before’. The feeling of being trapped between on the one hand the lacking prospects of a legal job, a good education and a steady income and on the other hand a desperate desire for consumer goods and ‘the good life’ led young men and young women to seek radical means in radical times. Other poor young men seemingly responded to this hopeless situation by seeking to become a ‘good lover’, associated with building a muscular body, using aphrodisiacs and knowing ‘how to treat a woman’. The aim to become attractive or sexy, they argued, was a way of, ‘showing that we are still men’, although they cannot buy their girlfriends fashionable consumer goods and gifts like, ‘the rich guys can’. Although this ideal of manhood sometimes involved safe sex, possibly due to receiving peer sex education in schools, it could also entail unsafe sex precisely because condoms are seen as obstacles to giving pleasure to a girlfriend. Other young men in school revealed to me that they used violence and sexual violence against their female partners because they feared that they would run away with richer lovers or because they felt inadequate about their lack of financial abilities. Obviously, sexual violence also put women and men at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS (cf. Wood & Jewkes 2007) These findings made me alert to try to understand how power relations are enacted through ideas about feminine and masculine behavior and how structural inequalities affect sexual risk, an approach also suggested by Parker (2001) and Farmer (2004). This implied acknowledging the effects of structural adjustment programs, which have been implemented by the Mozambican government since 1987 after pressure from the IMF and the World Bank (Hanlon 1996). But it was equally important to analyze the transformation from a socialist economy in which FRELIMO, despite a 21 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ravaging civil war, had been able to provide a large part of the urban population with work in the public sector and nationalized companies, to a neo-liberal market economy (Virtanen & Ehrenspreis 2007). Up through the 1990’s and the 2000’s structural adjustment policies were followed by privatization and rising unemployment rates that had a dramatic impact on the social landscape of the city (ibid.).8 During fieldwork I experienced how the social polarization between the growing middle classes and the poor population in the city significantly framed the extent to which money, status and social connections defined gender relations and risky practices of young people. Furthermore 79% of Maputo’s one million inhabitants are under 35 years. The bad prospects in terms of education and work spurred harsh competition between poor youngsters and caused great concern among my informants. By moving between highly unequal social settings I was taken aback by the dissimilar attitudes towards and engagements in sexual relationships and ways of perceiving what it means to by a young man or women according to ones position in the hierarchical structure of social classes, age groups, genders and educational statuses. These findings meant that the project could not be limited to exploring youth, gender and sexuality since these categories did not capture the heterogeneous life worlds of young people and ideological divisions of the urban context. I came to understand that the original analytical framework was too rigid and instrumental to fit the realities of my informants as well as my own experiences, and consequently I needed to pay more attention to reconfigurations of gender and sexuality in the face of global forces transforming relations of power and class in Maputo. 22 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Reflections on method and limitations As the many discussions of method in sexuality studies testify to, the study of intimate matters of sex, gender and HIV prevention can be extremely challenging (Ashkenazi & Markowitz 1999, Kulick & Wilson 1995, Groes-Green 2009b, Groes-Green, Barrett & Izugbara 2010). It necessitates building trust among informants as a prerequisite for ensuring valid data and to avoid grave misrepresentation of people’s actual sexual lives (Bolton 1995, Abramson 1992). This encompasses alertness about the structural inequalities of gender, age, race and status tied the position of the fieldworker vis-á-vis informants as well as about the symbolic specificities of the sexual cultures that one wishes to scrutinize (Parker, Herdt & Carballo 1991). Furthermore, the use and reliability of quantitative methods in the study of sexuality have been frequently discussed and questioned (Vance 1995). Quantitative methods such as surveys that ask formal questions have been criticized for their lack of produced knowledge on people’s intimate spheres and for not taking into account the secrecy and taboos that surround sexual cultures (Abramson 1992, Parker & Easton 1998). Although the survey data in the study did elucidate the differences in the extent to which youth people from middle and lower class backgrounds use condoms consistently its results should be analyzed with some caution. The statistical validity of the survey can be questioned due to the low number of respondents and the fact that it was non-anonymous. Also, spanning eight different schools in the attempt to compare the effects of social class and peer sex education on condom use the survey is hardly a representative sample of all schools in the city or indeed the country. Therefore, the survey ended up merely serving as background material for FGDs, interviews and participant observation in which the produced data would be more reliable even if representing a smaller sample. As generally acknowledged, qualitative methods often have the advantage of providing more context and detail about study participants and therefore are suitable for finding explanations to complex questions, while its disadvantages are the lack of statistical validity and possibilities for generalization. 23 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. As I show in article 1 there was a clear discrepancy between what was stated in the survey questionnaire and what informants later replied in individual interviews and informal talks. These differences in what young people reported depended on the methodological approach and the style and language in which questions were posed. At first I spoke a formal Portuguese that I had been told was the norm in Mozambique and different from the more colloquial Portuguese I had learned during various fieldworks in Brazil. And I knew very little Changana, the local language spoken in Southern Mozambique and in the suburbs of Maputo. Maputo is a bilingual city where the large majority of the population speaks both Portuguese and Changana or another ‘native’ language (Lopes 2009). The validity of information greatly enhanced as soon as I had build trust and confidentiality among groups of informants and began to speak youth slang as well as to learn basic Changana. I found that some of the answers from the survey, FGDs and even interviews were not always correct. The reason is that the informants had presented me with answers which were seen as morally and socially acceptable to them rather than being true and scientifically correct from the researcher’s perspective. Thus, when respondents said that they, ‘always used condoms’, they were referring to their ideal behavior, and not their actual behavior. They were affected by their ideas about what they thought I as a researcher wanted to hear and they later explained that they did not want to look immoral or awkward in my eyes. Adding to this, the health discourse which I used in my inquiries was often tied to notions of ideologies of ‘education’ and moral correctness which informants saw as oppositional to their own erotic slang and playful behavior. So only when a great degree and rapport was created between me and a certain group more frank and unfiltered discussions could take place which was also when I became trustworthy enough to be seen as someone who could handle detailed information about highly secretive, controversial and personal issues of sexual practice, erotic desires, use of witchcraft, feelings of love or hate. 24 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Main informant groups and social settings In the first part of fieldwork I relied on four field assistants who were former students at the secondary schools to obtain research permits from the school principle, to assist with the survey and to arrange FGDs and individual interviews with the students. The assistants were a great help in the preparation, distribution and recollection of questionnaires, and they arranged and acted as facilitators in many of the FGDs. They served as brokers between informants and me, when in the beginning of research I had not yet sufficient insight into youth slang and cultural codes. Two of them assisted with the transcription of interviews and FGDs and explained intricate phrases and ambiguous notions in the transcripts. As I became gradually more engaged with informants a wide social field of contacts opened up. Across divided social settings new acquaintances were made which included groups outside of the original study sample of young students. Thus, I built social relationships with key informants’ friends who were not in school as well as with informants’ brothers, sisters and parents, lovers and colleagues. Although the social network of informants was changing and broadening in the course of fieldwork the subjects of study can roughly be divided into the following groups. Poor secondary school young men and women The individuals that I invested most time and personal engagement in were 13 in-school young men and 13 in-school young women between 16 and 23 years old, both groups from poor suburban areas with whom I had initially done individual interviews. I interacted with these groups in two schools in the suburban area where I observed them during classes and participated in discussions and play during lunch breaks and in after school activities in the school yard. Three months into fieldwork I began taking part in after school activities where I accompanied them on their way home from school and ‘hung out’ with them in their neighborhoods and homes. Here I also had the opportunity to meet their families and friends. Most of the time I spent sitting on the street corner or the front porch of a house in the neighborhood or around the barracas (open road side bar) where I spoke, played cards or joked with 25 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. informants. The majority of informants lived in the poor neighborhoods of Malhazine, Hulene and Zona Verde on the outskirts of the city. Informal interaction with the female and male groups was mostly gender separate because I wanted to note the specific enactments of masculinity and femininity according to male and female spheres and I tried to use an equal amount of time with both groups. But I also had the opportunity to observe gender interaction, for example at weekends when I went with young men to watch women in the park in downtown Maputo or around the barracas at night. Or, I went with the young women to the beach at Costa do Sol not far from the city centre on Sundays where the atmosphere was joyous and young people played, ate and flirted vigorously. At other times, I went with some of the young men and women to pop concerts or to lobolo (wedding ceremony) feasts and birthday parties which continued into the night. I remained in contact with these 26 young men and women throughout fieldwork, but interaction with them changed in intensity due to interaction with other groups. Poor out of school and marginalized young men: The case of moluwenes Halfway through fieldwork two young men seen as ‘tough guys’ in school introduced me to a group of primarily out of school young men called moluwenes who were between 18 and 27 years old. This group caught my interest because they stood out from the average young men in school by behaving in a seemingly asocial manner by their violent attitude and opposition to students in school whom they saw as ‘privileged rich kids’. I later found out that they were part of a gang engaged in different forms of crime and excessive activities. Interaction with the group took place in different areas in the city according to when and where they were willing to meet with me. Most of the time I socialized with them in their houses in impoverished neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city, but I also did intensive participant observation by following in their foot steps when they went out at night, even when they drove around in stolen cars or got into violent fights with rival gangs (see ethical reflections page 37) and at times I stayed with them when they visited gang patrons in a district called Columbia, notorious 26 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. for its gang related crime and drug trafficking (see article 3). In particular, I was struck by the way their firm rejection of condom use was connected with their more general attitude towards life and death and by their insistence that sexual dangers and risks can somehow be attractive and constitutive of excitement. Poor young women, in and out of school: The case of curtidoras and their partners At more or less the same time I began exploring the activities of some of the poor young women, called curtidoras (in Portuguese meaning women who enjoy life) who were picked up after school by rich older men in fancy cars. When I got to know them better I was able to observe and talk about their engagements with so-called patrocinadores (sponsors: older rich men) who pay them with gifts and money in exchange for sex. These young women introduced me to other curtidoras who were slightly older, some up to 28 years old, also from poor suburban or rural areas and often out of school. There were many close friendships between the older curtidoras (aged 23 to 28) who had dropped out of school the younger curtidoras who still went to secondary school, sometimes on a part time basis. While the former often live together in apartments in the city centre, the latter often live with their families and use the money from patrocinadores to pay school fees as well as sometimes to help their parents pay the rent. I met with curtidoras in various settings, the school, their neighborhoods, at parties and other social events. After a while I was also allowed to go out with curtidoras to nightclubs, hotel bars and restaurants where they were looking for and meeting male sexual partners, mainly older men with ‘big wallets’, as they said. This I had the opportunity to watch their interaction with local business moguls and politicians as well as with Western expatriates. By following them closely I was also able to speak with their various sexual partners, not only patrocinadors but also younger middle class men referred to as showoffistas (men who show off) and pitos (same age lovers) or namorados (same age boyfriends) who were from the same poor suburbs as curtidoras. 27 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Middle class young men and women In the higher social strata I did participant observation among six young men and six young women who went to school and lived in middle class zones of the urban part of the city. Interaction with this group mostly occurred after school in their homes, at private clubs and piscinas (swimming pools) or in cafés and restaurants in the rich and vibrant Polana area. I also observed them when they met with sexual partners, and thus I noticed how young middle class men acted very different towards partners, according to their social class. Women from their own middle class social networks were treated with much more respect and were seen as future wives and therefore as respectful and decent women with whom it is safe to have unprotected sex, especially in a steady relationship. Female partners from lower social strata were often seen as promiscuous and sexually indecent and in relation to condom use middle class men commonly suspected poor women of being infected with HIV or suspected them of wanting to get pregnant in order to extract money from them, which, I found, is why many of these men were actually insisting on having safe sex with women of lower social strata (see article 2). It was more difficult to get to know young middle class women’s sexual lives, mainly, I think because certain moral standards in their families meant that they wanted to appear as decent and morally correct as possible when I was around. For example most of them said they never went out on weekends, except to birthday parties and weddings, and yet I sometimes met them in discotheques. By contrast to middle class men, young middle class women seemed to primarily find their sexual partners among middle class peers. Many of those who had a boyfriend said they did not use a condom because they trusted their partner, while single women who merely had casual lovers or one night stands said they always used condoms, for fear of HIV infection as well as pregnancy (see article 6). Multi-sited complicity and relational spaces All articles in the dissertation are based on information gathered from the above mentioned gender, class and age groups. While the focus of each article is on a particular social group it also draws on the 28 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. experience and knowledge of other groups, and how they constitute themselves in relation to each other. Through participant observation I placed myself in situations allowing me to understand differences between the everyday life worlds, practices and sexual cultures of each group. Based on the ethnographic strategy of ‘thick description’ (Geertz 1977) as a tool for data collection I wrote extensive field notes containing detailed descriptions of highly erotic dramas, observations of unsettling scenes of violence, crime and suffering as well as interpretations of extreme social situations and challenges. On a Sunday afternoon I found myself driving with Mariana, a middle class young women, to participate in fine dining at a beach resort with a group of well off youngsters whereas the next day I would be trying to give Sylvia, a poor young student, a hand on the machamba (small plot of land) while we discussed how to find money for food for the family and medicine to treat her younger sister who was sick with malaria. One weekend I had a ‘coffee date’ with Pedro in the rich Somerschield neighborhood. As a young successful student he wanted advice about which British university he should choose when he finished secondary school. Later that week I found some of my informants who were unemployed and out of school, in a fight with a chapa driver and the police in Columbia, a neighborhood renowned for its violence and drug related crime. This style of ethnography which we might call ‘cross-positional fieldwork’ where the researcher moves between highly unequal social and symbolic spaces enabled me to observe how the behavior of informants changed in shifting localities and social environments. In school and in public space in general, young men and women often diverted from the normative and expected codes of conduct at home or in the neighborhood. Furthermore, there was a clear difference between the way they behaved on normal weekdays and on weekends where large groups of young people from all social backgrounds indulged in alcohol consumption, dancing, partying and sex. In a sense the fieldwork had some resemblance with what Marcus (1995) called multisited ethnography. Doing fieldwork in multiple sites implies that the researcher moves between concrete geographical localities and sites of struggle where different kinds of experience give rise to understanding how a complex field of relations works within the world system (Marcus 1995). Multi- 29 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. sited fieldwork moves beyond classic ethnography which is concentrated on a single locality and on a clearly delineated social or cultural group (a tribe, a people, a town, a class). It applies a crossdisciplinary approach where global economic, political and cultural currents are observed in their interaction with local bodies and social realities. This implies an adoption of what Marcus (1997) later termed ‘complicity’ with shifting subjects, their discourses and projects without ethical judgment or ‘taking sides’. What Marcus calls ‘complicity’ is linked to multi-sited fieldwork because, ‘(...) within the boundaries of a single project, the ethnographer may be dealing intimately and equivalently with subjects of very different class circumstances – with elites and subalterns, for instance – who may not even be known directly to one another or have a sense of the often indirect effects that they have on each other’s lives.’ (Marcus 1997:99). Thus, my fieldwork was not only multi-sited in a strict geographical sense, but also in a cross-positional sense, placing myself at shifting ends of the lines of social struggle, organization and ideology in the studied society. It was the movements between settings, locations and perspectives – notably the moments of perception entailed in moving between affluent and impoverished parts of the city that framed the analytical and methodological approach. Therefore, in a sense the project ended up engaging what Gustavson & Cytrynbaum (2003) have defined as relational spaces: ‘The relational spaces of research are those moments when the originally intended purpose of the planned data collection activities get pushed to the periphery and the relational dynamics of the research take centre stage’ (Gustavson & Cytrynbaum 2003:253) 30 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. This does not mean that the original methods of FGDs and individual interviews were abandoned, but rather that participant observation and ethnography across different sites seemed to pave the way for a more holistic and profound understanding of the issues under study. In another sense, this analytical perspective can be understood against the background of what has been called standpoint theory, developed by feminist researchers (Smith 2005, Harding 2004). The basic idea of standpoint theory is that all knowledge, values and practices reflect the position, in space, time, and social relations, of the observer (Harding 2004). Inspired by Karl Marx, they argue in different ways that economic status and the relationship to other segments in society to a large extent define people and, in particular, women’s forms of thought and identity. Just as Marx accorded an analytical privilege to the proletariat based on its subordination and capacity to grasp the underlying structures of the social order, Smith (2004) and Harding (2004) address the question of a privileged perspective for subordinated groups, especially women. Smith (2005) emphasizes how ethnography, by engaging various positions, can lead to a deeper recognition of the diversity of women's (and men’s) experiences of structural inequalities tied to capitalism and patriarchy. In the same vein Nagel (1989) argued, that even for a trained researcher in the field there can be no objective ‘view from nowhere’. But as he adds (Nagel 1989:137), the more a researcher moves between and becomes familiar with various social and cultural spaces the more she or he builds an understanding of the various standpoints, perspectives and possible interconnections. Language and sexual classifications In order to map the sexual culture and language (Simon & Gagnon 1999) of different groups of informants I conducted ‘language workshops’ where I gathered a sample of youngsters to record their erotic expressions and slang notions for the sexual act, desire and pleasure, condoms and HIV risk, sexual partners as well as gender notions of being a man or women is specific sexual relationships. At language workshops we recorded and analyzed categories in colloquial Portuguese and youth slang but 31 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. we also discussed central categories in Changana, the language which many informants spoke when they were at home or in their neighborhood.9 Since I spoke fluent Portuguese which I had learned during fieldworks in Brazil it was a matter of grasping the sexual categories and sayings that circulated in the specific youth culture of urban Mozambique. Also, I took lessons in Changana for the sake of being able to decipher informants’ discussions when they changed from Portuguese to their mother tongue, which is becoming revitalized poor young people (Lopes 2001). During the transcription of interviews and FGDs which contained unknown Changana words or slang expressions I sometimes relied on assistance from my closest informants. While the great majority of informants spoke both Changana and Portuguese (72.4% of people in Maputo speak the ex-colonial language fluently), a few middle class youngsters only knew Portuguese because their parents considered Changana a dialect (dialecto) ‘of the poor’ or ‘of ignorant people’. A few poor young men and women who had migrated to Maputo from Northern Provinces spoke Cisena, Cishona or Emakhuwa, besides Portuguese, but they hardly ever spoke these language in public since they were a small minority. My choice to take Changana lessons and to set up ‘language workshops’ was largely inspired by Parker, Herdt & Carballo’s (1991) suggestions that if we wish to understand the complexity of sexual cultures and gender relations we need to acknowledge that, ‘Cultural and linguistic categories vary across societies, and understanding sexuality in different settings, therefore, depends upon sensitivity to these categories. Gender is an example of a very fundamental cultural category that structures human sexuality (...) Biological males and females must necessarily undergo a process of sexual socialization in which notions of masculinity and femininity are shaped across the life course and across cultures (see, for example, Ortner & Whitehead, 1981). Sexual socialization is the process whereby someone learns the sexual feelings, desires, roles (...)’ (Parker, Herdt & Carballo 1991:80, reference in original). 32 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Yet, as Karlyn (2005) and Hawkins et al. (2009) remark, youth slang and categories for sexual relationships and partners in Maputo can change so fast that what is the parlance today may be substituted for other jargons in a few years. In his study in Maputo half a decade ago, Karlyn (2005) encountered the saca cena concept, which denotes a ‘one night stand’ between young people that tends to involve condom use and a high degree of secrecy. Although a few informants had heard about it they did not know that it implicated condom use and most of them said that it was jargon of ‘the older generation’. But categories for sexual partners such as patrocinador (sponsor or sugar-daddy) for an older rich man and curtidora (a woman who enjoys life) were also noticed by Hawkins et al. (2005, 2009) in their recent studies. However, their description of the curtidora as a category, ‘in contradiction to the common expressed aspiration to succeed in life through study, work, and securing a good marriage’ (Hawkins et al. 2005:10), does not resonate with my findings. Although many curtidoras did not have a job almost half of those I met did study and in fact many aspired to get married even if it was often far from realistic (see article 6 and 7). Sexual ethnography, ethical dilemmas and intersectional reflexivity I intended to gain an understanding of young people’s life worlds and sexual cultures based not only on creating a climate of confidentiality but also on direct experiences of erotic activities. As Bolton (1995:140) asked, how can sex researchers really understand the desires and constraints of other sexual selves and their risky practices without ever being sexually involved in the field? The greatest risk of maintaining a rigid sexual boundary between the researcher and ‘the Other’ is to perpetuate already established ideas about an exotic other having ‘risky’ or ‘damaging’ sexual proclivities as opposed to the ‘moral right’ of the observer (ibid.). So I decided to actively take part in dancing and drinking as well as in intimate exchanges of personal opinions and feelings. This at least gave me a sense of bridging the gap of ethnocentrism while giving insight into their erotic life worlds (see article 1). Throwing myself into erotically vested situations forced me to constantly negotiate whether it was 33 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ethically appropriate to for example accept a female informant’s kiss, to dance closely with somebody or to observe explicit sexual acts. When I accepted to dance with an informant and I felt a sexual desire, whether mutual or not, the question was if and when any further developments or complications should be avoided. Not only did I feel that rejecting a dance or a hug would be highly inappropriate with persons with whom I had build a strong friendship I also knew that in Mozambique instances of bodily intimacy are very common between family members and between friends of the male and female gender. If sisters and brothers could kiss on the mouth and grab each other behinds without any direct sexual implications, why should I limit myself? Yet, in order to avoid the discomfort of transgressing personal and ethical norms for research I circumvented erotic tensions by kindly rejecting attempts to kiss on the mouth or holding hands for too long and by turning down illicit proposals. My reactions, of course, should also be understood against the background of Western taboos about bodily contact and research conventions that fieldworkers, especially if they are white and male, should avoid intimacies which could be seen as taking advantage of structural inequalities of race, gender and class. But while my rejections at times happened at a cost, in ethnographic terms, I nevertheless managed to develop a social role which ensured a climate of confidentiality. Instead of acting as a completely ‘asexual’ at birthday parties, discos and bars, which I did in the beginning, I decided instead to engage in open talks about my own sexuality and experiences and give advice about sexual matters, romance and emotional problems. This way I developed the role of an ‘older brother’ to whom one could be open and trustful, and, in fact, I ended up being presented to others as ‘irmão’ (brother). Among both young men and women the concept of ‘brother’ was used to denote a close relationship. It was most useful among young women because it is applied to someone with whom ones does not have sex, but who can be relied for protection and consolation. Thus, even patrocinadores and same age boyfriends accepted me as ‘brother’ when young women introduced me as such (see article 7). 34 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. In other situations I had to deal with discomforting experiences such as when informants became violent against each other or against strangers or when I watched them commit a crime or when they acted in self-destructive or dangerous ways. Such experiences were common among the group of moluwenes (see page 17, also see article 3) who had an appetite for driving fast in stolen cars, taking drugs on weekends, arranging parties that turned into orgies and taking active part in city riots. Although, I did not feel like a complicit I still felt ashamed or even powerless because I either did not or could not intervene to protect them or others if I wanted to ensure my own security. In spite of the discomfort and frustrations that followed, I decided that this ethnography ‘on the edge’ was worthwhile because in a sense it would be more just to depict their radical world, so that others would understand and be able to help change existing structures, than to silence my experiences or back out due to personal fears and ethical doubts (see article 3). Another ethical aspect which disturbed me was that many informants either did not seem to fully understand the implications of fieldwork or of the fact that they were being studied. It was not the first time I thought about this since. In an earlier fieldwork among indigenous people in Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon informants told me that they saw my presence there as a sign that I was their friend and did not recognize that I carried out ‘research’ (Groes-Green 2002). Being a friend included a principle of reciprocity that I could not escape and as long as I accepted to give and receive favors my informants regarded the fact that I studied them insignificant (ibid). I have been asked time and again by reviewers and other colleagues if my informants in Maputo were well informed that my studies were about their most intimate lives, their sexuality and bed room choices. I need to stress that all informants were informed that they were part of a study on condom use, gender and sexuality. They were told that their anonymity would be respected, and asked if they accepted that their stories could appear in books or articles. But I soon realized that their understanding of what I was doing was probably radically different from my won and my colleagues understanding. 35 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Firstly, the word ‘research’ does not exist in Changana and similar words for ‘studying’ or ‘reading’ did not make sense because they were associated with ‘going to school’. The Portuguese word for research, pesquisa, was not familiar to most of them, probably because the concept is solely used among local researchers and well educated people. Those students who had heard about pesquisa associated it with something that is carried out in an office or laboratory at the university campus, not in a school yard talking to students or going with them to a bus stop or a barraca. Therefore some informants were flattered that I would spend time with them instead of ‘doing my job at campus’ even when I insisted that my work was being with them, interviewing them, ‘hanging out’ with them and watching them. When I explained that the result of my work would be published in scientific articles and even a book in which there would be intimate descriptions of their lives they would simply say, ‘ok’ or ‘that’s good’ without showing the slightest interest. And when I asked them for permission to use their stories as examples in future texts they looked at me as if I talked mumbo-jumbo or they merely laughed and said ‘you’re crazy’ (estas maluco), meaning that it either did not matter to them what I wrote and where, or that they thought the question was irrelevant. This made me wonder if maybe we, as researchers, are much more concerned about informants being informed and consenting to our inquiries than they are. Maybe because no matter how much we write about them in journals or lecture about their lives and troubles at universities it really has no visible impact on their lives. If the latter is true it should make us reflect far more about how we can make research relevant outside of university on the streets of poor suburbs - than to what extent people have really understood what we are doing. Or perhaps the fact that they do not understand is a sign that we are ‘off the track’, that research should be less concerned about its status as ‘research’ and more interested in ensuring that our studies have a positive and visible effect amongst the people we study. Thinking research in terms of reciprocity and exchange of knowledge, values and forms of capital might give research the status and respect it deserves among our interlocutors (Tersbøl 2005, Groes-Green 2002). 36 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. If we wish to address the structural inequalities between fieldworker and informants it is important to address the intersectional aspect of fieldwork that impedes a free flow of information which shapes the kind of knowledge that is produced. As suggested by Mazzei and O’Brian (2009), ‘The concept of intersectionality recognizes that researchers simultaneously overlap and diverge demographically from informants focusing on the effects of key attributes for access and rapport’ (Mazzei & O’Brien 2009:363). This means that structural factors like gender, race, age and status can be both constraining and advantageous to research depending on the fieldworkers ability to deploy them strategically (ibid.). Being a man had the obvious limitations that I was fenced off from certain female spheres and that at least in the beginning I was more a target for sexual interest among some of the females than taken serious as a researcher. But I quickly found ways of using this to my own advantage. Indeed, it was as if I had easier access to young women than female colleagues (sociologists) who also did a study in the schools but had a hard time being accepted by female students. The sociologists suggested that female students were reluctant to talk to them because they were jealous and saw them as competitors, since they had no trouble building rapport with the young men in the school. Somehow, I tend to agree with their suggestion. At least I had more open and frank conversations with the young women than with the young men, and when I succeeded in making it clear that I was not seducible and adopted the role of ‘brother’ it was easier to keep the focus on the subject matter. Not that I did not speak with the younger men in the beginning but discussions were not as deep or elaborate as with the other gender. This changed over time when I began to meet with them outside school, and eventually it became clear that discussions in the absence of women greatly enhanced their sincerity. Being less than ten years older than my informants and wearing a style of clothing which they thought was ‘fish’ (cool/trendy) and youthful was undoubtedly an advantage in terms of becoming 37 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. popular and getting invited to all kinds of social activities. It was also a conscious strategy to learn dancing to local marrabenta rhythms, speaking the slang and even showing off my Brazilian lingo which young people know and admire from the popular Brazilian telenovelas shown on national TV. More significantly, my knowledge about American and Brazilian pop music, movies, and fashion was the centre of much small talk, which led to respect across social settings. No doubt, being white and Scandinavian in a city where 98% of the population is black had a deep impact on the way I was treated and looked at. Although, I did not dress or act as people normally expect from a white person with money - driving a car, wearing suit and tie, having an expensive mobile phone - informants were well aware that I was far richer than them and had the opportunity to travel. In Maputo, being white (mulungo) is in itself a symbol of wealth and status, so no matter where I went my color would be seen as an opportunity and taken into account. Sometimes I would pay for a drink or two or a meal but mostly I denied paying for informants and their friends insisting that I was a poor student or clinging on to the ‘brother’ role. To female informants I played with the title of ‘brother’ and referred to a local understanding of money as expressing love, while protection is the gift of a family. So I jokingly reminded them that, ‘we are family, not lovers’. Being white was an advantage among curtidoras to the extent that they found me useful as an advisor in matters having to do with the seduction of white men and sexual relationships with them, and I even agreed to serve as translator between them and potential lovers who did not speak Portuguese. Certainly, my color gave me status and yielded respect in families, especially when people realized that I was not South African or Portuguese, both nationalities that some Mozambican informants, probably for historical reasons, had a problematic relationship to. Limitations of applied methods and perspectives Since the study was mainly qualitative it has the common limitations of not being easily generalized to a broader segment of a population. Firstly, the results of the study do not necessarily apply to other urban 38 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. or indeed rural contexts of Mozambique. Maputo is the biggest city in the country and does not share the same historical, cultural and socio-economic features of other country settings. Thus, the results of the study presented in the articles in the dissertation have mainly been compared with more or less similar urban settings across sub-Saharan Africa, especially other cities that have experienced an equal transformation of the social landscape due to political and economic reforms. Neoliberal reforms leading to massive unemployment and social inequality in various countries on the continent have spurred a growing focus on the role of sexuality as a resource for social mobility, as a site for social and gender struggles and for reassertions of masculinities and femininities (Cole 2004, Silberschmidt 2005, Wood and Jewkes 2005, Hunter 2007). Secondly, the issues of religion, spirituality and custom could have been given more space had I chosen a different analytical perspective. Although I do analyze the implications of cosmology, witchcraft and healing in relation to condom use and female power the dynamics between these issues and local forms of Christianity and Islam was explored to a lesser extent. Besides the fact that most informants, especially in poor and lower class segments, did to some degree believe in witchcraft, healing and certain spiritual elements, the influence of the urban context, colonialism and globalization has made these religious interstices increasingly complex. Official statistics report that 25% of the city’s population are members of the Zion Christian Church, 23% are members of the Catholic Church, 21% are members of Evangelical or Pentecostal Churches, 5% Muslims and the rest are referred to as animists. The fact that the Zion religion has so many followers, a tendency I noticed among informants’ families, could have been an issue to explore more in depth. Particularly, because this religion is fast growing in major cities in Southern Africa and because it stands out as much more open to spiritual elements of local so-called animist religions than other big religious communities. Also, the different influences of Catholic, Protestant and Zionist religions could have been interesting due to the more radical opposition to condom use among Catholics. In one of the articles (see article 2) I discuss the effect of fatalism and pre-determinist ideas which people linked various versions 39 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. of Christianity, Islam or ancestral spirits. Fatalism was a significant factor that impeded condom use since getting HIV/AIDS or other deadly diseases was perceived as something predetermined by God or spiritual forces. To be sure, trying to avoid being infected by using condoms was among some young people explained as immoral because thinking that one can decide over life and death would amount to ‘playing God’. Especially among the poorer segment of young people this kind of fatalism seemed to go hand in hand with the attitude that it is better to ‘live in the moment’ and enjoy life and ‘pure sex’ than to plan the future (through family planning) because there were no jobs or life opportunities in sight. Middle class youngsters, who were not to the same degree convinced by the power of ancestral spirits and fatalist views, were also much more prone to use condoms consistently and very conscious about planning both their careers and their family life. They were more explicitly afraid of getting HIV and of ‘dying’ which seemed to have a concrete connection to their ‘will to live’, so to speak, meaning that their motivation for protecting themselves was related to their life prospects and possibilities. One of the reasons why I did not analyze more thoroughly the effect of religion on condom use was that ‘the big religions’ of Christianity and Islam were rarely subject to discussion among informants. Almost nobody mentioned religion in FDGs and interviews unless I asked about its significance. And the issue rarely surged when we talked about inhibitions or restriction around sexual practices although the Catholic Church criticism of female sexualities did arise in debates (see article 6). One reason that Christian and Islamic teachings do not seem as prevalent as in some other African countries is perhaps that ancestral spirits, healers and witchdoctors have a more acute significance in people lives, which also became a salient issue (see article 7). Another explanation could be that the big religions are so entangled with ‘native’ forms of spirituality that it is difficult to discern them in people’s lives outside of the institutional context of the Church or the Mosque. The cosmological significance of spirits, witchcraft and customary practices could also have taken up more space in the dissertation, for example by comparing my own findings with the classic findings by Junod (2003[1926]) or more recent findings by Honwana (2003). Almost all 40 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. informants had been in contact with a curandeiro (healer/witchdoctor) or knew somebody in their family who were ‘gifted’ with spiritual abilities. Furthermore, rumors of witchcraft sometimes guided whether or not to apply a condom with a partner who was suspected of using occult forces. Inversely, when for example young women tried to apply spiritual and erotic powers during intercourse it was essential that a condom was not worn by the man (see article 7). The lobolo custom also had an immense impact on femininities and masculinities. Young men felt unmanly when they realized that they could not pay the bride price and rather than planning a steady relationship with a single woman they built sexual relationships with multiple partners (see article 4). Poor young women, on the other hand cannot see the purpose of waiting for a poor same age boyfriend to marry her if he has no income to pay the lobolo, and against this background they more readily engage with a patrocinador who can endow her life with money and luxuries, and if she is lucky he may even marry her. Customary issues could have been looked into more closely as could the role of families in the choice of partner according to certain kin structures and principles as well as power struggles within and between poor and affluent families. Another issue which was rarely discussed by informants was ethnicity. On the one hand it seemed to pay a minor role in the sexual and gendered universe, although some informants would assert that Machangana people, the great majority in Maputo, were privileged through the elite and FRELIMO, traditionally controlled by the Machangana. A minor ethnic and language group is the Ronga, who, in terms of identity and language are seen as almost identical to the Machangana because they have lived side by side in the region for centuries. But some of the informants who had migrated to Maputo alone or with their family complained that they were not respected by the Machangana because of their ethnic origins or because they spoke a foreign language. Yet, by contrast to some of its neighboring countries Mozambique, and Maputo in particular, has rarely suffered from ethnic conflicts in recent times; the civil war from 1974 to 1992 divided the population by political and geographical associations and inequalities rather than according to ethnic identities (Virtanen 2008). Most probably this lack of ethnic 41 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. strife is due to the homogenizing projects of first the Portuguese colonizers and later FRELIMO’s policy of national unity. This policy, which is partly carried on today, was implemented through a ban on local customs and idioms and an emphasis on socialist slogans, education for all and the Portuguese language as common frames of reference (Sumich 2008, Arnfred 2004, West 2001). The question of generation could have been given more attention in the analysis of changing gender notions and sexualities. As researchers like Cole (2004) and Durham (2004) argue, ideas about generation and youth are essential categories as social shifters in new sexual economies in Africa. The new political economy of neo-liberalism in Mozambique has altered how young people decide on sexual and reproductive issues. Today’s generation of poor youth is more vulnerable to unemployment than their parents who one generation ago still had access to work in the public sector and to land in Maputo’s suburbs when the effects of immigration from other provinces and high population density were less severely felt (Hanlon 1996, Knauder 2000). This means that young people are more susceptible to temptations of crime, transactional sex and alternative means of accumulating money when work and income opportunities are scarce and food, commodity and lobolo prices are rising to unprecedented levels. In the face of such challenges, I argue, condom use becomes less a priority than developing sexual capital, erotic power or a meaningful existence in a society where old socialist slogans of work and education have lost their credibility and legitimacy (see article 3). 42 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Overall conclusions and perspectives The urban matrix, in which young people’s sexualities and gender relations are organized in novel ways, I suggest, is characterized by what we may call a logic or culture of transgression. As explained by Bataille (1991, 1988), transgression of taboos, norms and boundaries for behavior or intimacy can become intensified as a consequence of changing forms of production and consumption. When all social exchanges become commoditized so that they encompass not only material goods and gifts but also bodies and sexualities the logic of expenditure and sacrifice tend to annul preexisting rules and norms (Bataille 1988, 1986). I believe that it can be fruitful to apply the concept of transgression as a framework for understanding the consequences of imposed structural adjustment for the reconfiguration of gender relations and sexualities among young people in Maputo. The concurrent processes of increased economic growth and deepening poverty in Maputo, caused by global pressures for neoliberal reform, is constituting a vertical scenario where a burgeoning middle class and elite indulge in consumption while the majority of disenfranchised people struggle to survive (Jones 2005). As Jones (2005) argues, in some segments of the city, globalization has led to prosperity and opaque forms of corruption, accumulation and consumption, but on the margins of society people are left to consume the waste of others or are being themselves consumed, in a metaphorical sense, as thieves in prisons, casualties in riots, sex workers on the streets or collectors of rubbish. I would argue that young people’s sexualities are guided by the principle of transgression in a number of ways. As noted, poor young women’s use of erotic power became a means of transgressing boundaries of age, class and race in search for money and excitement (see article 3). Furthermore, young women increasingly ‘violate’ normative prohibitions about overtly erotic behavior in public, inspired by female pop singers and Brazilian TV stars, and prefer to ‘dress up sexy’ and actively seduce men than to follow dictates by the older generations, the church and bourgeois morality (see article 6). 43 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Poor young men’s defiance of sexual risks paves the way for an assertion of manhood by engaging in ‘orgies of the moment’ against the backdrop of social marginalization and a delegitimization of FRELIMO’s ideology based on ’education’ and ’work’ for everybody. In opposition to middle class morality and a ’bare life’, poor young men called moluwenes (wild, unruly men) transgress societal norms through criminal activities, drug use, car theft, violence as well as excessively unsafe sex. As Bourdieu (1999) wrote, we should expect a logic of reciprocity in violence (see also Jackson 2002), so that when global financial institutions and governments push people to the limit by violating their human needs, people react accordingly, ’(…) the structural violence by the financial markets, in the form of layoffs, loss of security, etc., is matched sooner or later in the form of suicides, crime and delinquency, drug addiction, alcoholism, a whole host of minor and major everyday acts of violence’ (Bourdieu 1999:40) In sexual orgies, young men found unsafe sex particularly alluring, not despite the dangers and risks in terms HIV infection, but partly because of their awareness of the dangers, and because of the sense of exception, invincibility and sovereignty that such transgressive acts give way to (see articles 3 and 4). Simultaneously, young men and women also tended to exceed the limits of what formerly defined a ‘real’ man or woman. Some poor young women contested ideas about female decency and restraint and poor young men left behind notions that a man’s sexual satisfaction is more important than the woman’s. Instead some youngsters made women’s pleasure a priority in sexual relationships as a way of generating sexual capital. In general, the young people from the poor suburbs were prone to challenge ideological divisions between proper and improper behavior, between ‘educated’ language and illicit sexual slang, between conventional sex for procreation and sex for pleasure, power or money (see 44 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. articles 1, 5 and 7). As Comaroff and Comaroff (2000) wrote, living on the margins of a capitalist economy in post-colonial Africa creates a, ‘sense of impossibility, even despair, that comes from being left out of the promise of prosperity, from having to look in on the global economy of desire from its immiserated exteriors [in which] occult economies are a response to a world gone awry; a world in which the only way to create real wealth seems to lie in forms of power/knowledge that transgress the conventional, the rational, the moral (…)’ (Comaroff & Comaroff 2000:315-16) Of course, cultures of transgression are also entangled with intense processes of commoditization. As described by Chapman (2004) in her work on poor women in Central Mozambique, economic austerity and changes in domestic organization tended to transform kinship and gender relations through a gradual commoditization of sexual and reproductive practices. Economic marginalization of women leads to a circumvention of rules for virginity reviews and increases seduction fees and bride wealth payments. Sexual and reproductive risks are increasingly ignored or linked to spirit-induced threats of witchcraft in an atmosphere of competition and instability (Chapman 2004). In a different vein Hawkins et al. (2009) argue that a growing number of poor young women in Maputo enter the sexual economy with sugar-daddies as a direct response to a consumer culture in which bodies, sexuality and money can be exchanged and as a consequence of the fact that fewer young men are able to make the required lobolo payment. This process of commoditization of younger women’s bodies only intensifies as the emphasis on values like virginity and respectability by kin members, for the sake of securing the bride price, has become obsolete (see also Chapman 2004). Therefore, poor young women seek a broad and flexible network of partners and young men look for casual lovers instead of a stable life with a wife and family (see also Hunter 2005, Cornwall 2004). Karlyn (2005) argues that casual sexual relationships among young people in Maputo have become 45 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. more frequent due to an urban culture where sex can be an anonymous and secretive phenomenon without immediate responsibilities and Aboim (2009) demonstrates how some men in Maputo seek comfort in being good lovers when they can no longer find the means to become a breadwinner. Paulo (2009) points to the way young people’s involvement in casual sexual affairs reveals a strong desire for commodities and recognition in a poor neighborhood in suburban Maputo. Since marriage is postponed because few young men are able to pay the lobolo, young people choose to have many different partners in the search for money and pleasure rather than for the sake of procreation and forming a family. The examples testify to the way social inequality, consumerism and commoditization have overwhelmingly put sexuality at the forefront of social struggle and new self-definitions to an extent where sexual practice constitutes the very basis for social existence. To some, sex becomes the means of acquiring goods and money. To others sex becomes an instrument for pleasure and to others yet sex becomes a substitution for commodities by itself becoming a commodity which can be exchanged as sexual capital in return for economic capital or status. This is a result of young men’s inabilities to create an income due to deepening poverty and massive unemployment. In the absence of economic powers, giving gifts to partners or paying the lobolo is unrealistic. Consequently the hegemonic model of manhood is undermined as exemplified in the provider role, which is no longer possible to live up to among poor young men (see article 4, also Hunter 2005). Sexual capital as a reassertion of manhood While the ideal of the provider is reproduced by middle class men and the older generation in Maputo the marginalized young men today seek new ways of reasserting manhood, when economic abilities are absent (see also Silberschmidt 2005). Under these constraints sex and bodily skills in bed turn into a capital form that substitutes financial capital and economic capabilities. Sexual capital should been understood as a form of capital akin to other forms of capital (symbolic, cultural, social capital) as defined by Bourdieu (1977) and which at certain times become currencies that can be exchanged into 46 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. economic capital. Thus, he describes cultural and symbolic capital as objects of exchange which can be consumer goods, cultural signs, practices and behaviors, language and habits, education and knowledge, which are not capital in a traditional sense but become capitalized and assume value as prestige in a capitalist structure of classes and classifications (Bourdieu 1977). Thus, some young men increasingly groom their looks and bodies to become more attractive and develop sexual capital which can be used to give women pleasure, and thereby they gain respect and status in a relationship and in the wider community. In this process, young men also make use of aphrodisiacs and get advice from each other and curandeiros who teach them how to hold on to a woman by giving her satisfaction. Moreover, peer sex education in school ends up being an additional resource for obtaining knowledge about sex and pleasure in relationship. Young women contribute to this tendency by insisting that, ‘if a man has no money he must at least be good in bed’. In this sexual economy sexuality becomes a commodity which men invest in and produce and which involve knowledge, innovation and self-control. Female erotic power and pleasure in a neo-liberal sexual economy Young women develop similar forms of empowerment embedded in the realm of sexuality. Among curtidoras in Maputo sex and eroticism are primary tools in the seduction of older rich men as well as towards the end of gaining control over their possessions. And yet, their use of ‘erotic tricks’ to extract wealth from men did not rule out their own sense of pleasure in sexual relationships. To most curtidoras pleasurable sex with patrocinadores consisted in an erotic and spiritually loaded sense of control which they felt had the most intensely effect when men ‘gave in to them’ during the sexual act. They also experienced this sense of control when they succeeded in ‘putting a man in the bottle’, i.e. when they ensured that he became passionately in love with them and as a result accepted their material requests. Curtidoras felt that their pleasure-giving techniques and illicit ‘sexual magic’ was directly transformed into luxuries and money in their bank account. Whether engaging sexually with Western expats or local Mozambican patrons, the young women expressed a real sense of power and control despite the fact that 47 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. it was the men who had the upper hand in economic terms. The danger of this strategy lies in men or other women’s suspicions of witchcraft and concomitant physical or psychological violence. As other scholars note, women’s use of magic and erotic means for material ends often evokes a fear among men leading them to call women witches, prostitutes or whores (Passador, forthcoming, Cole 2004, Haram 2005). Cole (2004) describes a similar situation in her study of female jeunes in Tamatave, Madagascar. Jeunes are young women who engage in transactional sex with rich white men and local wealthy Malagasys and Indian traders. As she notes, transactional sexual relationships have a long history in Tamatave, but only recently a sexual economy has emerged in which young women, unable to find work or a husband who can support them, begin looking for men who can support them or maybe marry them. Young women find themselves trapped in the culture of consumption and causal affairs in an economy restructured by structural adjustment programs and the transition from a socialist to a neoliberal government. Being young becomes a permanent status because the usual ways to adulthood through marriage and work are disappearing (Cole 2004). The same tendencies have been registered by Nyamnjoy (2005) who describes how young women in Dakar, Senegal called disquettes are seen as commodities which can be bought, consumed and replaced and who transform into waste when used by too many thiofs (rich men). Yet, as Haram (2004) and Spronk (2006) show in different contexts poor women also find ways to manipulate new sexual economies to their own benefit. Haram (2004) describes how single townswomen in northern Tanzania utilize their sexuality to survive socially as well as in terms of supporting themselves and their families. Sometimes sex is a source of pleasure but quite often it is used to become pregnant with a network of men who as fathers give them social and economic security. As an alternative to the formal conjugal union, creating flexible networks of lovers and fathers to their children is a strategy enabling women to find a balance between relative independence on one man and a level of respectability in their communities (Haram 2004). Spronk (2006) elucidates how work and 48 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. economic independence of young professional women in Nairobi, Kenya enable them to actively seek pleasure in relationship with men without having to follow ‘traditional’ prescriptions for when to plan a family. Because they delay marriage and having children they need to find ways to negotiate the gerontocratic moral order of their families by at once claiming a new identity as ‘modern’ and yet maintain respect by adhering to certain ‘African’ values. Having sex for pleasure entailed a feeling of being appreciated as woman, and one informant expressed that she preferred to take sex into her own hands rather than simply feeling that she was being used by men (Spronk 2006). Perhaps we can understand curtidoras’ strategy of ‘putting men in a bottle’ as a way of reclaiming their sexuality by transforming the commoditization of their bodies to their own benefit by getting the most out of their erotic power under impoverished circumstances. They may, in fact, intensify this commoditization by dressing sexy and grooming their physical looks to appear more attractive to men they intend to seduce. So like poor young men invest in their bodies for sexual capital and respect vis-à-vis girlfriends of the same class, curtidoras use erotic power to turn their bodies into tolls for social mobility. In case they succeed to marry a patrocinador or a wealthy foreigner this strategy can even ensure them a position in Maputo’s middle class or even carry them to rich countries like South Africa, Portugal, Brazil or the US. Multiple ways of being a man: Subordinated, hegemonic and philogynous masculinities As argued by Cornwall & Lindisfarne (1994) masculinities must been seen as mutable, various and complex configurations of male practices and identities. They should also be analyzed in their relation to power and therefore perceived as unequal constructions depending on men’s position in socioeconomic and symbolic structures (Connell 1995). Connell (1995) developed the notions of hegemonic, complicit, subordinate and marginalized masculinities to underscore the importance of seeing masculinities as constituted in relation to other more or less powerful notions of manhood as well as in relation to various groups of women and femininity. Hegemonic masculinity is the idealized and 49 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. dominant form of masculinity in a society against which others forms are measured and ultimate suppressed or ignored. As Connell (1995) adds, the hegemonic version of manhood most often has a material base in the shape of work, a good income and or a valued position in society. In my research, I applied the concepts of hegemonic and subordinated masculinities to understand the dynamics between middle class and poor young men in sexual relationships to women (see article 4). To the degree that the hegemonic provider ideal is slowly undermined by economic austerity and unemployment among the poor majority of youth I wished to look at the consequences for their sexual practices and enactments of masculinity. As I show some young react to this situation by trying to invest in sexual capital and being a good lover in relationships to women while others show tendencies towards using violence vis-à-vis female partners in frustration over their financial impotence. These findings are akin to observation by Wood & Jewkes (2005), Wood, Lambert & Jewkes (2008) and Silberschmidt (2005). As described by Wood & Jewkes (2001) young men in South African townships opt for sexual and or violent practices as a strategy for becoming recognized as a real man. Young men compete over who can get the most desirable girlfriends and in sexual liaisons with women the same men often use violence against other men and their partner when they feel that their ‘lover’ relationship is threatened. While some scholars conflate hegemonic masculinity with anything from economic to physical dominance to sexual violence against women, I argue that is it imperative to distinguish between hegemonic and violent or coercive practices of manhood (see article 4). With reference to Gramsci’s (1957) original definitions of the hegemony from where Connell derives her theory, I tried to demonstrate that it may be more productive to separate masculinities based on socioeconomic status from physically coercive forms. Gramsci defined hegemony as an unequal but stable relationship between groups or social classes (Kurz 1996). In contrast, he described dominance as the outcome of a hegemonic relationship which had become unstable and characterized by conflict and physical tension, especially when the economic base is shaken (ibid.). Thus, I transferred Gramsci’s theory of power to the realm of gender in a slightly different way than Connell in order to understand 50 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. how middle class young men were able to base their status on the male provider role and ability to marry where the necessity of using violence and sexual performance is perhaps diminished. By contrast, many poor young men expressed frustration that they cannot get married or become providers like their parents could or like ‘rich kids’ can. While the average middle class young man is able to consolidate his masculinity in material resources, enabling him to marry and pay the lobolo, to give his partner gifts and invite her for dinner or on a one-day safari trip, to buy property and a car, the poor youngster experiences that he is stripped off all other means for male assertion than his own body. As a body, he cannot be utilized on the labor market or in the general work force where manpower is more than abundant. As a result the only remaining forms of power he can rely on in relationships to women are perhaps those contained in physical superiority and or in sexual practices. My distinction between hegemonic and subordinated masculinities in Maputo served to explain these inequalities and their consequences for sexual relationships. In Aboim’s (2009) work on men who are caught between ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ values, she illustrates how being a husband in a stable marriage yields a higher status than being a man who struggles to reassert his power through sexual affairs. The former is seen as solid and established as man while the latter is looked at as not yet a man according to ‘traditional’ values demanding that men pass the lobolo ritual before becoming a full member of society (Aboim 2009). This strategy of achieving recognition as a man through sexual affairs shares some of the features of what Arnfred (2001) terms ‘amantismo’. At a first glance amantismo in Mozambique – male lovers having multiple sexual partners in urban contexts - may look like traditional polygamy in rural contexts. But in fact the engagement in flexible and informal sexual relationships deprives women of the status which being married carries in rural communities (Arnfred 2001). Another example that male and female ideals are changing is the growing acceptance that young men enter the informal economy as street vendors, a work formerly seen as female and that men left to women because they feared their manhood would be compromised (Agadjanian 2005). 51 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Far from all poor young men in the study expressed violent or disrespectful tendencies towards women. Actually, there was a group of young men who explicitly opposed violence and any form of coercion against women and who frequently mentioned values of being considerate and affectionate lovers. In interviews about their perceptions of peer sex education, some young men said that it had made them aware about women’s needs and pleasures and taught them the importance of respecting women. On the one hand, recognizing women’s needs and being respectful could imply insistence on using condoms as a way of showing ‘responsibility’, but since condoms are also seen as counter-productive towards creating pleasure young men often found themselves in a dilemma. Should they try to become respected by playing the role of the thoughtful and careful lover or should they assume the role of the wild and pleasure-focused devotee? Despite the ambivalence that these young men feel towards condom use, the essential point here is that no matter which strategy they apply the objective is still the same: to become respected or loved by a female partner by simultaneously showing her respect, care and love. In a sense, this notion of manhood strongly challenges both hegemonic and violent masculinities. And so it adds to a literature which has so far paid little attention to masculinities that share positive qualities and which do not somehow reproduce destructive notions of manhood that invariably render women and femininities secondary or suppressed categories. I suggest that we call these progressive practices and notions of manhood ‘philogynous masculinities’ so as to underline their opposition to misogynous forms of manhood that have been a primary focus of research (see article 5). Inspired by on the one hand Connell’s (1995) suggestion that respectful masculinities are indeed possible (if ever so marginalized or subordinated) and on the other by Arnfred’s (2007) argument that the thesis of universal male domination perhaps cannot be substantiated across Africa, I attempt to describe how alternative male behaviors and values are produced. Shaped by their subordinate position as jobless and young, these youngsters try to compete with older rich men by drawing on knowledge from peer sex education and by stressing ‘classic’ virtues of the Machangana man, who is considerate and gentle towards women and who controls his anger. By learning how to satisfy women through sex 52 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. education and by reinvigorating notions of respectful and restrained manhood, young men pose a potent alternative to the economic superiority of middle class young showoffistas and older rich patrocinadores as well as to being violent or coercive against women. Multiple ways of being a woman: Curtidoras versus respectable and marginal women While there has been a growing focus on the multiplicity of masculinities is seems that the interest in multiple femininities has somehow waned despite feminism and gender studies finally being accepted in some corners of academia. This is unfortunate, because just as we need thorough criticisms of men’s destructive or productive practices so must we urgently call for women’s studies to consider studies of femininity that encompass hegemonic, complicit, subordinate and marginal forms. Women, just as men, are positioned in relations of class, race and ethnicity, and not all positions give access to the same resources or powers to act, speak or live. As Edström (2010) suggest, it is time to realize that not all women are equally vulnerable and that the overemphasis on women as victims risks endangering the agency and self-decisiveness that for example is illustrated by the sex worker rights movement in Africa or by women’s groups actively engaged in the struggle against HIV/AIDS. Looking at the influence of the Mozambican music star Dama do Bling on young women from different social layers in Maputo I argue that female erotic expressions are heavily constrained by ideological, religious and political interests with roots in colonial and post-colonial definitions of the ideal Mozambican woman (see article 6). Analyzing the social and cultural background of three young women I show how curtidoras, inspired by Dama do Bling position themselves as young women who are neither ‘respectable’ nor ‘marginal’. On the one hand, they frown upon middle class women who they see as arrogant and boring, and on the other hand they distinguish themselves from ‘prostitutes’ who they say, cannot chose between men and act indiscriminately towards them in a desperate search for money. They believe they are exceptional women because they have a life with excitement and access to luxuries, and because they refuse to limit themselves by moral standards that society tries to 53 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. impose on women. This is not a question of arguing that they possess powers that other social groups do not. Despite their claims to be powerful they were certainly vulnerable, both in terms of contracting HIV in relationships with patrocinadores but also because they often had very little support from and contact to their families. Furthermore, comparing curtidoras to more marginalized women there were various disparities. Most curtidoras had the privilege of being seen as highly attractive by men in the city. They used much money and times to prepare and refining their looks to appear irresistible on the public stage of Maputo’s vibrant nightlife in search for patrocinadores who they also nicknamed ‘men with big wallets’, ‘ATMs’ (short for automatic teller machines), ‘HRs’ (short for homem ricos: rich men) or tios (uncles: slang for men who give money). In contrast, many poor young women living on the outskirts of the city did not have the social network, a place to stay in the city or ambitions to enter the sexual economy. For example a young woman called Sylvia (see page 18 and article 6) preferred to live close to her family and her son, rather than to move to the city and ‘have many lovers’. Her dream in life was to get married and live a quiet life with husband and family, good relations to neighbors in the community and to the members of the church. 54 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Main results of included articles Article 1. Health discourse, sexual slang and ideological contradictions among Mozambican youth: Implications for method Status: Published in 2009 in Culture, Health and Sexuality 11(6):655-668. In this article I show that reaching out to young people in order to effectively promote safe sex behaviors have been the focus of research as well as the policy in many sub-Saharan African countries in the past decades. In Mozambique, the most radical break with the government’s former tendencies to remain silent on the issue of sexual health and HIV prevention occurred about when a program called Geração Biz, was implemented in a limited number of secondary schools in Maputo in 1999. The Ministries of Health, Education, and Youth and Sports were the key implementers, with support from UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) and DANIDA (Danish International Development Agency) along with technical assistance from the NGO Pathfinder International. Since 2008 the program has gradually been scaled up to all provinces in the country, reaching all secondary schools in 2009. The main aims of the program were to improve the ‘right of young people to a positive and healthy sexual and reproductive life’ and to give them awareness about dominant gender structures and the principles of gender equality. The peer sex education program included education in use of contraceptive methods, distribution of condoms, learning the basics of sexual biology, the rights of both genders to a pleasurable sex life and the responsibility of men in sexual relationships (Benavente et al. 2007, Loforte 2009). Pedagogically, the program was based on the idea that young peoples’ attitude towards safe sex and equal gender involvement in HIV prevention are more easily affected when teachers are of the same age and background as students. Especially when the topic is as taboo ridden as sexuality young people 55 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. are more likely to identify with and trust safe sex messages when other young people teach them than when taught by older teachers, doctors and parents (Hainsworth & Zilhão 2009). As reported from other parts of Southern Africa, sex education based on peer involvement and consciousness raising can have profound effect on young people’s sexual behavior and gender notions, depending on local social, cultural and educational conditions (Campbell & MacPhail 2002; Tersbøl 2006; Cornish & Campbell 2009; Visser 2007). Yet, the discourses on HIV prevention, safe sex and condom use that is being taught in Maputo’s secondary schools originate in European and US aid organizations and is communicated in a language imported from the disciplines of epidemiology, social medicine and public health. As some scholars have argued, these health discourses about sexuality and HIV, which young people are presented with in schools, are often very formalistic since there are based on international policies and concerns that are far from the everyday preoccupations of youth (Aggleton and Campbell 2000). According to my findings, the effect of the Geração Biz program on the use or non-use of condoms varied depending on the social and ideological context in which peer sex education was carried out. A minor segments of students seemed to be positively affected, not only in terms of being more open towards condom use but also in their acknowledgement that women’s pleasure is equally important and that men need to respect women’s wishes in sexual relationships (see also article 7). But the large majority of students exposed to peer sex education did not show signs of changing values or practices when it came to protecting themselves against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (see articles 1 and 2). According to FGDs and individual interviews there were a number of reasons for the limited and segmented effect of peer sex education. I realized that informants often responded what they thought would be the correct answer rather than telling me about their actual sexual behavior. This apparently was due to my tendency, in the beginning of research, to apply health concepts in the survey and FGDs, such as ‘preservativos’ (condoms) and ‘sexo seguro’ (safe sex) which are seen as the ‘educated’ way of speaking about these matters but at the same time are considered alien to the way young people talk about sex and condoms. Hence, I found that they often saw peer sex education and 56 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. HIV prevention campaigns on TV or posters in the same light, i.e. as morally correct and of little relevance to them. I understood that just like I had to build trust among informants by using a colloquial language and approach adapted to their life world in order to gather valid data about their sexual practices, campaigns and teachers should also avoid speaking down to youth and refrain from using semi-scientific slogans. By establishing a climate of trust I was able to get access to information that I was cut off from when I did the survey as well as FGDs and ordinary interviews. This made me conclude that many poor young people's resistance to peer sex education was due to ideological contradictions between their sexual cultures and youth slang on the one hand, and, on the other hand, Western health discourses that address sexuality as dangerous and risky and apply ‘morally correct’ concepts. Seeing this resistance in a historical perspective only confirmed the thesis that a Western based and ‘scientific’ health discourse was the main obstacle for peer sex education to be more effective, not the least since other elements like use of drama, events and peer educators has convincing results among some segments of poor youngsters (see also article 5, Benavente 2007, Hainsworth & Zilhão 2009). In Mozambique, the education system and schools have for generations been associated with colonial and post-colonial opposition to ‘traditional’ cultures and languages which students even today are not allowed to speak in class. For example, there were rules against erotic and other forms of inappropriate behavior in the school and the teachers reacted promptly if they encountered students kissing or ‘making out’ during lunch break. According to my findings, HIV prevention campaigns and peer sex education in schools designed to make youth practice safe sex fail to take into account young people’s own focus on pleasure and excitement and the language which they use to communicate sexual intent. The Portuguese language seen as the only appropriate means of communication in school is quite different from the language poor young people use to talk about sexual and intimate matters. When I heard them speaking about sex, lust and relationships it was most often through the media of sexual slang or Changana. Eroticism and sexual moments were closely associated with the use of slang and Changana, which 57 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. young people speak in surroundings seen as ‘safe and homely’. In order to make HIV prevention efforts relevant to young people, my data strongly suggest that policy makers approach students with a sex education that is sensitive to their ideological and linguistic milieu. This can be pursued within the existing structures of peer sex education which include elements that appeal to both middle class and poor young students (see also article 2). Contribution to the field of study: Ideological and linguistic contradictions between health discourses of HIV prevention programs and youth’s own sexual cultures and slang have rarely been discussed in a Sub-Saharan African context. The findings presented in this article point to the relevance of analyzing these contradiction and overcoming them by understanding them in the light of colonial and post-colonial ideologies and the way elites and political economy have historically divided populations, including youth, along the lines of education versus ignorance, purity versus dirtiness, moral behavior versus erotic excess, correct use of colonial languages versus use of colloquial slang and local ‘African’ languages, or being adult and serious versus being youthful and playful. Article 2. Safe sex pioneers: Class identity, peer education and emerging masculinities among youth in Mozambique Status: Published in 2009 in Sexual Health 6(3):233-240. As I show in this article the results of the survey, the FGDs and individual interviews among poor and middle class young men indicated that the use or non use of condoms was intricately connected to class positions and concomitant identities. It turned out that peer sex education had a positive effect on both ‘working class’ youth in suburban schools and on middle class youth in urban schools. Yet, while the tendency to use condoms was still limited among poor youth who were exposed to peer sex education the same program seemed to greatly enhance condom use among middle class youth. Individual 58 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. interviews indicated that life prospects and career opportunities had some impact on motives for using or not using condoms. When poor young men explained why they did not have safe sex they often referred to fatalist ideas that, ‘one cannot decide the future’ or that it is better to ‘live in the moment’ since there is no hope of getting a proper education or a real job. Some young women even stressed how trying to become pregnant by removing the condom or refusing condom use could be an advantage in the search for economic support from an affluent partner. Hence, getting child support or ‘blackmailing’ patrocinadores were seen as viable strategies that could lead to a lifetime without financial difficulties. By contrast, middle class young men often asserted that insisting on safe sex was necessary to avoid pregnancy and illnesses that would ruin their future careers and the relationship to their family. Although they were less consistently using condoms with a partner from the same social class they were highly alert about wearing a condom in sexual relationships with a partner from lower social strata, who were often seen as dangerous in terms of having an illness (HIV/AIDS) or due to fears of making the girl pregnant. But while HIV/AIDS was feared as it might diminish one’s life expectancy the fear of pregnancy sometimes overshadowed it because getting a child out of wedlock could endanger not only one’s social position and reputation in the kin group but also bring threats to one’s economic superiority. Since the survey was not representative and its non-anonymity renders it little validity and reliability the findings cannot in any coherent manner be generalized to the peer sex education program of Geração Biz, say the peer education of the specific schools in which the research was done. Nevertheless, the conclusions based on narratives from FGDs and individual interviews do indicate that we need to look further into the way class position affects how young people make sense of life and future and thus explore when they see it as meaningful to protect themselves and when lack of opportunities makes it more attractive to live in the moment. Contribution to the field of study: A central contribution of the article is that is points to the way safe sex principles are not necessarily tied to notions of responsibility, morality or the common 59 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. good. Many middle class young men insisted on condom use because of fear of their sexual partner’s HIV status or possible financial intentions, or due to prejudice about her looks or disdain of her lower social status. Some middle class young men said they were afraid that a partner of lower social status would intentionally give them HIV to punish them. Others expressed that they insisted on putting on a condom and kept an eye on the partner during since she might try to take it off in order to become pregnant. Generally speaking, middle class young men and women’s insistence on condom use was more consistent when sleeping with people from other social layers or with strangers than with a steady partner from their own class and neighborhood. These findings go against the findings of other scholars arguing that richer men who are sexually involved with women from lower classes do not wish to use condoms because unsafe sex confirms their power and masculinity (e.g. Bagnol & Chamo 2004, Hawkins et al. 2009). Article 3. Orgies of the moment: Bataille’s anthropology of transgression and young men’s defiance of danger in post-socialist Mozambique Status: Accepted and forthcoming in Anthropological Theory Common to poor young women and men in neoliberal Mozambique is that the struggle for survival and a meaningful life implies a transgression of boundaries related to age, class, gender and norms. As the prospects and values of work and education lose their meaning the ideal way of being feminine or masculine becomes associated with a mix of dangers and pleasure in the moment, a struggle for immediate financial gain and a relative indifference towards ordinary work and education. In this article, I explore socially marginalized young men’s excessive acts of violence, drug use, death race and unsafe sex against the background of George Bataille’s anthropology of transgression. When young men in the Mozambican capital engage in dangerous sex or violent riots, the findings indicate, it is less a sign of 60 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ignorance about HIV or indifference towards the rule of law than an expression of living in a ‘state of emergency’ where transgressive defiance of danger and death becomes attractive. Everyday transgressions by young men who call themselves moluwene (wild, unruly) are molded in narratives and acts which at once oppose a shouldering socialist ideology of education and a neo-liberal regime exiling marginalized young men from the realms of work and consumption to permanent unemployment and poverty. Analyzing young men’s defiance of unsafe sex against the background of broader societal ideologies and social marginalization and seeing unsafe sex as on a par with other dangerous activities I intended to apply a holistic anthropological perspective. This, I believe, enabled a demonstration of the concrete daily dilemmas, desires and dynamics which render meaningful excessive tendencies of young people. Contribution to the field of study: The primary contribution of the article is that it shows how practice of unsafe sex should been understood holistically as part of young men’s search for excitement as a way of forming a male identity and meaning in a post-socialist context where work and education have become unattainable values, due to massive unemployment and privatization of education. Unsafe sex should be seen together with other risky practices as a general attraction towards moments of danger which yield a momentary sense of ‘sovereignty’ and meaning amid social marginalization. This is an example of a bizarre and to health professionals disturbing situation where the problem is not that young people do not know the health risks of unsafe sex or that they are merely indifferent to the dangers. In this case it is the acute awareness about the potentially lethal consequence of ‘pure sex’ which makes it attractive and meaningful. Changing these young men’s behavior in a safer direction would imply rebuilding a world for them in which the project of life itself becomes meaningful. 61 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Article 4. Hegemonic and subordinated masculinities: Class, violence and sexual performance among young Mozambican men Status: Published in 2009 in Nordic Journal of African Studies 18(4):286-304. This article addresses the theoretical implications of sexual and violent practices among disenfranchised young men in comparison with middle class men in Maputo, Mozambique. Findings indicate that massive unemployment has led to a growing number of young men basing their authority vis-à-vis women on bodily powers, understood as abilities and physique of the male body, rather than on economic powers and social status. While young men from the city’s growing middle class enact hegemonic masculinities in relationships to female partners, by means of financial powers and adherence to a ‘breadwinner’ ideology, poor young men react to a situation of unemployment and poverty by enacting masculinities that are subordinate vis-à-vis middle class peers, but which find expression through violence or sexual performance vis-à-vis female partners. The theoretical discussions evolve around Connell’s concepts of hegemonic and subordinated masculinities and Gramsci’s notions of hegemony versus dominance and I introduce the concept of sexual capital seen against the background of a lack of financial capital and material inabilities. Contributions to the field of study: The article addresses only indirectly the question of safe and unsafe sex, but as shown in article 5 the implications of a predominant concern with sexual performance is that condoms might be seen as obstacles towards satisfying a partner. Firstly, the young men feared that putting a condom on might cause impotence, and secondly they believed it would not be as pleasant for the women or irritate the skin if used continuously. There is a possibility that growing inequality between social classes of young men nourish masculinities that work against safer sex practices. Also, the violence or sexual violence that some informants tended to use in partnerships can 62 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. be seen as additional factors which lead to unsafe sex and transmission of HIV (see also Wood & Jewkes 2005). Article 5. Philogynous masculinities? The globalization of women’s sexual rights and men’s sexual capital in Southern Africa Status: Not yet submitted This article discusses the extent to which young men’s emphasis on being bom picos (good lovers) in relationships to girlfriends is a sign of philogynous masculinities, implicating that gender relations are changing in favor of women’s pleasure and young men’s respectful behavior towards young women. I show how socio-economic, cultural and political changes in Maputo shape young men’s sexuality both in relation to other classes of men and in response to female partners’ demands. Young men’s references to the bom pico notion and use of Changana expressions about men who are restrained, considerate and pleasant can be understood in the light of growing socio-economic inequalities that change poor young men’s roles and as an effect of the introduction of peer sex education in secondary schools which gives impetus to women’s demands and men’s awareness in the sexual field. In order to meet women’s expectations and to compete with more affluent peers who perform the hegemonic provider role poor young men resort to the role of lovers and rely on ‘sexual capital’ in the absence of economic capital. Values such as self-control and pleasure, tenderness and restraint pose alternatives to hegemonic masculinities and predatory sexualities among youth, and the findings suggest we stay open to young men’s flexible and ‘progressive’ gender roles and women’s sexual assertiveness in Mozambique and in Africa. Contributions to the field of study: Primarily the article challenges the thesis that male domination is ubiquitous among young men in sub-Saharan Africa. As regards condom use, the 63 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. consequences of young men placing emphasis on giving women pleasure and being affectionate are highly ambiguous. On the one hand, using condom may be a way of showing responsibility and care. On the other hand, the use of condom can jeopardize the effort to give pleasure since condoms are seen as bringing impotency for men and lack of pleasure for women. But the innovative ways of defining a man as considerate and self-controlled can limit tendencies to sexual violence perceived by scholars as a major driver of the HIV epidemic (Jewkes & Morrell 2010). If indeed condom use can be more effectively associated with pleasure, future sex education and HIV preventions campaigns are probably more likely to succeed. Especially if philogynous masculinities and alternative notions of manhood are further nourished, and if both young men and women are concomitantly addressed as agents of change in the struggle against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Article 6. The Bling scandal: Sexual defacement and transforming young femininities in Mozambique Status: Accepted and forthcoming in Young: Nordic Journal of Youth Research In this article I show how young women’s erotic expressions in Maputo are increasingly becoming visible in public life through sexy styles of clothing, music and youth slang, informed by global popular cultures as well as a changing socio-economic landscape. Pervasive ideological structures formed through colonial and postcolonial encounters are being challenged as well as radicalized by neoliberal processes and have a profound effect on young women’s opportunities and the way they define themselves sexually. I have analyzed the ways in which a highly erotic concert performance in 2007 by the pregnant music star Dama Do Bling gave way to accentuations of different female ideals about sexuality among young women. ‘The Bling scandal’, as it was called, served as a can opener in terms of making expressions of femininity and eroticism, conventionally thought of as confined to the private 64 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. and intimate sphere, an issue of public dispute among political and religious authorities as well as among young women from different social backgrounds. Through the concept of sexual defacement, I argue that the revelation of female sexual assertiveness, which has largely been treated as ‘a public secret’, has at once deepened existing ideological cleavages as well as allowed for alternative femininities, which are based on notions of female erotic powers that manipulate and perhaps undermine men’s social and economic dominance. Contribution to the field of study: Young women who were involved in transactional sex did not seem to favor safe sex, but neither did poor young women who lived on the outskirts of the city or more respectable middle class women. The major difference between these classes of women was the degree to which they felt assertive in their lives. Curtidoras generally believed they had the power to manipulate men with money despite acknowledging that it was not always easy to demand condom use. Middle class young women explained that they were free to choose their partner and yet they agreed that they could only be with a man who was ‘in their own league’ and who wished to marry them. In addition, most of them said that it was the man’s role to generate an income and supported the gender ideals imported during Portuguese colonization (see Arnfred 2004), that the man should decide regarding the economy of the household and that the woman should take care of domestic affairs. Article 7. ‘To put men in the bottle’: Erotic tricks, female power and transactional sex in Maputo, Mozambique Status: Accepted and forthcoming in Sexuality, Politics and the Occult in Africa by Chimaraoke Izugbara & Christian Groes-Green (eds). New York: Nova Publishers. In this article I describe how poor young women called curtidoras engage in sexual liaisons with older men in exchange for money and gifts. Exploring curtidoras’ use of erotic tricks in the seduction of men 65 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. with money, I discuss the ambiguity of female power as it unfolds in the spiritual-erotic domain. While curtidoras see erotic tricks and occult practices as a shortcut to accumulating wealth and control over men, they concomitantly become subject to accusations of witchcraft, especially in men’s narratives about uncontrollable passion. The complexity of these relationships challenges notions of ‘male dominance’ as well as ‘transactional sex’ and reveals possibilities, dangers and ambiguities associated with African women’s eroticism and power vis-á-vis men. Contributions to the field of study: Similar to the study by Manuel (2005), the case of curtidoras showed that emotions and passion can be reasons for not using condoms because the rational choice of safe sex is overshadowed by the intensity and intimacy of desire. In most cases curtidoras preferred a sense of erotic control over the man by having unprotected sex instead of using a condom which was seen as impeding erotic control. This is contrary to findings by Bagnol and Chamo (2004) who argue that young women have unsafe sex because they lack negotiating power vis-á-vis older partners. I do not wish to discuss here whether curtidoras did or did not have the power to demand condom use (see instead Hawkins et al. 2009). What seems to diverge from the findings of Bagnol & Chamo is that curtidoras’ reason for not insisting on safe sex was not so much a lack of power but rather a desire for the power over men that ‘pure sex’ renders possible. References Aboim, S. (2009) Men between worlds: Changing masculinities in urban Maputo. Men & Masculinities 12(2): 201-24. Agadjanian, V. (2005) Men doing ‘women’s work’: Masculinity and gender relations among street vendors in Maputo,Mozambique. In: Ouzgane L, Morrell R, editors. Men in Africa from the Late Nineteeth Century to the Present. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Pp. 257–271. Aggleton, P., & C. Campbell (2000) Working with young people: Towards an agenda for sexual health. Sexual and Relationship Therapy 15: 283–96. 66 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Ahlberg, B.M., E. Jylkas & I. Krantz (2001) Gendered constructions of sexual risk: Implications for safer sex among young people in Kenya and Sweden. Reproductive Health Matters 9: 26–36. Arnfred, S. (2007) Sex, food and female power: Discussion of data material from Northern Mozambique. Sexualities 10: 141–58. Arnfred, S. (2004) Concepts of gender in colonial and post-colonial discourses: The case of Mozambique. In: Gender Activism and Studies in Africa. Dakar: Codesria. Pp. 108– Ashkenazi & Markowitz (1999) Introduction: Sexuality and prevarication in the praxis of anthropology, in F. Markowitz and M. Ashkenazi (eds) Sex, sexuality and the anthropologist. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Pp 1-18. Bagnol, B. & E. Chamo (2004) ‘Intergenerational relationships in Mozambique: What is driving young women and older men?’, Sexual Health Exchange 3/4:1-4. Bataille, G. (1962) Eroticism. London: Calder & Boyars Ltd. Bataille, G. (1985) Visions of Excess: Selected Writings 1927-1939. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Bataille, G. (1988) Inner Experience. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. Bataille, G. (1991) The Accused Share: Volumes II and III. New York: Zone Books. Benavente, J. (2007) PGB External Evaluation Report ASRH/HIV/AIDS, Geração BIZ Program, Mozambique : Progress and Challenges. Maputo: UNFPA/Norad. Bolton, R. (1998) Mapping terra incognita: Sex research for AIDS prevention – an urgent agenda for the 1990s. In Culture, society and sexuality, a reader, ed. R. Parker and P. Aggleton, 434–56. New York: Routledge. Bourdieu, P. (1999) Acts of resistance: Against the tyranny of the market. London: New Press. Bourdieu, P. (1984) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 67 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Cameron, D. & D. Kulick (2003) Language and sexuality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapman, R.R. (2004) ‘A Nova Vida: The Commoditization of Reproduction in Central Mozambique’, Medical Anthropology 23(3):229-61. Coates, T.J., L. Richter & C. Caceres (2008) Behavioral strategies to reduce HIV transmission: How to make them work better. Lancet 372(9639):669-684. Cole, J. (2003) Fresh contact in Tamatave, Madagascar. American Ethnologist 31(4):573–88. Comaroff, J. & J. Comaroff (2000) Millenial capitalism: First thoughs on a second coming. Public Culture 12(2):291-343. Connell, R.W. (1995) Masculinities. London: Polity Press. Connell, R.W. & J.W. Messerschmidt (2005) Hegemonic Masculinity. Gender & Society 19(6):829–859. Cornwall, A. (2003) ‘To Be A Man is More Than a Day’s Work: Shifting Ideals of Masculinity in Ado-Odo, Southwestern Nigeria’. In: Lisa A. Lindsay & Stephan F. Miescher (eds.), Men and Masculinities in Modern Africa. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman. Cornwall, A. & N. Lindisfarne (1994) Dislocating Masculinity. London: Routledge. CNCS (2008) Universal declaration of commitment on HIV and AIDS: Mozambique progress report for the united nations general assembly special session on HIV and AIDS, 2006–2007. Maputo: Centro National Contra HIV/SIDA. Edström, J. (2010) Time to call the bluff: (De)-construting ‘Women’s Vulnerability’, HIV and Sexual Health. Development 53(2):215-221. Farmer, P. (2004) An anthropology of structural violence. Current Anthropology 45(3):305-325. Gramsci, A. (1957) The Modern Prince, and Other Writings. New York: International Publishers. 68 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Groes-Green, C. (2009c) ‘Hegemonic and Subordinated Masculinities: Class, Violence and Sexual Performance among Young Mozambican Men’, Nordic Journal of African Studies 18(4):286-304. Groes-Green, C. (2009b) Safe Sex Pioneers: Class Identity, Peer Education and Emerging Masculinities among Youth in Mozambique. Sexual Health 6:233–240. Groes-Green, C. (2009a) Health Discourse, Sexual Slang and Ideological Contradictions among Mozambican Youth: Implications for Method. Culture, Health & Sexuality 11(6): 655–668. Groes-Green, C. (2002) Feltarbejdets forpligtelser: Deltagelse og kritik blandt sateré-mawé immigranter i Manaus, Brasilien. Tidsskriftet Antropologi 45:37-56. Groes-Green, C., B. Barret & C. Izugbara (2010) Studying Intimate Matters. Kampala: Fountain. Gujral, L.M. & A. Baretto (2004) Sexual activity, knowledge and condom use among youth in Mozambique. International Conference on AIDS 15: abstract no. TuPeC4791. Gustavson, L. C. & J.D. Cytrynbaum (2003) Illusminating spaces: Relational spaces, complicity, and multisited ethnography. Field Methods 15(3):252-270. Hainsworth, G. & I. Zilhão (2009) From Inception to Large Scale: The Geração Biz Programme in Mozambique. Maputo: WHO/Pathfinder International. Hanlon, J. (1996) Peace without Profit: How the IMF Blocks Rebuilding in Mozambique. Oxford: James Currey. Haram, L. (2005) “Eyes have no Curtains”: The Moral Economy of Secrecy in Managing Love Affairs among Adolescents in Northern Tanzania in the Time of AIDS. Africa Today 51(4): 57–73. Harding, S. G. (2004) Introduction: Standpoint theory as a site of political, philosophical and scientific debate, in Sandra G. Harding (ed) The feminist standpoint theory reader. New York: Routledge. Pp 1-17. 69 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Hawkins, K., N. Price & Mussá, F (2009) Milking the Cow: Young Women's Construction of Identity and Risk in Age-disparate Transactional Sexual Relationships in Maputo, Mozambique. Global Public Health 4(2):169–182. Honwana, A. 2003. Undying past: Spirit possession and the memory of war in Southern Mozambique. In Magic and modernity: Interfaces of revelation and concealment, ed. B. Meyer and P. Pels, 60–80. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Hunter, M. (2005) ‘Cultural Politics and Masculinities: Multiple Partners in Historical Perspective in KwaZulu-Natal’, Culture, Health & Sexuality 7(4):389-403. Jackson, Michael (2002) The politics of storytelling: Violence, transgression, and intersubjectivity. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press. Jewkes, R. & Morrell, R. (2010) Gender and sexuality: emerging perspectives from the heterosexual epidemic in South Africa and implications for HIV risk and prevention. Journal of the International AIDS Society 13:6. Open access: http://www.jiasociety.org/content/13/1/6. Jones, B.G. (2005) Globalisations, violences and resistances in Mozambique, in C. Eschle & B. Maiguashca (eds) Critical theories, international relations and ‘the anti-globalization movement’. New York: Routledge. Pp. 53-73. Junod, H.A. (2003[1926]) Life of a South African Tribe: Social Life. Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Publishing. Karlyn, A. (2005) Intimacy revealed: Sexual experimentation and the construction of risk among young people in Mozambique. Culture, Health & Sexuality 7, no. 3: 279–92. Knauder, S. (2000) Globalization, urban progress, urban problems, rural disadvantages: evidence from Mozambique. London: Ashgate. Lindsay, L. & S.F. Miescher (eds.) (2003) Men and Masculinities in Modern Africa. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman. 70 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Lopes, A.J. (2001) Language revitalisation and reversal in Mozambique: The case of Xironga in Maputo. Current Issues in Language Planning 2: 259–67. Machel, J.Z. (2001) Unsafe sexual behaviour among schoolgirls in Mozambique: A matter of gender and class. Reproductive Health Matters 9: 82–90. MacPhail, C & C. Campbell (2001) I think condoms are good, but, aii, I hate those things: condom use among adolescents and young people in a Southern African township. Social Science & Medicine 52:1613–27. Manuel, S. (2005) Obstacles to condom use among secondary school students in Maputo city, Mozambique. Culture, Health & Sexuality 7: 293–302. Mazzei, J & E. O’Brian (2009) You got it, so when do you flaunt it? Building rapport, intersectionality, and the strategic deployment of gender in the field. Journal of Comtemporary Ethnography 38(3):358-383. Mill, J.E. & J.K. Anarfi (2002) HIV risk environment for Ghanaian women: Challenges to prevention. Social Science & Medicine 54:325–37. MISAU (2010) O impacto da HIV/SIDA em Moçambique. Maputo: Ministério de Saúde. Morrell, R. & L. Ouzgane (2005) African masculinities: An introduction. In: L. Ouzgane & Morrell R, editors. African Masculinities: Men in Africa from the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Pp. 1–21. Nagel, T. (1989) The view from nowhere. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Nzioka, C. (2001) Perspectives of adolescent boys on the risks of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections: Kenya. Reproductive Health Matters 9: 108–17. Parker, R. G. (2009) Bodies, Pleasure and Passions: Sexual Culture in Contemporary Brazil. Nashville, Ten: Vanderbilt University Press. Parker, R.G. (2001) Sexuality, culture and power in HIV/AIDS research. Annual Review of Anthropology 30: 163–79. 71 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Parker, R.G., G. Herdt & M. Carballo (1991) Sexual culture, HIV transmission and AIDS research. Journal of Sex Research 28: 77–98. Parker, R.G., & D. Easton (1998) Sexuality, culture and political economy: Recent developments in anthropological and cross-cultural sex research. Annual Review of Sex Research 9: 1–19. Passador, L. H. (Forthcoming) ‘Women Are Evil’: Personhood, Gender, Sexuality, and Disease in Southern Mozambique. Forthcoming in C. Izugbara & C. Groes-Green (eds.) Sexuality, Politics and the Occult in Africa. Paulo, M. (2009) Sexuality and HIV/AIDS maong young residents in Mafalala barrio, Maputo, Mozambique, in D. Mwiturubani, A. Gebre, M. Paulo, R. Mate & A. Socpa (eds) Youth, HIV and social transformation in Africa. Dakar: Codesria. Pp. 51-76. Pettifor, A.E., M.E. Beksinska & H.V. Rees (2004) High knowledge and high risk behaviour: A profile of hotel-based sex workers in inner-city Johannesburg. African Journal of Reproductive Health 4:35–43. Rosenthal, S., K. Burklow, F. Biro, L. Pace, & R. DeVellis (1996) The reliability of high-risk adolescent girls’ report of their sexual history. Journal of Paediatric Health Care 10: 217–20. Silberschmidt, M. (2005) ‘Poverty, Male Disempowerment, and Male Sexuality: Rethinking Men and Masculinities in Rural and Urban East Africa’, in L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (eds.) African masculinities, pp. 189-203. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Simon, W. & J. H. Gagnon (1999) Sexual scripts, in R. Parker & P. Aggleton (eds) Culture, society and sexuality. New Yrok: Routledge. Pp. 31-40. Smith, D.E. (2004) Women’s perspective as a radical critique of sociology, in Sandra G. Harding (ed) The feminist standpoint theory reader. New York: Routledge. Pp 1-17. 72 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Spronk, R. (2006) Ambiguous Pleasures: Sexuality and new self-definitions in Nairobi. Ph.D. Thesis. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam. Sumich, J. (2008) Construir uma nação: Ideologias de modernidade da elite moçambicana. Análise Social 43: 319–45. Taylor, C. (1990) Condoms and cosmology: The ‘fractal’ person and sexual risk in Rwanda. Social Science and Medicine 31: 1023–8. Tersbøl, B. (2005) At a Loss in the Land of the Brave: A Study of Sexual Relationships in the Context of HIV/AIDS and Poverty in Namibia. Ph.D. Thesis. Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen. UNAIDS (2009) AIDS epidemic update May 2006. Geneva: UNAIDS & WHO. Vance, C.S. (1991) Anthropology rediscovers sexuality: A theoretical comment. Social Science and Medicine 33: 875–84. Virtanen, P. (2005) Tradition, custom and otherness: The politics of identity in Mozambique. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 12: 223–48. Virtanen, P. & D. Ehrenpreis (2007) Growth, Poverty and Inequality in Mozambique. New York: UNDP/International Poverty Centre. Visser, M.J. (2007) ‘HIV/AIDS Prevention through Peer Education and Support in Secondary Schools in South Africa’, Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance, 4(3):678-94. West, H. (2001) Sorcery of construction and socialist modernization: Ways of understanding power in postcolonial Mozambique. American Ethnologist 28: 119–50. Wojcicki, J.M. & J. Malala (2001) Condom use, power and HIV/ AIDS risk: sex-workers bargain for survival in Hillbrow/Joubert Park/Berea, Johannesburg. Social Science & Medicine 53:99–121. Wood, K. & R. Jewkes (2005) ‘Dangerous Love”: Reflections on Violence among Xhosa Township 73 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Youth’ in Andrea Cornwall (ed.) Readings in Gender in Africa. Oxford: James Currey. Pp. 90-94. Wood, K., Lambert, H. & Jewkes, R. (2007) “Showing Roughness in a Beautiful Way”: Talk about Love, Coercion, and Rape in South African Youth Sexual Culture. Medical Anthropology Quarterly Volume 21(3): 277-300. Yankah, E. & P. Aggleton (2008) Effects and effectiveness of life skills education for HIV prevention in young people. AIDS Education & Prevention 20(6):465-485. 74 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. CHAPTER 2: METHOD, SEXUAL SLANG AND (UN)HEALTHY DISCOURSES Article 1. Health discourse, sexual slang and ideological contradictions among Mozambican youth: implications for method Introduction Since scholarly debates on methodology in sex research in the 1990s, there has been little reflection on the limitations of applied methods and of the validity of the data obtained in studies of sexuality and HIV prevention. Researchers at the time pointed to the limitations of quantitative methods in sex research (Abramson 1990, 1992, Bolton 1998, Ulin 1992, Vance 1991), the importance of developing interview techniques that fit the topics under study (Van Gelder 1996) and the significance of using a variety of methods to gather valid information on sexuality, which is universally regarded as an intimate, sensitive and taboo-ridden issue (Parker, Herdt and Carballo 1991, Rosenthal et al. 1996). There is a need to revisit some of these reflections in order to improve methods and research designs through which issues can be approached more productively. It is of particular importance to reflect on the language and concepts used in questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) and even in informal conversations with informants. 75 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Whilst doing research on condom use, gender and sexual behavior among secondary school youth in Maputo, Mozambique from March 2007 to April 2008, discrepancies were discovered between what informants reported in a questionnaire survey done in the early stage of fieldwork, what informants said during individual interviews and in FGDs and what informants revealed during informal conversations and interaction towards the final stages of fieldwork. These discrepancies, I argue, are the result of the researcher applying different ideological, linguistic and social approaches to the study of sexual cultures. The more I entered the social world of informants and began to understand and use their informal language and sexual slang, the more informants would reveal about their sexual practices, desires and dilemmas. Applying a Western health discourse, on the other hand, tended to create a distance between me and my informants resulting in inadequate answers and unproductive interviews. The aim of fieldwork was to examine factors enabling secondary school youth in Mozambique to practice safe sex. It is widely documented that the large majority of youth in subSaharan Africa practice unsafe sex despite high risks of infection with HIV. The wealth of studies carried out on the obstacles to condom use explains young people’s risky sexual behavior as caused by gender inequalities, sexual norms and traditional cosmologies (e.g. Machel 2001, Manuel 2005, Taylor 1990). This study intended to shift the focus towards safe sexual practices and the minority of Mozambican youth who, against all odds, use condoms regularly (see Karlyn 2005). However, this paper is intended not primarily as a presentation of the results of the study that is still a work in progress. Rather, it presents examples of the difficulties in studying sexual behavior and offers an understanding of the parameters that may pave the way for possible solutions to methodological shortcomings in sex research. Understanding what facilitates the use of condoms is pressing at a time when studies suggest that young people’s awareness about HIV transmission and its prevention does not necessarily lead to safer sex practices and, hence, does not effectively lower HIV prevalence rates (Ahlberg, Jylka¨s and Krantz 2001, Machel 2001, Nzioka 2001). The HIV epidemic is ravaging Mozambique, with a 76 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. national HIV prevalence rate of 16% and the highest HIV prevalence rates in the country’s capital, Maputo (23%), and in the second biggest city, Beira (23%) (CNCS 2008). Young people in Mozambique are extremely vulnerable in terms of contracting HIV, which is underlined by the fact that those aged 15–24 years account for 60% of new HIV infections (UNAIDS 2004). Methods In order to identify young people practicing safe sex, my field assistants and I decided to use nonanonymous questionnaires. To test whether responses would be significantly affected by the nonanonymity of the questionnaire, we compared the results of 50 anonymous and 50 non-anonymous questionnaires among two similar groups in terms of age, gender, social background and religion. As there were no major differences in answers and results between the two groups, on important issues we decided to go forward and handed out questionnaires to 250 male and 250 female students aged 17 to 23 at eight different schools in Maputo. In order to get an idea of the significance of class and socioeconomic background, we chose four schools in the relatively affluent part of the urban city centre primarily inhabited by middle-class families and four schools on the suburban outskirts of the city characterized by poverty and high unemployment.10 Besides questions related to baseline information, the questionnaire contained 70 questions regarding condom use and sexual behavior, such as how many times the person had used condoms in their lifetime, the frequency of condom use with current and former partners, the reasons for using and not using condoms and how many times the person had intercourse without using a condom. Analyzing the questionnaire forms of the 500 respondents, we identified 52 young men and 45 young women who were more likely to use condoms consistently with sexual partners than the average respondent. We did this by singling out persons who responded that they ‘always use condoms with their partner(s)’, that they ‘never forget to use condom with partner(s)’ and who said they had ‘never had sex without using a condom’. To ensure that responses indicating consistent condom use were not due to little or no sexual experience, we identified respondents who had 77 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. already had a substantial number of sexual partners and who had had intercourse more than 10 times with any one partner. Having achieved the consent of informants and their parents we carried out a total of 15 FGDs, 5 with young women, 5 with young men and five FGDs with a mixed group of young women and men. Following up on the data gathered from the FGDs, we conducted 26 individual indepth interviews with an equal number of young women and men in which informants had the opportunity to elaborate on issues they felt were too private to touch upon in FGDs. The style of fieldwork: building a climate of trust and intimacy The study of sexual culture and erotic activity requires a much deeper, intimate and trusting rapport between researchers and research objects than most other areas of study in order to ensure an accurate level of information and a deep understanding of informants’ subjective experience of sexual life (Parker, Herdt and Carballo 1991, 91). For this reason, it was necessary to participate in everyday activities of young people and learn the basic Changana and sexual slang used among informants to communicate about sexual matters. Communicating on their premises and in their language, as well as interacting with informants outside the institutionalized interview setting, provided the climate of trust and intimacy necessary to explore with fewer complications the emotional ambiguities of condom use and the contradictory practices inherent in youth’s sexual culture. The establishment of trusting relationships gave me access to situations such as private parties and drinking bouts where social and sexual norms are challenged and I was able to observe young people’s sexual culture at first hand. I watched respondents dance, flirt and kiss and witnessed couples having partial intercourse on a bar table or stimulating each other’s genitals on the dance floor. However, as Bolton (1998) once mentioned, the question is how to get to know any sexual culture without eventually immersing oneself in the sexual activities of the people studied. In this respect, the researcher’s inter-subjective experience and bodily sensing of other people’s erotic moments and tensions may be a fertile substitute for the personal sexual engagement that Bolton suggested. By coming as close as I did to the erotic life world and language of 78 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. informants I was able to discern some of the aspects of youth culture that are usually hidden to researchers. Despite hard challenges I managed to keep a balance between ‘being part of the game’ by dancing and having fun like the rest of the crowd and yet persistently rejecting sexual offers and coping with what comes close to sexual harassment. Realizing the inadequacy of classic methods when studying sexual behavior led me to the conclusion that understanding a sexual culture requires as a minimum a social proximity and trust, which can only be established through prolonged informal interaction and personal sacrifice on the part of the researcher. Results: Health discourses versus young people’s sexual slang The first thing I noticed when I began fieldwork was that sex and issues related to sexuality were not tabooed in Mozambican society as anticipated. Brought up with anthropological teachings that sex in African societies is a sensitive and untouchable issue I expected a great deal of resistance to the subject among young people. However, it was remarkably easy to persuade students to participate in the questionnaire survey as well as in interviews and FGDs. But what I did not realize at the time was that their openness towards answering questions about condom use was less a sign of honesty about their sexual lives than a reflection of their familiarity with the health discourse I was applying. Hence, responding to a question like ‘when you insist on condom use with a partner what is the reason?’ the large majority said: ‘I use condoms because I want to avoid HIV and STDs and live a long life’ or ‘I convince my boyfriend to use a condom because I don’t want to become pregnant or get AIDS’. Nevertheless, as research progressed I noticed that these standard answers reflected notions about what is socially acceptable to say in a formal school setting, where sexuality and reproduction is approached very differently from the way young people discuss these issues under private and informal circumstances. In the school setting, where students receive lessons about sexual and reproductive health by teachers and peer educators, sexuality was largely talked about as a source of danger and illness, as something that leads to unwanted pregnancies, abortions, AIDS and death. These discussions 79 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. stand in sharp contrast to students’ informal conversations about sex outside the school setting were thoughts and experiences of attraction, lust, desire and arousal were the focus of very heated and playful debates. The same applies to my research, where different interview settings and approaches generated contradictory outcomes. In informal conversations, informants were more likely to provide examples of refusing, forgetting or being indifferent to condom use than in the survey and early interviews and FGDs. When informants admitted that they had not been telling the truth in questionnaires or in early interviews and that they were in fact rarely using condoms, they referred to ‘the heat of the moment’ and told me how pleasure or excitement had made them forget or ignore their ideals of safe sex. As Bolton (1998) pointed out there is a profound difference in outcome of sex research depending on whether the researcher chooses to focus on the dangers or the pleasures of sexual activity. Looking back at the process of fieldwork I realize that addressing sexual issues by means of public health concepts such as ‘prevention’, ‘condom use’ and ‘risk’ tended to place me on a different ideological level, which in a sense fenced me off from understanding their everyday practices and expressions of desire. The introduction of education in sexual and reproductive health in the city’s secondary schools is due to a change in government strategies towards combating the HIV epidemic by raising youth’s awareness about HIV transmission and prevention (Valerio and Bundy 2004). This change in strategies, however, was only put forward as an effect of years of pressure from development partners and UN agencies stressing HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa as a priority on the international development agenda (CNCS 2008, United Nations 2000). The discourses on HIV prevention, safe sex and condom use that is now being taught in schools originate in European and US aid organizations and is communicated in a language imported from the disciplines of epidemiology, social medicine and public health. As some scholars argue, these discourses about sexuality and HIV, which young people are presented with in schools, are based on international policies and concerns that are far from the everyday preoccupations of youth (Aggleton and Campbell 2000). 80 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Street corner gossip: the circumstantial character of truth After the initial fieldwork phase doing questionnaire surveys, interviews and FGDs I gradually began to follow informants in their everyday life. Interaction with students attending schools in the middle-class area of Maputo city was concentrated around the school campus but eventually included conversations with them on their way home, during stopovers at ice cream stands or at the shopping centre. Towards the final stages of fieldwork, I often met respondents in and around their homes and went to meet them at discotheques, restaurants and private parties were I observed and analyzed their behavior and language. Informants from the poorer suburban areas were approached in largely the same way, participating in leisure activities such as hanging out on the street after school waiting for the chapa (local minibus), eating snacks and drinking soda pops in the school cantina and socializing with them in their neighborhoods, gossiping at the street corner or listening to music in the barracas (open-air roadside bars). By gradually entering the social worlds of various kinds of students it was possible to gain insight into their more intimate life worlds, where expressions of desire and sexual intent were more frequent and unfiltered than in the formal interview setting of the school yard or the classroom. Illustrative of the new insights was a situation at a street corner in the poor suburban area of Malhazine, where I was hanging out with a group of students in the evening. A female informant addressed her friends about a guy she had been seeing, and told them what an ideal lover should be like, ‘You know, I just want a strong lover who can fuck all night. Doing round after round until we die. And he’s just that. He makes me crazy, like, you know, he gave me ‘a good one’ [um bom pico] last night’. (Vania, 23 years, from a suburban school) Standing in the circle of listeners I decided to use the occasion to ask about her habits of condom use and responded in a similar jargon, ‘well is it really nice to be fucked all night with a camisinha (slang 81 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. for condom) and how can you keep telling this guy to put on another condom after he has come two or three times?’ In a tone of surprise she responded, ‘Yes, of course I won’t ask that of him. It would ruin the moment and also, come on, if you’re just lying there wanting some dick, how are you gonna talk about such things?’ Reminded of earlier interviews with her where she insisted on always asking guys to put on a condom I asked, ‘But you once told me that there is no way you would allow a guy to have sex with you without a condom’? She answered, ‘Do you think I will just say everything to your face, just because you ask me? There are some things you will not understand, do you think I will give in just like that?’ When I asked her and other informants why they had not told the truth about their sexual behavior to begin with, their explanations made me understand that it was a prerequisite that a climate of trust has been established and that they were only willing to express intimate thoughts and experiences once they were sure that I would not judge them as ignorant or irresponsible. This is similar to what Bleek (1987) discovered during his research on induced abortion, witchcraft and sexuality among the Kwahu in Southern Ghana. Wanting to give a quantitative supplement to his own findings from participant observation and informal interviews in a small town, he asked a group of nurses to do an interviewbased survey among women at the nearby hospital. He later found out that six of the women from the lineage he studied had taken part in the survey and decided to compare their answers with what he knew about them from fieldwork. The result of the comparison showed that his informants had been distorting the truth in most of their answers, especially on sensitive issues related to abortion and sexual behavior (Bleek 1987, 318–20). As he argues, when informants lie it may both evidence of the sensitive character 82 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. of the questions asked and a way of portraying oneself as amoral person who lives up to social standards (Bleek 1987). Furthermore, studies show that lying can be a customary response to curious outsiders asking personal questions that are seen as provoking or disrespectful (Freeman 1998, Salamone 1977). Comparing information gathered in formal interviews with knowledge gained during informal conversation reveals how different circumstances of posing a question often yield completely different answers. During an interview, a male student reiterated that he used condoms consistently because he did not have a stable income and could not afford supporting a child while he was still studying. However, during an informal conversation at a barraca one month later, he gave me a different explanation. Suddenly he stopped sipping his beer and pointed towards a girl, ‘You see, what do you think? She seems to have something [an illness], don’t you think? Look how dirty she is. Of course I could never do it [have sex with her] without [a condom]. You understand now?‘ (Euclides, 20 years, from an urban school) From an earlier interview I understood that the boy’s consistent use of condoms was due to a ‘responsible’ stance that it is better to have children after finishing high school. What his comments in the barraca suggest, however, was that in this case the reason for using a condom was his partner’s appearance. In the Mozambican context, the description of her as ‘looking dirty’ and ‘having something’ suggests that he thought she had AIDS or another STD and shows that is it not always a responsible or wholly rational choice when somebody chooses to have safe sex. Another key informant had given me the impression that she always insisted that her male partners use condoms when having sex. She claimed that she rejected men who did not put on condoms and that she never dated older men as her girlfriends did. However, one night in a discotheque I found out that she had secretly been dating an older, wealthy guy from another part of town. I had observed her dancing and being intimate with the guy for a while and I decided to ask her about her relationship to him. She responded, 83 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘Well, you know, I just want to chilar [chill/lie down] with him a little bit. You know what it’s like. You need it sometimes. You can’t wait’. (Tatiana, 18 years, from a suburban school) Had I not seen or heard about chilar in various informal situations I would not have known that this term, besides meaning ‘to cuddle’, also implies having casual sex without protection. As with other sexual expressions used among youth such as curtir (celebrate), picar (to fuck, literately meaning to pinch), fazer (make, short for fazer amor, to make love) and saca cena (take the scene, meaning to have a ‘quick fuck’) or ni’ zumbile (I am horny) it is of great importance that the researcher experience their meaning at close hand in order to understand their implications for the sexual behavior of informants. Very often, understanding the hidden sexual slang and metaphors of people’s informal language is a prerequisite for assessing the logic of sexual culture and practice (Parker, Herdt and Carballo 1991). Changana: the language of privacy and eroticism Despite Portuguese being the official language in Mozambique, there are at least twenty traditional languages spoken in the country (Lopes 1998). In Maputo city, approximately 58% of the population speaks Changana (also referred to as Xichangana or Shangaan) or Ronga (Xironga), a minor but similar language (Lopes 2001). While Portuguese is spoken at school and in public institutions, Changana is by and large limited to conversations at home, on the streets and in the neighborhoods (Lopes 2001). In most schools, students are asked not to speak Changana and the use of it is seen as inappropriate in all public institutions. Not only is the use of traditional languages and Portuguese divided along the lines of official institutions and public life versus home and private life, there is also a class and development aspect to their uses. In the poorer suburban and rural areas Changana is widely spoken, whereas in urban middle-class areas there is a growing percentage who either do not speak, or refrain from speaking, traditional languages. In recent years Changana seemed to have gained a new status among youth from 84 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. both middle- and lower class parts of Maputo. Increasingly, young people use Changana expressions in everyday conversations and blend them with Portuguese and English slang. Through participant observation in respondents’ everyday life, I experienced the spatial and social significance of the use of Changana, something I had never noticed during interviews or FGDs. Listening to informants’ conversations after school I realized that they shifted from Portuguese to Changana when leaving the school area walking towards the barracas or bus stops. The tendency to speak Changana on the street, at home and at other non-institutional settings applied to the majority of informants. Also it was acceptable to speak Changana in social situations were people were behaving in improper ways, such as while getting drunk, seducing somebody or when making jokes. This spatiallinguistic divide is also associated with the divide between public and private space of sexuality. As a number of informants told me, they shift to Changana when they enter the bedroom with a partner and that during sex they use ‘dirty’ words that refer to lust or fantasies that would be perverse or inappropriate to express through Portuguese. During intercourse, specific Changana phrases are used to excite the partner, such as ni kunza (make me whole/fill me in), said by the female partner or ku fassa (tighten/close your hole), said by the male partner as well as different metaphors for ‘killing’ and ‘dying’. Informants said that they feel more at ease when they speak Changana and that it is associated with safadeza, an expression referring to naughty talk and behavior. Youth repeatedly associated the use of Changana with being safado (naughty) and with brincadeira (joking/having fun) and saw Changana as the language of the malandro, an expression referring to a man who is ‘a hustler’ who disregards moral norms in order to enjoy life, and as the language of the moluwene, meaning a young man who is rebellious and lives on the edge of society while giving up on education, jobs and family. Young people’s use of Changana as a medium to express desire and lust is also illustrated by the linguistic structure of popular Mozambican song lyrics, which mix Portuguese with Changana. Sexually explicit and dirty words, usually the chorus, are sung in Changana while Portuguese is used when singing about emotions and more prosaic themes of life.11 A popular song lyric goes like this, 85 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘Filha de ministro, khomala Filha de doutora, khomala’ (Ziqo) In Portuguese, the term filha de ministro means ‘daughter of aminister’ (first line) and filha de doutora (second line) means ‘daughter of a doctor (of science or law)’, while the Changana khomala means ‘grab/fuck’ (her). In these songs, Changana words like khomala are often sung with insistence and pathos as if to stress their authenticity over the Portuguese lyrics. Besides, the song carries a semipolitical critique of the Mozambican elite with the male singer’s invitation to grab and have sex with daughters of ministers and doctors. There are numerous examples of songs where Changana lyrics make indecent references to sexual activities such as ‘sucking’, ‘licking’ and ‘fucking’ while the lyrics in Portuguese in most cases are romantic and courteous, inspired by love songs from Portugal and Brazil. As I will explain, youth repeatedly link safadeza with an authentic identity, such as being black, African or Machangana. Explaining why he refused to use a condom a male informant said, ‘Come on, in the end, am I not African, a black African? We can’t run away from out roots, even our grandparents were like this, we can’t help it’. (Claudio, 21 years, from a suburban school) His response points to a widely held idea among young men, among especially those from poorer areas that Africans cannot control their sexual impetus and have to give in to their desires. Another implication of what he said is that especially African blacks are guided by this strong sexual desire unlike non-black Africans groups such as Indians, Arabs and Portuguese as well as ex-patriots from USA and Europe living in Maputo. 86 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Colonial and post-colonial opposition to Changana and safadeza A possible reason why Changana is perceived of as a language of safadeza and the forbidden is the historic opposition to native languages from the times of Portuguese colonization and continued by FRELIMO, the party in government since the country’s independence from Portugal in 1975.12 The Portuguese colonizers believed that traditional languages were primitive and should be eliminated and replaced by Portuguese through Catholic missions and co-called ‘schools for assimilation’ (Cross 1987, Honwana 2003). From 1926 onwards, Portugal’s fascist dictator Salazar, promoted his ideas about ‘O Estado Novo’, which entailed the Portuguese colonies becoming overseas provinces of the empire. The resulting policy was a suppression of Mozambican cultural institutions including native languages. Part of the civilizing project of Salazar was that the different tribes of Mozambique should become assimilado (assimilated), which meant that they had to convert to Catholicism, speak Portuguese and behave in civilized ways (Cross 1987, Sumich 2008). The native Mozambican languages were deliberately made inferior to Portuguese by calling them dialectos (dialects). After independence the language policy of FRELIMO did not fall short of the oppressive and anti-traditionalistic stance of their colonial predecessors. In 1977, FRELIMO declared that native languages belong to the old world of obscurantism and ethnic division and decided they should be replaced with Portuguese as the new language of science, progress and class struggle (Sumich 2008, West 2001). Native languages were seen as obstacles to progress of what the FRELIMO elite called ‘the new man’ of science and rationality (Sumich 2008, Virtanen 2005). As the former leader of FRELIMO, Samora Machel said in a famous speech, ‘men arrived to the FRELIMO camps as Makondes, Makhuas, Nyanjas, Manicas, Shangaans, Ajanas, Rongas or Senas and left as Mozambicans’ (Harris in Mesthrie 1995, 134). In this way, formal Portuguese was elevated to the status of a language of science, education and the bourgeois elites and as such it has remained a tool for control and social distinction since the Portuguese began colonizing the region. Despite this policy of linguistic 87 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. assimilation being officially abandoned in 1997, there is still no party agreement on whether to support teaching and official communication in traditional languages (Lopes 2001). The ban on use of native languages was in many ways associated with the oppression of popular customs and erotic activities, since they also fell under the categories of the immoral, primitive and obscurant. A great number of customs and rituals, some with explicit erotic elements, were either banned or barely tolerated by the official Mozambique, whether represented by the Portuguese colonialists, the FRELIMO government or the Catholic church. They included the use of mobumba/feitiço (witchcraft), curandeirismo (healing) and customs such as lobolo (bride wealth) among the Tsonga, Ronga and Machangana in Southern Mozambique (Sumich 2008); and ithuna (ritual labia elongation) and missangas (glass bead belts) worn by women for erotic purposes among the Makhuwa in Northern Mozambique (Arnfred 2007). In secondary schools in Maputo young people are taught that such traditions belong to the past and that people who speak only native languages are ignorant, uneducated and intellectually inferior. Also on several occasions I heard teachers condemning sexual taboos and rituals such as the ban against touching a newborn baby relative for a period after having sex or the customary duty of a widow to marry her deceased husband’s brother. As Sumich (2008) notes, in post-independence Mozambique the FRELIMO elite promoted a version of modernity that created a divide between themselves as modern, rational and educated and the general population seen as primitive, ignorant and a threat to progress. As a result of this ideology, native languages and sexual practices were aligned to the same level of primitivism, ignorance and irrationality. It is against this background that we need to understand how Mozambican youth, especially from the poor suburbs, develop their sexual slang around the ideas of safadeza and their expressions of Changana in opposition to the ideology of the Portuguese-speaking upper and middle classes. 88 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Class identity and ideological contradictions Comparing experiences and data gathered among middle-class students with those gathered from students from poorer suburban areas shows that there is an obvious class aspect to the ideological contradictions that have been described. Middle-class young people were much more familiar with the language of science and health than poor youth, while poor youth to a larger extent resorted to using sexual slang and Changana when engaging in everyday sexual encounters. Middle-class young people also identified more clearly with the idea of becoming educated, developed and modern, while poor youth from suburban schools stressed being African, living up to traditional ideals and ancestral obligations and speaking the native language. These ideological contradictions should be seen in the light of the historical alliance between the country’s political elite, colonial and post-colonial, the Portuguese speaking upper and middle classes and, more recently, the country’s scientific institutions and the fact that neither the political, economic or scientific elites have been able to achieve complete legitimacy among the country’s general population and lower classes (West 2001). Class differences also express themselves in gender notions, masculinities and condom use among Mozambican youth. In general, middle-class boys are more open to the idea of prevention and family planning than poor youth who often reject the use of condoms as being against their nature or religion or due to being ‘dangerous’ in cosmological terms because ancestors may avenge the wasted sperm and negligence of reproductive obligations. Also, in suburban areas I frequently encountered the fatalist view that HIV and AIDS cannot be prevented since it is God, Allah or ancestors who decide over life and death and that one should not interfere with their decisions. In contrast to this pre-determinist idea, middle-class youth had a much stronger sense that they were deciding their own fate, due to better job and education opportunities and, therefore, were more genuinely interested in avoiding HIV/STDs and pregnancy, which could put their dreams and future plans in peril. 89 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Discussion Scholars have pointed to the significance of awareness of the possible differences between formal language on sexuality in the studied society and the informal language of informants, such as slang and metaphors of excitement and arousal (Bolton 1995, Cameron and Kulick 2003, Kulick 2000, Parker, Herdt and Carballo 1991, Tsang and Ho 2007). There is always a risk of bias due to researchers being more highly educated and using concepts of medical and social science when working with respondents who use folk or popular language to talk and think about sexuality (Parker, Herdt and Carballo 1991). In the light of this, some have suggested a shift from looking at sexuality from an outsider perspective, using the experience distant concepts of biomedical science, to greater attention to the experience near concepts that members of cultures use in everyday lives (Cameron and Kulick 2003, Parker 1991, 2001, Tsang and Ho 2007). Other researchers have pointed towards the methodological problem of much sex research presuming a cross-cultural rigidity of sexual categories in studies carried out outside the Western hemisphere (Parker and Easton 1998, Tsang and Ho 2007), while some convincingly hold that cross-cultural similarities between sexual metaphors must be more thoroughly examined (Emanatian 1995). In any case, it remains a challenge for qualitative investigation to move beyond pre-existing understandings of sexualities bound by the terms of scientific discourses and our identity as researchers when we approach the field (see also Caplan 1987). As scholars have noted, a similar problem arises when the language of Western health campaigns applied in African contexts contradict local understandings of sexuality and illness in ways that alienate the very people whose illnesses they intend to prevent or treat (Gausset 2001, Liddell, Barrett and Bydawell 2005, Yamba 1997). The ideological gap between, on the one hand, the light-hearted sexual slang of everyday life and, on the other hand, the worrisome discourses of state organs, researchers and health institutions approaching sexuality as ‘a health problem’ seems to characterize many societies around the world. In his study of Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands, Van Gelder (1996) describes how it was much easier for his informants to talk about their sexual behavior and desire in an informal language type 90 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. called zenqawiya, which is an indecent street mode used among young people, than in the formal vocabulary of Western medical science. Specific aspects of their sexual lives could only be expressed through a youth specific colloquial jargon and mainly in the company of peers under relaxed circumstances. The researcher needs to take this into account when conducting interviews (Van Gelder 1996). Another example is the sexual universe described by Parker (1991) in his book on the historical constructions of desire, passion and sexual cultures in Brazil. On the one hand, sexual life in Brazil is constructed around the ideology of the erotic, best illustrated in the bodily excesses of carnival, and with on emphasis on carnal pleasures. On the other hand, it is increasingly influenced by a scientific and rationalist discourse on sexuality, which serves to direct and control the latter and comes to represent the authoritarian state and the country’s bourgeois value system: ‘Most sharply opposed to the ideology of the erotic is the highly rationalized interrogations of sexuality (…) Through the structures of government, the institutions of law and medicine, the technologies of mass communication and the like, this system impinges upon the lives of individuals in ways that they may be completely unaware of, and that they are often powerless to avoid or resist. As much as the rhythms of samba, these discourses of sexuality mark out the sexual field in contemporary Brazil (…)’ (Parker 1991, 166–7) Although the same can be said about the sexual landscape in Mozambique, at least in the urban setting, the rationalizing discourses of medicine and science have had a much lesser impact on Mozambican society. In contemporary Mozambique, public health discourses aimed at regulating people’s behavior may even encounter overt resistance, especially when they are experienced as akin to neo-colonial enterprises in the same way as people react firmly on continuing Portuguese influence in the country. An example of this resistance was a situation were one of my informants lost her patience with my never-ending interrogations into her habits of condom use: 91 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘You know I could tell you whatever. It seems like you think you know what is best for us, right? Why do you white people always come to Africa to criticize our behavior? We aren’t kids, we actually know how to take care of ourselves without help from outside. Yes, I know that Africa is dying from AIDS but, hey, it is our problem’. (Flavia, 19 years, from an urban school) Her reaction reflects a view expressed by many other young people, namely that much development work, especially in the area of HIV, is based on unequal power relations between white people who think they know better and Africans, who are seen as ignorant and uneducated. For this reason, it becomes all the more crucial that the researcher distances herself from the ideology and language of dominant Western discourses on HIV prevention and health education if we want to avoid our scientific endeavors being perceived in the same light. Conclusion In this article, I have reflected on some of the pitfalls that researchers are likely to encounter when engaging in sex research. Not only is sexuality a sensitive and intimate issue not readily accessible or perceivable, but it is also always ideologically and historically contested. During fieldwork in Mozambique, young people tended to withhold information or give socially correct answers to questions about their sexual practices rather than disclose a behavior that was inappropriate in public health terms. This tendency was due to the way issues were approached in early stages of research, where questionnaires, FGDs and interviews were shaped by a health discourse questioning their sexual behavior and addressing sex in terms of condom use, risk, HIV and pregnancy. Only by gradually learning the language in which young people talk about sex and by being sensitive to the ideological, historical and socio-cultural context of their sexual culture, was I let into their erotic universe. 92 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Erotic codes of safadeza and desire, expressed in Changana and colloquial Portuguese stand in contrast to the prevailing ideologies of Western development agencies and health discourses concerned with the restriction of sexual behavior in efforts to prevent adolescent pregnancies and HIV transmission. This opposition, I have argued, is understandable against the background of a colonial past in which the Portuguese rulers opposed traditional languages and customs including erotic practices followed by the postcolonial policies of FRELIMO banning traditional customs and languages as obstacles to scientific progress and an ideal socialist society. Both the colonial and post-colonial state and elite contributed to shaping an ideological environment in Mozambique where being educated is equal to being superior, in moral and political terms, to the general population. The oppositional nature of young people’s sexual culture poses a challenge to research intending to understand sexual practices on their own terms and calls for a re-thinking of methodologies in sex research. It also complicates HIV prevention efforts by governments and foreign aid organizations since prevention campaigns are often molded in a health discourse portraying sex in negative images and concepts that risk alienating large segments of youth. In order to make such work more effective among young people in Mozambique, messages should be cast in a language and ideology with which young people can identify. Hopefully, a shift towards greater methodological transparency and reflection on ideological and linguistic bias in studies on sexuality and HIV/AIDS will elicit the data we need in future research and HIV prevention efforts. Such an agenda must be based on methodological tools that are well suited to penetrate the erotic cultures and languages around which people construct their sexual life worlds. References Abramson, P.R. 1990. Sexual science: Emerging discipline or oxymoron? Journal of Sex Research 27: 147–65. Abramson, P.R. 1992. Sex, lies and ethnography. In The time of AIDS: Social analysis, theory, and 93 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. method, ed. G. Herdt and S. Lindenbaum, 101–23. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Aggleton, P., and C. Campbell. 2000. Working with young people: Towards an agenda for sexual health. Sexual and Relationship Therapy 15: 283–96. Ahlberg, B.M., E. Jylka¨s, and I. Krantz. 2001. Gendered constructions of sexual risk: Implications for safer sex among young people in Kenya and Sweden. Reproductive Health Matters 9: 26–36. Arnfred, S. 2007. Sex, food and female power: Discussion of data material from Northern Mozambique. Sexualities 10: 141–58. Bleek, W. 1987. Lying informants: A fieldwork experience from Ghana. Population and Development Review 13: 314–23. Bolton, R. 1995. Sex talk: Bodies and behaviors in gay erotica. In Beyond the lavender lexicon: Authenticity, imagination and appropriation in lesbian and gay languages, ed. W.L. Leap, 174–206. New York: Gordon and Breach. Bolton, R. 1998. Mapping terra incognita: Sex research for AIDS prevention – an urgent agenda for the 1990s. In Culture, society and sexuality, a reader, ed. R. Parker and P. Aggleton, 434–56. New York: Routledge. Cameron, D., and D. Kulick. 2003. Language and sexuality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Caplan, P. 1987. Introduction. In The cultural construction of sexuality, ed. P. Caplan, 1–30. London: Routledge. CNCS. 2008. Universal declaration of commitment on HIV and AIDS: Mozambique progress report for the united nations general assembly special session on HIV and AIDS, 2006–2007. Maputo: CNCS. Cross, M. 1987. The political economy of colonial education: Mozambique, 1930–1975. Comparative Education Review 31: 550–69. 94 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Emanatian, M. 1995. Metaphor and the expression of emotion: The value of cross-cultural perspectives. Metaphor and Symbol 10: 163–82. Freeman, D. 1998. The fateful hoaxing of Margaret Mead: A historical analysis of her Samoan research. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Gausset, Q. 2001. AIDS and cultural practices in Africa: The case of the Tonga (Zambia). Social Science and Medicine 52: 509–18. Honwana, A. 2003. Undying past: Spirit possession and the memory of war in Southern Mozambique. In Magic and modernity: Interfaces of revelation and concealment, ed. B. Meyer and P. Pels, 60–80. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Karlyn, A. 2005. Intimacy revealed: Sexual experimentation and the construction of risk among young people in Mozambique. Culture, Health & Sexuality 7, no. 3: 279–92. Kulick, D. 2000. Gay and lesbian language. Annual Review of Anthropology 29: 243–85. Liddell, C., L. Barrett, and M. Bydawell. 2005. Indigenous representations of illness and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Social Science & Medicine 60: 691–700. Lopes, A.J. 1998. The language situation in Mozambique. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 19: 440–86. Lopes, A.J. 2001. Language revitalisation and reversal in Mozambique: The case of Xironga in Maputo. Current Issues in Language Planning 2: 259–67. Machel, J.Z. 2001. Unsafe sexual behaviour among schoolgirls in Mozambique: A matter of gender and class. Reproductive Health Matters 9: 82–90. Manuel, S. 2005. Obstacles to condom use among secondary school students in Maputo city, Mozambique. Culture, Health & Sexuality 7: 293–302. Mesthrie, R. 1995. Language and social history: Studies in South African sociolinguistics. Cape Town, South Africa: David Phillips. Nzioka, C. 2001. Perspectives of adolescent boys on the risks of unwanted pregnancy and sexually 95 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. transmitted infections: Kenya. Reproductive Health Matters 9: 108–17. Parker, R.G. 1991. Bodies, pleasures, and passions: Sexual culture in contemporary Brazil. Boston: Beacon Press. Parker, R.G. 2001. Sexuality, culture and power in HIV/AIDS research. Annual Review of Anthropology 30: 163–79. Parker, R.G., G. Herdt, and M. Carballo. 1991. Sexual culture, HIV transmission and AIDS research. Journal of Sex Research 28: 77–98. Parker, R.G., and D. Easton. 1998. Sexuality, culture and political economy: Recent developments in anthropological and cross-cultural sex research. Annual Review of Sex Research 9: 1–19. Rosenthal, S., K. Burklow, F. Biro, L. Pace, and R. DeVellis. 1996. The reliability of high-risk adolescent girls’ report of their sexual history. Journal of Paediatric Health Care 10: 217–20. Salamone, F.A. 1977. The methodological significance of the lying informant. Anthropological Quarterly 5: 117–24. Sumich, J. 2008. Construir uma nação: Ideologias de modernidade da elite moçambicana. Análise Social 43: 319–45. Taylor, C. 1990. Condoms and cosmology: The ‘fractal’ person and sexual risk in Rwanda. Social Science and Medicine 31: 1023–8. Tsang, A.K., and P.S. Ho. 2007. Lost in translation: Sex and sexuality in elite discourses and everyday language. Sexualities 10: 623–44. Ulin, P.R. 1992. African women and AIDS: Negotiating behavioural change. Social Science and Medicine 34: 63–73. United Nations. 2000. United Nations Millennium Declaration. New York: United Nations. http:// www.un.org/millenniumgoals. 96 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. UNAIDS. 2004. Mozambique: Epidemiological fact sheet on HIV/AIDS and STDs. UNAIDS. http://www.unaids.org Valerio, A., and D.A.P. Bundy. 2004. Education and HIV/AIDS: A sourcebook of HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Washington: The World Bank. Van Gelder, P. 1996. Talkability, sexual behaviour and AIDS: Interviewing male Moroccan immigrants. Human Organization 55: 133–40. Vance, C.S. 1991. Anthropology rediscovers sexuality: A theoretical comment. Social Science and Medicine 33: 875–84. Virtanen, P. 2005. Tradition, custom and otherness: The politics of identity in Mozambique. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 12: 223–48. West, H. 2001. Sorcery of construction and socialist modernization: Ways of understanding power in postcolonial Mozambique. American Ethnologist 28: 119–50. Yamba, C.B. 1997. Cosmologies in turmoil: Witchfinding and AIDS in Chiawa, Zambia. Journal of the International African Institute 67: 200–23. 97 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. CHAPTER 3: CLASS IDENTITIES, TRANSGRESSIONS AND (UN)SAFE SEX Article 2: Safe sex pioneers: class identity, peer education and emerging masculinities among youth in Mozambique Introduction It is widely documented that the large majority of youth in sub-Saharan Africa practice unsafe sex despite high risks of infection with HIV/AIDS. Among the main factors reported as leading to risky sexual behaviors among youth are male dominance and socioeconomic inequalities (Leclerc-Madlala 2002, Baylies & Bujra 2000, Holland et al. 1992). Most studies of sexual behavior and HIV prevention tend to focus on high-risk groups and obstacles to condom use (Bond & Dover 1997, Tlou et al. 1992, Manuel 2005) but qualitative studies of the reasons why some people use condoms have been scarce (exceptions are Philpott et al. 2006, Harrison et al. 2001). However, a theoretical framework able to explain safe sex practices and consistent condom use is needed for systemic research to take form, which may eventually lead to innovation in the area of HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa (Karlyn 2005). If we wish to improve health programs promoting behavior change and safe sex in youth we need to supplement quantitative data from surveys with ethnographic detail on the meanings and motives behind certain behaviors (Ulin 1992, Standing 1992). Understanding which factors facilitate safe sex among youth becomes pressing at a time when studies suggest that youth awareness about HIV 98 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. transmission and its prevention does not necessarily lead to safer sex practices and hence do not effectively lower HIV prevalence rates (Ahlberg et al. 2001, Nzioka 2001, Varga 1997). In Mozambique, youth accounts for 60% of new HIV infections in the country (UNAIDS 2006) and the country’s cities are hardest hit with an HIV prevalence rate of 23% among the adult population in the capital Maputo and in Beira, the country’s second biggest city. Studies show low frequency of condom use in the general population with 22% of men and 10% of women reporting condom use at last sex (Prata et al. 2006). In Mozambique, the response to HIV/AIDS has included educational programs, media campaigns, social marketing of condoms and voluntary counseling and testing services. However, as previous responses have shown little impact on youth sexual behavior the Mozambican Government and development agencies have directed their attention towards peer sex education in which youth play a more active role than in mainstream HIV awareness campaigns and traditional forms of education (UNFPA 2003). In the present study conducted among secondary school youth at eight different schools in Maputo between March 2007 and April 2008, a group of male condom users were identified who shared a set of values and behavior patterns anchored in specific class and gender identities. The majority of consistent condom users were middle class and from schools in the urban part of the city, whereas young men from schools in the poorer suburban areas tended to not use condoms. The survey indicates that condom use increases when middle class youth are exposed to peer education programs while peer education has limited effect among working class youth. By middle class youth, I refer to youth attending schools and living in the urban parts of the city characterized by a great number of concrete houses, a modern infrastructure, asphalt roads, electricity networks, water supplies and a number of hospitals and health clinics. Most families in urban Maputo have a high and steady income and usually one or both parents have completed a higher education. Working class youth refer to youth living in and attending schools on the outskirts of the city where a majority of houses are made of reed and other 99 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. cheap materials and where electricity and water supplies are scarce. Families in this area suffer from unemployment, malnutrition and family members have little formal education. Class identity and masculinities Although class and socioeconomic background have too often been ignored in research on sexuality and HIV prevention, studies document that these determinants have a significant effect on sexual behavior and HIV infection patterns (Bujra 2006, Bohmer & Kirumbira 2000). Despite disagreement over the extent to which poverty in itself enhances risky behavior (Bujra 2006, Boysen 2004) and sexual activity (Isiugo-Abanihe & Oyediran 2004) scholars largely agree that belonging to lower social strata equals less frequent use of condoms (Madise et al. 2007) and that socioeconomic inequality have disempowering consequences for both women and men in the field of reproduction (Baylies & Bujra 2000, MacPhail & Campbell 2001, Bujra 2006, Barker 2005, Silberschmidt 1992). In this analysis class is used in line with Bourdieu (1984) as referring not only to economic and social inequalities but also encompassing the cultural forms and identities that reproduce them. In terms of identity, the social and cultural reproduction of the dominant classes relies on a set of classifications of self and others by means of which the dominant class construct itself as superior to other classes (Bourdieu 1984). As scholars within HIV/AIDS and sexuality research have repeatedly noted, class identity and socioeconomic background are intrinsically tied to specific gender relations and masculinities (Bujra 2006, Silberschmidt 2004). There is a growing literature challenging stereotyped notions of masculinity in sub-Saharan Africa (Silberschmidt 2004, Morrell & Ouzgane 2005) and opening up for the study of alternative or non-dominant masculinities (Lindisfarne 1994, Aboim 2009, Agadjanian 2005). As researchers have begun to address masculinities in the plural (Connell 1995, Cleaver 2002) we may begin to look at male identities that purport values and practices in favor of safe sex. 100 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Peer sex education Peer sex education in Mozambique has been introduced through changes in primary and secondary school curricula and recently through the implementation of peer sex education in most of the country’s provinces. Peer sex education involves the dissemination of health-related information and condoms by members of target groups to their peers and involves counseling, informal debates, workshops and referral for sexual and reproductive health services (Campbell & MacPhail 2002). The fact that they have a shared identity as youth allegedly makes peer educators more credible in the eyes of peers and gives peer educators easier access to the youth environment than teachers, parents and health workers (Laukamm-Josten et al. 2000, Campbell & Mzaidume 2001). It has been demonstrated that peer sex education programs increase the use of condom and reduce levels of HIV and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs) in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa (Barker 2005, Vaz et al. 1996, Brieger et al. 2001) while research from other parts has reported a limited effect (Leonard et al. 2000, Campbell & MacPhail 2002). In Mozambique experiences with peer sex education are few, but there have been reports of student’s knowledge about HIV and prevention increasing in areas where it is implemented especially in relation to Geração Biz (Senderowitz et al. 2004), a multi-sectoral program, the effect of which was examined at eight different schools as part of the study. Methods The identification of consistent condom users among secondary school youth was methodologically challenging. In order to examine how class background, gender relations and exposure to sex education affect youths’ sexual behavior, I considered applying a conventional survey with anonymous respondents. However, as researchers have frequently shown surveys give limited insight into people’s identities, the socio-cultural context and individual reasons behind condom use (Ulin 1992, Vance 1991, Price & Hawkins 2002). Hence, I decided to apply a non-anonymous survey questionnaire where informants were asked to write contact information. Using this method I was not only able to make a 101 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. personal identification of condom users, it also allowed me to follow up with a qualitative examination based on the survey data in order to address the individual reasons and motives behind safe sex behavior. To test whether the non-anonymity of the questionnaire would affect responses significantly we compared the results of 50 anonymous and 50 non-anonymous test questionnaires given to boys and girls of the same age cohort. Although no significant discrepancies between the results in the two groups were noticed, I acknowledge that non-anonymous surveys carry with them a high risk of inaccuracy. For this reason combining the survey with a qualitative inquiry also had the advantage of enabling a crosscheck of the validity of data by comparing the statements of the questionnaire with statements in interviews and focus group discussions (Abramson 1992). Also it is repeatedly argued that qualitative inquiry has the advantage of yielding more elaborate answers and opening up for in-depth information on sexuality and HIV/AIDS, which informants often regard as private and sensitive issues (Bolton 1992, Rosenthal et al. 1996, Parker et al. 1991). In order to make comparisons along the lines of socioeconomic background and exposure to peer sex education I chose four schools in the affluent parts of the city attended by middle class youth and four schools in the poorer suburbs of Maputo with two schools in each segment having introduced peer sex education.13 My field assistant and me then handed out questionnaires at the eight school and in the end we had responses from 500 students aged 17 to 23 with an equal number of boys and girls.14 The questionnaire was composed of 70 questions regarding sexual and reproductive behavior, gender norms and values, and HIV/AIDS knowledge and testing. The respondents in the survey who I identified as consistent condom users (CCUs) were those who reported to, ‘always use condoms with my partner(s)’, ‘never forget to use condoms with partner(s)’ and who said that they had, ‘never had sex without using a condom’. To be sure that these responses were not due to little or no sexual experience I chose respondents who reported having had more than 10 sexual partners in their lifetime and who reported having had more than 10 intercourses with any one partner. 102 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Findings From the 500 participants I identified 52 boys who qualified as CCUs according to my criteria. Surprisingly, the number of persons with a broad knowledge about HIV/AIDS prevention and forms of transmission was much higher than the number of CCUs. Of the 250 male respondents, 191 boys reported knowing that HIV is an STI and 178 boys reported that infection with HIV is prevented by means of proper and consistent use of either the male or the female condom. This indicates what has been observed in different parts of sub-Saharan Africa, i.e. that HIV/AIDS knowledge and awareness among youth does not automatically translate into safe sexual behavior (Ahlberg et al. 2001, Nzioka 2001, Pettifor et al. 2004). Also the CCUs tended to be slightly older (19.2 years) than average youth in the sample (18.5 years), which may suggest prolonged exposure to the peer sex education programs. As shown in Table 1, the total number of CCUs identified was 52, which amounts to 20.8% of all participants in the survey. A significantly higher percentage of CCUs were identified among middle class youth from urban schools (34.4%) compared with CCUs among working class youth from suburban schools (7.2%). However, a higher percentage of CCUs was identified in the group of middle class youth exposed to peer sex education (42.8%) compared with the number of CCUs in urban schools without peer sex education (25.8%). In suburban schools the number of CCUs was lowest in schools without peer sex education (3.2%) compared with the number of CCUs in suburban schools with peer sex education (11.1%). In order to examine the meanings and motives related to factors of class identity and exposure to peer sex education we planned eight focus group discussions (FGDs) and 25 individual interviews with CCUs from urban schools with and without peer education and compared the results with findings from an equal number of interviews and FGDs among youth from suburban schools with and without peer education. Participant observation included taking part in after school activities, informal conversations and observing nightlife behavior. By means of these diverse methods a very detailed set of explanations and rationalizations of use and non-use of condoms were gathered. Participant observation also revealed that the questionnaire statements had been incorrect in some cases. 103 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Through participation in boys’ informal interaction and conversations and close observation of their behavior it became clear that some CCUs identified in the survey had in fact had sex without a condom and were likely to practice unsafe sex. These discoveries were made during moments of confidentiality with boys who after a long period of trust building admitted to having had unsafe sex despite earlier reporting otherwise. Table 1. Number and percentage of male CCUs (total number of cohort respondents in parentheses) Exposure to Non-exposure to peer sex education peer sex education Total CCUs 52 (250) 20.8% 34 (125) 26.9% 18 (125) 14.5% Urban youth 43 (125) 34.4% 27 (63) 42.8% 16 (62) 25.8% Suburban youth 9 (125) 7.2% 7 (63) 2 11.1% (62) 3.2% Rationalizing condom use: narratives of safe and unsafe sex The comparison between narratives and behaviors of middle class youth and working class youth showed some notable differences. Based on findings from the qualitative study, suggestions are given as to why middle class youth tend to use condoms more consistently and why working class youth neglect condom use, as well as why peer sex education may be more effective in middle class youth than among suburban youth who are socioeconomically marginalized. 104 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘Something to live for’: career opportunities and personal investment in health and future In interviews and FGDs, working class youths tended to show little interest in prevention of pregnancies and HIV/AIDS, while middle class CCUs had an ideal of consistent condom use, which was reflected in their everyday values and sexual behavior. The findings show signs that boys’ opportunities for a higher education, employment and a future career were significant motivators in their decision to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and STIs and to avoid early pregnancy. The reasons they gave for insisting on condom use were often that they had to finish their studies before having children and that early pregnancies could endanger their ambitions. They also referred to the shame that getting HIV would lead to and that they have an obligation to stay healthy in order to pursue the ‘careers laid out before me’ as one boy put it. The majority of the CCUs believed they would eventually get a university degree and a high income job and maybe even get the opportunity to work and live abroad. This optimism was fuelled by parents and siblings having privileged positions in society and an influential social network in the public sector of administration, ministries and parliament and in the growing private sector of business, service and foreign non-government organizations. Consistent condom users developed certain narratives and sayings justifying the use of condoms in the face of prevailing norms of unsafe sex. One popular saying among CCUs was: ‘It’s better to have one foot on the brake than two in the coffin’. Another common statement was that: ‘I use the preservative since it is better to avoid than to treat [HIV]. Also I need to protect my life. I have so much to experience and so many things I want to do before I die’. When I asked one of the informants what he wished to do in his life he responded, ‘having my own house here in Somerschield [rich neighborhood in Maputo], a nice car and seeing the world’. Many boys expressed the idea that it was important to use condoms because ‘life must be protected when you have something to live for, something you want to do in your life’. Such statements were common in middle class youth’s rationalizations of condom use and safe sex. Hence, the planning of sexual and reproductive behavior was part of a broader view of life and future 105 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. where the risk of HIV infection and pregnancy are lumped together as threats on the way towards fulfilling ones dreams and careers. In comparison, narratives among working class youth often stressed the unavoidability of HIV/AIDS and explained lack of condom use in fatalist terms, a tendency observed elsewhere in subSaharan Africa (Temin et al. 1999). Thus, in schools in the poor suburban areas many students justified not using condoms by reference to ideas that all occurrences in life are predetermined by God, ancestors or bad spells. For this reason they said, it is futile to make a personal effort to avoid HIV/AIDS and or pregnancies since, ‘such things are out of our hands’. This belief is backed by the Catholic and Protestant churches and mosques in the city supporting the belief that HIV/AIDS is God’s punishment of ‘bad people’ or supporting theories such as that of the Archbishop of Maputo alleging that Western countries are infecting condoms with HIV in order to ‘finish the African people’ (BBC News 2007). As the majority of working class youth tended to believe that protection against HIV/AIDS did not make sense a good part of them saw no need to attend peer sex education classes or events promoting free condoms. Some working class boys also defended the view that since they got little opportunity to live up to ideals of having a career and supporting a wife or family they might as well, ‘live and have fun in the moment because tomorrow could be the last day’. Having ‘pure sex’ was seen as a way of living in the moment and a few man justified this practice by reference to a more authentic identity, which they called moluwene (wildman) or celebrating being African or Machangana, the biggest ethnic group in Maputo city. Coupled with having many female partners ‘pure sex’ was also regarded as a sign of masculinity and potency in opposition to being white, Western and well educated. Condom use as social distinction: the educated versus the ignorant masses The study shows that better off youth tend to understand the use of condoms as a social distinction through which they place themselves as morally superior to both women and men from lower social strata. In interviews, middle class youth often describe themselves as being in the same league as the 106 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. intellectual and political elite in contrast to suburban youth from working class families classified as ignorant when it comes to prevention and sexual behavior. A male student of 22 years said of people who do not use condoms: ‘well, I think it is because of ignorance, sometimes pure stupidity, these people from the zones [poor suburban areas] you know, they don’t care, and for some it’s like they already have HIV and pass it on because they don’t want to die alone. The people/masses (o povo) are like that, they don’t know, they just fuck around, they behave like criminals’. This view among middle class Mozambicans echoes the colonial Portuguese view of o povo as childrenlike and primitive but seems also to be rooted in the ideology of FRELIMO, the ruling party since independence (Cross 1987). In the 1970s, FRELIMO officially condemned uncontrolled sexual behavior and popular customs, especially in matrilineal societies of Northern Mozambique (Arnfred 2004). It has been described by scholars how the political elite of FRELIMO and the economically privileged class in Mozambique are deeply intertwined and how the identity of this elite is constructed around intellectual superiority distinguishing the modern elite of the educated, responsible and progressive from a population seen as ignorant, primitive and superstitious (Sumich 2008, West 2001). Practicing safe sex as a form of protection against dangerous women Some male informants told stories about girls who they believe deliberately ignore or reject condom use in order to get pregnant with them or because they want to infect them with HIV. Either way, CCUs claimed that protecting themselves with a condom was the only way to avoid problems with what they see as dangerous women. Hence they used condoms consistently with girls whom they felt could put their dreams at risk and strip them of their control. In sexual encounters these boys were particularly worried about girls from lower social strata whom they called golpistas. Golpistas are girls believed to 107 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. intentionally seek to become pregnant so as to ensure that a partner will marry them or as a way of getting child support or as an excuse to blackmail a sexual partner who may be married. As a young man of 17 years from a middle class area told me: ‘It’s very important [condom use], not just to prevent certain illnesses, because there exist a lot of girls who are golpistas, if she likes me and knows that I have money, she will try to stay with me by having a baby’. Getting pregnant for economic reasons or in order to secure the relationships is a reproductive strategy that has been noticed across sub-Saharan Africa (Silberschmidt & Rasch 2001). Boys frequently mentioned incidents where girls demand large sums of money in exchange for having an abortion or to keep silent about their pregnancy towards the boy’s family or girlfriend. It is difficult to confirm how many of these stories are true but they suggest a widespread concern with certain female partners towards which boys are alert when they choose their sex partners. Thus, youngsters told me that they only use condoms that they themselves have obtained and that they never accept condoms offered by foreign girls because such condoms may have been punctured in order to burst during intercourse. Others claim that they have to stay alert during the sexual acts because some girls ‘tear of the condom in the heat of the night’. Contact with girls from lower social strata is often established on the street, at the barracas, or at strip clubs and bars in the zona quente (red light district) in downtown Maputo. Relationships with girls from poorer neighborhoods are kept a secret because they are regarded as shameful and morally inappropriate in middle class circles where such girls are seen as ‘dirty’ and ‘cheap’. In contrast to boys’ official girlfriends who would almost always be from middle class neighborhoods and schools these girls were casual partners to whom boys felt no longer lasting obligations. Another female type these boys feared was the pistoleira, a vengeful girl who intentionally infects men with HIV. A male informant of 21 years from a middle class area explained: 108 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘I follow the advice of Valete [name of a Portuguese hip-hop musician] when regarding Russian roulette he says: ‘the girl interrupted the sexual act and asked him to take of the preservative, and he refused alleging that he didn’t feel it [that it disturbed], and the girl insisted, ‘it disturbs me and this happens a lot’. And he soon realized that she was a pistoleira and could have HIV’. Literally meaning a gunwoman, boys said that a pistoleira is the most dangerous female sexual partner one can encounter. Hence, insistence on safe sex with girls from lower social strata is both seen as protection from social and economic consequences of having to give child support and being blackmailed and as protection from partners seen as potentially infected and dangerous to one’s health. However, many CCUs were also bent on using condoms with their regular partners, although they seemed to be less worried should the condom burst or slip. Informants said that they used condoms or insisted that their partner did because they were not ready to face the complications of a pregnancy, which could be costly health-wise and in economic terms. Emerging masculinities: equal rights, responsibility and sexual performance In Maputo, globalization has introduced alternative ideals and values among youth through the media, music and fashion trends emanating from Brazil, South Africa and the USA (UNFPA 2003) as well as through changes in the law (Aboim 2009) and the introduction of peer sex education in secondary schools (UNFPA 2003). Based on the qualitative study of CCUs it seems that new masculinities are emerging that embrace many of these ideals which resonate with existing class identities. While defending the traditional role of the male provider, most CCUs would also define themselves as ‘moderns’, implying that they have moved beyond traditional gender roles. Many young men would criticize the older generation for only getting married in order to satisfy the needs of their families and in order to survive, whereas today, as one of the boys said: ‘we want more than survival, we want love, 109 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. good sex, and a nice wife who can think for herself’. This is similar to what Aboim (2009) have discovered studying new and less dominant masculinities in Maputo in the wake of legal changes towards gender equality and globalization of modern family values. A portion of her male informants expressed a move away from traditional forms of family life, polygamy, the lobolo (bride wealth) custom and arranged marriages and towards new conjugal constructions, where man and woman have shared responsibilities and equal choices and where sexuality is a source of pleasure and recognition to a greater degree than in earlier generations (Arnfred 2004). Most CCUs interviewed believe in equal rights of men and women and stress that they want a girlfriend who has the same rights, opportunities and obligations as themselves. As opposed to masculine norms in Mozambique, these boys often said that they want their woman to be well educated and preferably to be able to contribute equally to the household. Furthermore, many CCUs speak out against the lobolo custom where the groom’s family pays a certain price for the bride, as they criticize it for being an expression of women being men’s property. However, as noted, while these ideals of gender equality may apply to the relationship with a girlfriend of middle class status, it does not imply a general respect for the rights of women from working classes who are often looked down at and even seen as someone who can be bought with gifts and money. In general the middle class boys also oppose themselves to gender norms where violence against women is accepted and where the man has the final say in economic and reproductive matters. A male informants of 20 years from an urban school said: ‘The idea adopted by Africans is that the man pays for the woman. A man doesn’t accept living in the house of a woman, but today things are changing, globalization is taking care of us, so now there has to be a sharing, depending on the financial situation of each person, the women should no longer be dependent on the man’. 110 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. New views on masculinity were also expressed in relation to condom use. Some informants believed that talking openly about prevention and condoms before the sexual act can be a way of presenting themselves as both respectful towards women and as sexually experienced. In opposition to traditional Mozambican sayings such as, ‘you can’t eat a banana with the peel on’ or ‘only flesh against flesh’, many urban boys voice opinions that condom use can be part of one’s identity as a man. Another young man of 24 years from a middle class area said: ‘Having sex without condom gives more pleasure, but I don’t want to run any risks, it’s pays of being matreco [cheated, a weak man]. If I get some lover pregnant now, I would have to start working and I would be distressed because I couldn’t finish my studies. A person continues a man, even if he uses preservatives, young people are beginning to understand this. Life is worth more than one’s reputation’. In the wake of a growing consumerism middle class boys are focused on looks and fashion, but paradoxically not so concerned about sexual skills as poor youngsters in the study. Other narratives among the CCUs suggested that using condoms made them feel strong and in control. There even seemed to be a link between boys’ emphasis on the importance of personal exercise and improvement of looks and the ability to continue using condoms. As a male informant of 23 years explained, ‘I work out, not only to improve my looks, but also for health reasons. The physical exercises help you when you’re in bed with a chick, it makes you feel strong and safe. When you are strong in bed it gets much easier to keep using the condom’. Despite having a notable effect on sexual behavior among all groups of youth, the impact of sex education seemed to be much higher in urban schools (see Table 1). The reason could be the good quality of programs in these schools; however, interviews and FGDs confirmed that urban youth was 111 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. more susceptible to the methods and messages of peer education. Through participant observation in the schools I observed how middle class youth were much more engaged in peer sex education activities and to a larger degree used the facilities provided by the program. For example the centers for advice on condom use and reproductive matters (cantos de aconselhamento) were attended by a much larger number of students in urban schools. By contrast, youth at suburban schools were less engaged in the peer sex education programs and except for a small minority [see article 5] they showed little interest in the ideas promoted through peer education. Discussion As studies in sub-Saharan Africa have shown, for a variety of reasons men do not want to wear condoms. Some men believe that their masculinity is tied to having sex ‘flesh to flesh’ and that condom use threatens their masculine powers (Wojcicki & Malala 2001, Webb 1997, Campbell et al. 1998) other men hold the idea that only prostitutes and homosexuals need to use condoms or refuse to use them due to peer norms (MacPhail & Campbell 2001) economic powers (Varga 1997) or cultural beliefs (Taylor 1990). By contrast, the reasons for men to insist on using condoms and the motivating factors behind male condom use have rarely been examined. It is suggested that we need to direct attention towards the factors and motives that may lead more youth to use condoms rather than merely identifying obstacles to condom use if we wish to find new solutions in the area of HIV prevention. The present study found that there is a clear difference between male youth’s tendency to use condoms with sexual partners depending on their class background and identity, as well as depending on the extent to which they are exposed to peer sex education in school. Having better opportunities in terms of education, employment and career planning seems to be a significant motive promoting condom use among middle class youth. Rationalizing condom use, CCUs refer to their dreams about having a good job and sustaining a family, ambitions which both an early pregnancy and an HIV infection could put an end to. 112 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Also the insistence on condom use was driven by ideals about male responsibility and gender equality. As Karlyn (2005) mentioned in his study of the saca cena subculture in Maputo, which involves consistent condom use, the practice of safe sex is often linked to a belief in changing gender roles, respect for female choice and emphasis on individual responsibility and anonymity. Thus, it resembles narratives of CCUs identified in this study who emphasize individuality, male responsibility, gender equality and choice in sexual encounters. Although Karlyn (2005) argues that this practice is constructive of youth identities and alternative gender norms little reflection is given on the way this identity is constructed in opposition to the larger segment of youth practicing unsafe sex and where class and gender relations may play a significant part. Aboim (2009) notes a similar change in values among middle class men in Maputo, showing how the change in legal codes is reflected in new masculinities where young men are being caught between traditional ideals of male dominance and Western values of the modern equalitarian family. Another key reason for middle class CCUs to use condoms was the fear of certain female types, who young men believe will actively try to become pregnant in order to obtain material benefits from them, or who will deliberately transmit HIV to them. In this vein, middle class youth saw condom use as a way of keeping a distance between and distinguishing themselves from the large majority of working class men and women who use condoms to a lesser extent. In the group of working class youth, condom use is seen as of little importance due to the lack of opportunities, fatalism and a cultivation of an ‘African’ masculinity, which idealizes ‘pure sex’ and is opposed to middle class morals. This tendency is echoed in the findings by Silberschmidt (2005) showing how male disempowerment in the face of rising unemployment and undermining of the breadwinner role make men search for new roles and comfort through an increase in sexual partners and unsafe sexual behavior. Studies among heterosexual African American men in the USA found similar indicators that poverty and class inequality diminishes men’s sense of agency and promotes indifference when it comes to condom use (Whitehead 1997, Bowleg 2004). 113 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Studying condom use among secondary school girls in Maputo, Machel (2001) found that class difference has a great impact on sexual behavior. She noticed that working class girls were less assertive in sexual relationships, used condoms less often and were more economically dependent on their partners (Machel 2001). However, as she argues, the patriarchal values predisposed both middle and working class girls to engage in unsafe sex mainly because of ideas that it was more important to keep ones partner and show one’s love by not insisting on condom use (Machel 2001, see also Manuel 2005). This is somewhat contrary to the findings of this study. While boys would generally mention ‘love’ and ‘trust in partner’ as reasons for having unsafe sex, the CCUs seemed to be fairly consistent in their insistence on condom use even with regular partners and girlfriends. Findings from the present study suggest that the visible effects of peer sex education in middle class youth is due to such programs echoing basic values in middle class identities, such as male responsibility and agency, gender equality, career planning, having an education and a general belief in the future. By contrast, working class youth had a tendency to not participate in peer sex education activities due to fatalist ideas that there was no reason to prevent an illness if they had no opportunities for ‘a good life’ with employment and ability to sustain themselves and a family or citing defeatist ideas that it is better to ‘live in the moment’ than being afraid of ‘illnesses that you cannot control’. Reports claiming that peer sex education in Mozambique has already had a notable effect on adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health (Senderowitz et al. 2004) did not measure the influence of class, gender or socio-economic factors. In line with my findings, some scholars have observed that the promotion of such qualities as male responsibility and safe sex through peer education risks being ineffective if we fail to first address problems of poverty, unemployment and low levels of social capital among youth (Campbell & MacPhail 2002). As shown, class is a significant factor when it comes to decisions on condom use, both as an identity marker contributing to a distinction from other classes of men and women as well as in terms of values, masculinities, opportunities and investment in health and future. Trying to explain why peer sex education is more effective among middle class students we need 114 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. to look at the larger cultural and socio-economic context. Young middle class men in sub-Saharan Africa experience a consumerism and modern lifestyle in which they are central players and neo-liberal gender notions merely consolidate they role as providers and give them privileges vis-à-vis poorer young men and women. Conclusion Acknowledging that knowledge and awareness about HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention in itself does not lead to safer sexual behavior, it seems advisable to direct attention towards new and innovative forms of HIV prevention. As a supplement to the identification of unsafe sexual practices and obstacles to condom use, findings from the present study suggest that researchers localize ‘positive’ practices and narratives among youth and understand the reasons why and how young men in sub-Saharan Africa are able to use condoms in the face of norms dictating unsafe sex. While working class youth tends to refuse condom use due to fatalist ideas, indifference to health care and a lack of belief in the future middle class youth tend to priorities condom use with reference to future aspirations in terms of education, employment and having a family. Hence, promoting initiatives which both encourage and enable youth to engage in planning of education, careers and families might be a first step towards giving youth a good reason to practice safer sex. Also it seems advisable that further experiments with peer sex education supplement classic forms and channels of HIV/AIDS education. However, to ensure that peer sex education not only transforms the sexual landscape of privileged youth it must be coupled with large scale attempts to enhance the opportunities of access to education and employment among working class youth which may eventually give all youth ‘something to life for’. References Aboim, S. (2009) Men between worlds: Changing masculinities in urban Maputo. Men & Masculinities 12(2): 201-24. 115 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Abramson, P.R. (1992) Sex, lies and ethnography. In: Herdt G, Lindenbaum S, editors. 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(2001) Perspectives of adolescent boys on the risks of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections: Kenya. Reproductive Health Matters 9:108–17. Parker, R.G., G. Herdt & M. Carballo (1991) Sexual culture, HIV transmission, and AIDS research. Journal of Sex Research 28:77–98. Pettifor, A.E., M.E. Beksinska & H.V. Rees (2004) High knowledge and high risk behaviour: A profile of hotel-based sex workers in inner-city Johannesburg. African Journal of 119 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Reproductive Health 4:35–43. Philpott, A., W. Knerr & V. Boydell (2006) Pleasure and prevention: When good sex is safer sex. Reproductive Health Matters 2006 14: 23–31. Prata, N, L. Morris, E. Mazive, F. Vahidnia & M. Stehr (2006) Relationship between HIV risk perception and condom use: Evidence from a population-based survey in Mozambique. International Family Planning Perspectives 32:192–200. Price, N. & K. 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Renne, P. Coplan & H.K. Heggenhougen (1999) Perceptions of sexual behavior and knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents in Benin City, Nigeria. International Family Planning Perspectives 25:186–190. Tlou, S.D., K.F. Norr, M. Moeti, T. Clevenger & R. Gantes (1992) Barriers to condom use for urban Botswana women. International Conference on AIDS 8:D451. Ulin, R.P. (1992) African women and AIDS: Negotiating behavioural change. Social Science & Medicine 34:63–73. UNAIDS (2006) AIDS epidemic update May 2006. Geneva: UNAIDS & WHO. UNFPA (2003) Providing Reproductive Health and STI/HIV Information and Services to this Generation. Insights from the Geração Biz Experience. Maputo: UNFPA/Pathfinder International. Vance, C.S. (1991) Anthropology rediscovers sexuality: A theoretical comment. Social Science & Medicine 33: 875–84. Varga, C.A. (1997) The condom conundrum: Barriers to condom use among commercial sex workers in Durban, South Africa. 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Medical Anthropology Quarterly 11:411–47. Wojcicki, J.M. & J. Malala (2001) Condom use, power and HIV/ AIDS risk: sex-workers bargain for survival in Hillbrow/Joubert Park/Berea, Johannesburg. Social Science & Medicine 53:99–121. 122 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Article 3. Orgies of the moment: Bataille’s anthropology of transgression and young men’s defiance of danger in post-socialist Mozambique During World Bank President Bob Zoellick's visit to Maputo February 4th 2008, he complimented Mozambique on its success with privatization reforms and initiatives for peace and human rights. The next day a powder keg of ten thousand angry young people exploded in riots all around the city’s poor suburbs in response to a fifty per cent rise in fares on the local chapas (privately run minibuses). Demonstrators blocked the exits and entrances to Maputo and there was widespread looting, car thefts and spontaneous violence to go along with it. Four of my key informants participated in the riots which left four people dead and injured hundreds of demonstrators. When I met with them later that night, they were still excited about the experience, and Custo15 had blood smeared on his shoulders. High from the fighting, Custo told me with a shivering voice, ‘I’m gonna tear them apart, the parasites, stupid chapista [minibus drivers] parasites’. Next day Custo and I rambled around downtown. When we reached the main square we sat down on the curbstones near a group of women selling cashew nuts and vegetables. He was still mumbling about how great it had been to beat up the chapista. Then he got up and turned to one of the women. I understood that he was trying to convince her to give him a broche (oral sex). At first she ignored him, but after a while I saw them leaving together into the shadows of a barraca (open roadside bar). Seemingly, she had succumbed to Cusco’s blunt desires in exchange for a small payment. Both of these experiences made me reflect on the meaning of spontaneous acts of violence and unsafe sex and other illicit practices among a group of poor young men in Maputo who called themselves moluwenes (In Changana16: wild, marginal). In the course of fieldwork I realized that excessive activities were remarkably more frequent and widespread among working class young men living in the zonas (poor suburban districts) than among young men from middle class families living in 123 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. the city centre. But my main concern was how to understand why these marginalized youngsters so persistently defy death and physical dangers and why risky activities of violence, drug use and unsafe sex become attractive to them? Knowledge of the lethal risks associated with violence and drug use was widespread among my interlocutors, but so was the awareness that unsafe sex leads to HIV infection and AIDS. As researchers have discovered in studies from different parts of Africa unsafe sexual behavior can rarely be ascribed to ignorance of risks or lack of knowledge about condom use (e.g. Ahlberg et al., 2001; Nzioka, 2001). It was through everyday witnessing of young men’s experiences of social despair and marginalization that I was presented with viable answers to this puzzle. Many youngsters in Maputo are brought up in an social environment where values of education, work and ‘good behavior’ make very little sense since ownership of these values has become the privilege of middle class peers with high school diplomas and access to well paid jobs and luxurious houses. A world where there are no legal means of accumulating cash or getting access to commodities, education and work but where these are the very parameters that define ‘a real man’ (Groes-Green, 2010; Aboim, 2009). During fieldwork among young people in the Mozambican capital of Maputo, from 2007 through 2008, I frequently witnessed activities that reflect the experiences described above, of a world which is socially torn between virtues of work, education and good manners and the forces of transgression and excess. Here I shall articulate experiences of young men’s transgressive practices from a period during my fieldwork, when I had close encounters with moluwenes, a group of young men aged 18 to 27 living in Maputo’s impoverished district of Zona Verde. As in prevalent studies of crime and excess in the region marginalized young men are locally referred to as mobsters, gang members or young delinquents, suggesting anti-social behavior. Noting the merits of Georges Bataille, Taussig (1993:31) points out how transgression and violence is the always returning flip side to laws, norms and taboos emerging in instances where abiding by them stops making sense or when people’s desire for excess can no longer be fulfilled within 124 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. society’s existing boundaries. The project of Bataille was to understand how and when excessive phenomena such as violence, crime, sacrifice and sexual orgies for better or worse enter or re-enter life as meaningful practices. These phenomena, Bataille (1962:41-43) reminds us, gain salience precisely because they so explicitly transgress the taboos which uphold the societal order, and because they by means of transgression furnish a sense of sovereignty exemplified in the scandalous image of Marquis de Sade, emblematic of a fearless rebellion against existing morals, laws and authorities (Bataille, 1991:252-255). In spite of being heterogeneous such transgressions convey intensities of extreme pleasure, anguish or pain which lead to momentary losses of self in the service of a ‘sacred sense of continuity’ (Bataille, 1962:38-39). In fact this transgressive propensity is basic to humans existence, or as Bataille notes, ‘[t]here subsists in man [sic] a movement which always exceeds the bounds, that can never be anything but partially reduced to order’ (Bataille 1962:40). Anthropological studies among young men in urban Africa report how young masculinities are constituted through use of violence (Morrell, 1998; Wood & Jewkes, 2005), crime (Buur, 2008; Mooney, 2008) and sexual conquests and excess (Cornwall, 2003; Silberschmidt, 2005; Niehaus, 2002). I wish to add to this work by addressing how young men’s heterogeneous practices of transgression make sense in the face of social marginalization and leads to elusive senses of sovereignty and fearlessness. Reinvigorating Bataille’s anthropology of transgression, I argue that moluwenes’ defiance of death and their attraction to dangerous activities become meaningful if seen against the background of ideological decay of the state amid a post-socialist vacuum of legitimacy as well as neoliberal politics of marginalization (see also Ferguson, 2006) Bataille and the anthropology of transgression The relevance of Bataille’s thinking today is underlined by recent anthropological publications applying his concepts in studies of eroticism, exchange, sacrifice, mobs and violence (Magowan, 2009; Buur, 2009; Bähre, 2007; Crapanzano, 2006; Taussig, 2009; 2006; Hutnyk, 2003). It is to be celebrated that 125 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. anthropologists are beginning to reappraise Batailles’ insights into issues that are quintessentially anthropological: The dynamics of death, eroticism, taboo and transgression (1962), incest and exogamy, desire and the orgy (1991) exchange, expenditure, sacrifice and the potlatch (1988) and theories of experience (1988). These are all topics which anthropologists have dealt with in detail but with few exceptions mindful of Bataille’s large opus. Despite the surge in anthropological interest in transgression (see also Rao & Hutnyk, 2006; Köpping, 2002; Donnan & Magowan, 2009) the dialectic of taboo and transgression have, in fact, always been a central puzzle to the discipline. Malinowski’s (2001) book on sexuality on the Trobriand Islands underscored the dynamic relationship between taboos and societal rules and excessive desires. His concluding remarks tells us that he was well aware of the transgressive potential inherent in human desires: ‘Nothing surprised me so much in the course of my sociological researches as the gradual perception of an undercurrent of desire and inclination running counter to the trends of convention, law and morals’ (Malinowski, 2001:84). In anthropology, scholarly traditions have often made sense of danger, excess and deviant behaviour by showing how these in the final analysis contribute to the reproducing existing orders or structures. Malinowski (2001) argued, as did other functionalists, that sexual orgies serve the purpose of sublimating desires repressed by societal orders just as Durkheim saw in crime and ritual the ability to release social tensions and the effervescent impetus of social life. Structural functionalists like Radcliffe-Brown (1965) and Evans-Pritchard (1951) were oriented towards explaining how social institutions and kinship structures prevent conflict and disorganization. Later, structural anthropologists focused on taboos against incest or pollution which mediate a fundamental human tendency to maintain a governing principle of exogamy or to avert symbolic danger (Levi-Strauss 1971, Douglas 1966). In Gluckman’s (2004[1963]) famous study rebellious rituals are practiced in which women act like men, commit vulgarities and perform obscene dances in public despite existing taboos. Since such acts are harshly repressed in ordinary village life, Gluckman (2004:110-136) argues, in ritual forms they act as 126 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. safety valves for underlying tensions, which is why society, ruled by men, only allow such violations when structures are considered resilient enough to withstand their transient subversion. Following in the footsteps of Van Gennep, Turner (1969) describes boys’ extraordinary experiences of liminality, where excess is the order of the day while they await reinsertion into ordinary society. In recent times, Turner & Bruner (1986), Fabian (1991) and Hastrup & Hervik (1994) have directed our attention to experiential features of human existence as well as to intriguing struggles with the dialectics of experience and expression, fieldwork and theoretical knowledge. Also, the growing sensitivity to inequality and human misfortune has opened our eyes to the way experiences of violence and suffering are socially negotiated (Jackson 2002, Whyte 1997, Scheper-Hughes 1993). However, what separates Bataille’s approach from both classic and newer anthropological perspectives is the radical dedication to understanding the experience of and the propensity towards transgression. Rather than engaging with this propensity as a function of order, taboo or authority, Bataille (1962:40-63) sets forth the thesis that transgressions are as basic to human existence, cultural construction and self definition as taboos are. He explains this dialectic with his famous statement that, ‘transgressions complete a taboo without rejecting it and suspend it without suppressing it’. Through the lens of Bataille’s anthropology (1962; 1988; 1991; 1985) the inner experience of near-death, contagion, agony, orgasm, inebriation, sacrifice and loss of self and control become less fearsome prospects as we begin to imagine how transgressive phenomena can stand out as alluring to people under extraordinary circumstances. To avoid the traps of Freudianism, evolutionism or biological determinism, Bataille emphasizes that transgression is not equal to returning to animal instincts, a pre-civilized stage of savagery or an uncontrollable subconscious mind. While the passage of transgression cannot be perceived as an entirely conscious or intentional act, the experience of transgression and sacrilege seem to echo the sacred state of mind found in spirit possession or intense spiritual trance (Bataille, 1962:6370; see also Bataille 1988). In his highly heterogenous work, which includes fiction and poetry, Bataille depicts various movements and moments of transgression in which terror and fear of death are 127 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. substituted by ecstasy and a sense of sovereignty because, as he writes, an odd awareness of ‘the void about us throws us into exaltation’ (Bataille 1962:69). Among the anthropologists who have been most engaged with the work of Bataille are Taussig (e.g. 1993; 1997; 2009) and Crapanzano (2006). One example of Taussig’s inspiring writing on transgression is found in his book ‘Magic of the State’ (1997) concerned with spirit-possession on the mountain of Maria Lionza in Venezuela, where pilgrims become possessed by the spirits of the dead under the rule of an imaginary spirit queen. In a surrealist style he writes about spirits of Indians who fought the Spanish in the sixteenth century and of black soldiers of the early nineteenth century and the Latin American hero Simón Bolívar, all of which are today omnipresent in the state's school books, on postage stamps and wall murals in Venezuelan towns and cities (Taussig 1997). In this almost Foucaultian interpretation, taboos and transgressions stand out as mutually reinforcing measures of state power and resistance, and in a passage Taussig notes how the labeling of ‘thieves and prostitutes’ is a testimony to the logic of taboo and transgression, in the sense that history dedicates the border of the state to sex and crime (Taussig 1997:18). Yet, in his endeavor to disclose the magic-imaginary power of the state Taussig seems less interested in exploring people’s everyday experience and inclination towards transgression, as phenomena existing beyond the framework of the state. Intending to damask the hidden forces of state he runs the risk of reifying it in every image, tale or figure of the magico-political landscape. The result is a narrative about people who tend to ossify as passive agents in a dialectical intercourse of movements between realms of law and the breaking of law. They become subjects with a limited voice because the task is to penetrate the state of magic through ‘the labor of the negative’ (Taussig 1997:5). It is as if the state is both the producer and consumer of transgression, ever present in the analysis, and perhaps due to the influence of Adorno, Taussig advances the idea that the transgressive power of rituals and spirit possessions is merely an embodied mimesis of stately magic (Taussig 1997:78-79). In my reading of Bataille the notion of transgression cannot be severed from his insistence on taking as a point of departure the inner experience, through which energies of organs, anguish or 128 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. laughter set the pace for action or movement (Bataille 1988). As a consequence, transgression is never completely intentional, enmeshed in pre-defined organizations of mimesis or captivated by images of state, idols or a mountain. There are certain movements which are prone to produce anxiety or ecstasy, and these must be looked for in tangible acts of transgression, together with the subjects who initiate them and heedful that no rule, law or taboo precede their violation. In Crapanzano’s (2006) emphatic deciphering of the subjective eroticism of Billy-George, a cross-dresser, he hints at the experiences through which his informant takes pleasure in violation of norms. Notably, Crapanzano pays attention to the possible tragedy of unlimited transgressions that cast Billy-George into existential turmoil. As another example of unlimited transgression Crapanzano (2006:173), referring to Bataille, evokes the image of the ritual sacrilege following a king’s death on the Fiji and Sandwich Islands. The king’s death leaves behind a crisis which sparks ritual license to commit all sorts of crime: burning, pillaging, killing and prostitution (Crapanzano 2006:173-4). Like during medieval festivals customary law is now bound to be violated and unrestrained consumption and orgies are accepted (Bataille 1991:90, see also Bakhtin 1984). The same sort of unlimited transgression was rare among the young men in my study. Transgression followed certain rules, if ever so opaque, in fluctuations between low energy and high speed, lying half asleep on the floor and the next minute running after a car. Waiting to sell stolen cell phones on a street corner and shortly thereafter having spontaneous sex behind a barraca. While Crapanzano seems to unfold the tragedy of transgression and Taussig plays with the theatre of magic and marble, I hope in this piece to avoid adhering to any dramaturgical genre, although I confess a presumptuous desire to put spotlight on the backstage of excess, through unbridled references to people’s often unsettling everyday undertakings. Practicing fieldwork among youngsters who frequently engage in crime, violence and sexual excess requires an explanation of the practical and ethical challenges involved. Writing theoretically about people’s experiences of lust, ecstasy, pain and intoxication is an almost impossible task due to the fact that such experiences, indeed most experiences, in a sense are beyond language and 129 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. hence in effect are almost immune to translation or representation (Hastrup, 2003; Sheper-Hughes & Bourgois, 2004; Jackson, 2002). Although I never participated in any illegal activities and did my outmost to avoid causing harm among my interlocutors I was still at odds as to how I could justify my presence as fellow passenger on their everyday journeys ‘on the edge’. Sitting in the back seat of a car gunning through the city with hundred miles per hour and witnessing unprotected sexual orgies, violent battles and excessive drug use I often asked myself how I could intervene or ‘educate’ my informants for their own benefit. However, as I was reminded by a colleague at Columbia University during my stay there in 2008, I am not the first anthropologist to do ethnography under extreme circumstances or the only one having to deal with or attempting to convey violent, abnormal or deadly experiences (see also Scheper-Hughes & Bourgois, 2005; Vigh, 2006). I am convinced, though, that even a remote attempt to picture the marginal situation of the moluwenes is far more ethical than bringing both mine and their experiences to silence. Rather than condoning my interlocutor’s excesses I use my interpretation of their world as the basis for a critical analysis of the structural violence and ideological straightjackets that produce young men as marginal and unlawful members of society. From FRELIMO nationalism to a post-socialist state of emergency In the model of Mozambican socialism, propagated by FRELIMO17, the party in government since independence in 1975, a young man’s authority was built from a nationalist ethos of hard work, rationalism and education (Sumich 2008, Virtanen 2005). During socialist rule the everyday rites of nationhood and repetitious quotes of presidential icons and outbursts of socialist slogans provided a strong sense of communal belonging and imagining and acted as vehicles of modern values of enlightenment and progress in spite of a raging civil war and socio-economic hardship (Virtanen 2005, Stroud 1999). Public schools were the locus of much of this labor of the nation, epitomized in the daily ritual performance of moçambicanidade during lunch break, when all pupils gathered in the school yard to stand up and sing the national hymn below the nation’s flag, portraying a book, a hoe, a star and an 130 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. AK-47 (Gómez 1999). FRELIMO’s ideology of ‘educação’ intended to create a Mozambican cultural identity around the Portuguese language and knowledge of national history and progress (Stroud 1999). The concomitant ban on divination and witchcraft labeled as obscurantism (West 2001) was followed by an attempt to eradicate local and regional languages (Stroud 1999). Much of FRELIMO’s ideological luggage, though, was informed by Portuguese colonial dichotomies which, rooted in Christian and rationalist discourse, propagated education, enlightenment and Western gender roles (Arnfred 2002; Cross 1987). Yet, what seemed like a centralist Marxist struggle against local customs, superstition and false consciousness was among many members of the populous city appreciated for its ability to include the broader masses in a project of education, health and work for the nation (Sumich 2008, Hanlon 1996). Today, at a time of deepening poverty, privatization of national institutions and a galloping unemployment rate of up to eighty per cent in some city districts young men experience that that the old model of manhood which evolved during the post-independence years is undermined. FRELIMO’s former rhetoric of national solidarity praising universal education and work for all has gradually been challenged by the Mozambican government’s adoption of neo-liberal policies in attempts to obtain aid and recognition from the Western world. As Hanlon (1996) points out, the principles of a free market, deflation, deregulation and cuts in government spending have been implemented from 1987 when the government agreed to its first structural adjustment package with the IMF and the World Bank. Since then public health and education facilities which were formerly the main cause for FRELIMO’s popularity have been targets of changing policies (Hanlon 1996:15). This has led to lowering capacity, privatization of schools and education and soaring fees. A dramatic growth in user payment makes less privileged young men unable to pay entrance fees, tuition fees and exam registration fees at public schools in the city and solely affluent middle class youth can afford the high quality private schools. As national companies become privatized and relative growth for the elite and larger companies has not translated into work opportunities for the majority of the urban poor, 131 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. unemployment has become massive and in increasing numbers young men try to survive by entering the informal economy (Agadjanian 2005). The result is that the ideology of educação and the old ideals of ‘the working man’ and ‘the enlightened citizen’ turn hollow and contradictory in the life of young men and the poor population in general (Groes-Green, 2010). If FRELIMO’s nationalist project of modernity was once an all inclusive project with which the broader population in Maputo could identify it is today confined to a small but powerful elite and its allies in the IMF and international aid organizations (Sumich, 2008; 2009). Moluwenes often spoke about the impossibility of getting a ‘legal job’ and how they never wanted to have a formal education because, ‘public schools are a waste of time, there is no job for you afterwards. And you have to pay fees. Maybe if you go to private school, but nobody has that money’. As observed in different parts of Africa poor young men feel unable to live up to expectations of them as breadwinners due to unemployment and the prospects of not being able to pay the bride price for a future wife or to provide for a family (Silberschmidt, 2005; Hunter 2005; Cornwall, 2003). The experience of marginalization leave young men in what Taussig (1997:79) mindful of Walter Benjamin calls a ‘state of emergency’: ‘This flip side to mimesis unto death is the state of emergency where a completely different form of stately mimesis is unleashed (…). Intense action takes command in which the exception is the rule, entailing simulation, dissimulation, speed, sudden changes of pace (…)’. Moluwenes occasionally gave me the impression that their excessive behavior was part of a war waged against the elite, in which no ideas could be too extreme because even if acts of rage or ecstasy would lead to death, it would be a ‘death in battle’. Thus, their sentiments are comparable to those of the urban young men that Vigh (2006) writes about in his study from (post)war Guinea-Bissau. He explains how their feelings of ineptitude in the face of social despair in a worn down country trigger a social imaginary of themselves and others as ‘socially dead’ (Vigh 2006:104). 132 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Among young Mozambican men the sense of being in a state of emergency shows itself in sentiments of anxiety in an urban landscape where the consequences of economic hardship are hurting in all aspects of life. The state of emergency which young men face was reflected in the recent riots over food prices, gasoline prices and chapa fares in the suburbs of Maputo during 2008 where protesters blocked the roads, burned tires and attacked approaching vehicles. The riots spread to other cities and towns and it seemed that the events were sparked by a growing anger about deepening inequality and poverty felt throughout the country. Adding to the atmosphere of chaos, the largest military deposit in the country had exploded the year before, resulting in over three hundred casualties as the Maputo suburb of Magoanine was hit by runaway missiles, without the government giving an official explanation.18 The surrounding area was sealed off by police as scenes of panic unfolded in the capital. Downtown streets were filled with hundreds of people fleeing their neighborhoods, preparing to sleep rough because they were afraid to return to their homes. In the shadows of a bloody civil war still haunting the popular imagination (Errante 1999) groups of people prepared themselves for a quick escape, in case the explosions, which carried on for eight hours, turned out to be an omen of a new armed uprising. In a society where pictures of exploding cars and village massacres are vivid memories from the civil war, lasting from 1977 to 1992, violent protests and inexplicable explosions fuel existing worries as to the future coherence of the country. The legitimacy of the FRELIMO government, now led by president Guebuza, has largely been achieved through its promises of peace and development, after the end of the war with RENAMO.19 As demonstrated, these promises conflict with the current sense of instability and lack of opportunities coupled with a deepening inequality and urban poverty (see also Sumich, 2010). While FRELIMO was supported, in financial and military terms, by China and the Soviet Union during the civil war, RENAMO was supported by the white regimes of Rhodesia and South Africa. Also, the devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic causing millions of deaths across the country has had a huge impact on the social experience of death and danger. In a context where rumors flourish 133 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. of people getting hit by the doença do século (disease of the century) due to evil forces of sorcery (Passador, forthcoming) or where some people believe, backed by the Archbishop of Maputo, that Europeans deliberately infect condoms with HIV in order ‘to finish quickly the African people’ (BBC 2007) it is no surprise that people sometimes begin seeing themselves or others as ‘dead before dying’ (Niehaus 2007). Popular images HIV infected zombies wandering the streets in the shape of prostitutes, orphans and beggars trigger ideas that a person can die any moment. Because it is uncertain if a person will ever get a life worth living it often feels more appealing for young men to live in the moment than to plan a future (Groes-Green 2009a). Idleness and excess: Being moluwene in a collapsing world The group of moluwenes under study was composed of a shifting number of people constituted a broad and flexible network. When members were arrested for petty theft or violence and sent to prison others would soon replace them in the group hierarchy. Some moluwenes grew up on the streets of Maputo as homeless orphans and others had fled to Maputo from the neighboring or Northern provinces searching for work. In many cases they had been left with relatives or send away from home because their parents had a terminal illness or because the family was unable to feed them. The few members who still had contact with family or kin were usually born in the big city. Years with civil war and the HIV/AIDS and malaria epidemics have left more than one and a half million Mozambican children without parents (UNICEF 2010). Childhood memories of hunger, domestic violence and struggles for work and money, or of parents’ illness and death and a life on the street or in crowded orphanages occasionally made the young men burst into tears. But the tears were quickly replaced by anger against relatives or other adults who had abused them in one way or another. In a broader perspective the anger was directed at os ladrões (literally: the thieves) which is common Mozambican slang for politicians and the elite, assumed to be corrupt and to only ’take care of their own kind’. Moluwenes frequently spoke about the impossibility of getting access to the riches, fashionable brands and cars that the ladrões and their 134 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. middle class peers possess and how poverty decreased their chances of ‘catching’ the city’s beautiful girls. This did not prevent them from dreaming about becoming rich one day. Often American, Brazilian or Mozambican music videos were the pivots of hopeful jokes about being a ’gangster’ like 50 Cent (American rapper) or MC Roger (Mozambican rapper) with body guards, expensive sports cars and a mansion filled with sexy women. The orphans in the group, who had extensive experience in the struggle to survive, steal and fight their way through life often assumed a high position in the group, while the young men who had migrated to Maputo were mostly ranking second in the group hierarchy. The moluwenes who were raised in a Maputan family only had contact with relatives at times of absolute crisis, when for example they had been arrested, wounded or were starving. Their parents had no secondary education, were mostly unemployed or engaged in the informal economy as street vendors and sometimes working for middle class families as maids or guards. While the orphans were admired for being brutal and spontaneous, the young men with family in Maputo were popular due to their social networks that became useful in times of crisis. The majority of moluwenes lived together in worn down huts and brick houses in the impoverished suburb of Zona Verde, with bad sanitary conditions and no access to the city’s water and electricity supplies. Moluwenes’ marginal position in society is due not only to lack of access to legal jobs but also the absence of basic necessities. Many moluwenes survive by entering the clandestine economy where stolen goods are bought and sold, or by taking part in theft, robbery or drug trafficking in or through the city. The group I mostly socialized with consisted of five core members and two semi leaders, ten less influential members and fifteen to twenty loosely connected ‘hang-arounds’ and friends including a number of girlfriends, curtidoras (girls who are engaged in sex for money) and some middle aged patrons providing shelter, food and beer in exchange for the young men pushing coca and stolen electronics. These patrons, who according to rumors were well connected in the world of organized crime and politics, resided in well guarded houses in a central but notorious part of town 135 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. called ’Columbia’, because of its many dilapidated buildings, widespread drug trade, police corruption and recurring gang violence. The abundance of time among unemployed and marginalized young men is key to understanding the universe of the moluwenes. As Mains (2007) shows in his study of young unemployed Ethiopian men, time becomes overabundant when there are no jobs available and ends up being seen as something to be ‘passed’ or ‘killed’. In the absence of meaningful work or educational possibilities the young Ethiopians make time pass by telling narratives of imagined alternatives and faraway places (ibid.). This image of a monotonous waiting position resonates well with the moluwenes’ passing of time in front of the TV in the backyard of a neighbor’s house, or standing at the street corner for hours chatting about sex and enemy gangs, or trying to sell cell phones in zona vermelha (red zone: a place famous for traffic in stolen goods) and imagining being rich and famous. Alas, since boredom, stress and depression often coincides with this waiting position, as Mains (2007:666) notes, young men evaluate activities in terms of their ability to focus their minds away from their present conditions. This is central to understanding the value of spontaneous acts of transgression and excess which my informants frequently praised in interviews and through action. Examples of such acts are manifold, and ranges from arranging fights in the neighborhood square at night, taking part in riots and indulging in sexual orgies while drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana or snorting cocaine. Some weekend nights I observed the youngsters pass by middle class condos to steal cars that they could use in popular death races through the city. One afternoon I went with Pedro, Custo and Luiz to the bus stop to wait for the chapa. We were drinking soda pops and the young men’s discussions were unfiltered and oriented towards sex and ‘tricks’. Pedro said, ‘come on Chris, screw the chapista, why don’t you do it our way? You’re so fucking serious and well mannered’ (tão bem comportado). As I refused to take the chapa without paying they sighed, like many times before when I had rejected their challenges. Inside the chapa Luiz began to harass one of the girls, asking her to kiss him and grabbing her thighs. He encouraged Pedro, 136 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘come on, khomala’ (Changana for ‘grab her’). Seconds later they were fighting the girl’s boyfriend and the chapista stopped the vehicle to throw out the culprits. As mentioned the young men associated moluwene with being marginal, tough and wild, but they sometimes associated these values with being black or true African men, in contrast to the moral correctness, education and good manners of mulungos (whites: tourists or ex-pats) or tugas (the Portuguese residents), the latter also accused of being racists and of stealing Mozambican money and women. These oppositional dichotomies between the values of education and rationality and their racial connotations and the moluwene spirit, popularly termed moluwenisse (unruliness, crudeness) also indirectly reflect an aversion to the tenets of FRELIMO, the project of which seems to lose its legitimacy under neoliberal reforms. They lamented that Mozambican politicians were always travelling or in the company of rich foreigners, likely with the aim of ‘selling Mozambique’ to China or the US. As Durham notes, protests among young people in Africa often reveal contradictory discourses and social imaginaries about authority and power and may indicate an intensifying crisis of legitimacy (Durham 2004). Nhyama orgies: Enjoying life and laughing about AIDS We arrived to the house in two cars, stuffed with drunk and intoxicated youngsters. It was around 2 am and the streets were empty and silent. The five young men stepped out of the cars and after them four young women around the age of eighteen, two of which had been picked up on Avenida Mao Tse Tung, a boulevard where sex workers roam searching for clients. The party began when Pedro put loud music on, and opened a bottle of cheap whiskey and soon people started dancing. The two women who had been picked up jumped on the kitchen table and began performing a striptease, probably ordered by Sinjato who tried to take charge of the party. He was the son of a former FRELIMO politician and had been invited the day before when Alex met him to make a drug deal outside a seaside discotheque. Sinjato placed a heap of coca on the glass table in the bedroom, and told Pedro and Custo to go try it out. Sinjato ignored me since I had told him that I did not feel too well, and wanted to stay in the 137 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. background. Custo came back with powder in his nostrils and started making wild gestures with his arms. The air in the room was a combination of carelessness and indifference, but there was also in the facial and bodily expressions of the young men and women a stumbling augury of strength and fearlessness. As I waved Custo goodbye he came over to me, grabbed my wrist and said, ‘come and enjoy, nobody can get us now. We are getting paulado (high), everybody else is in their beds’. Custo’s invitation to ‘enjoy’ was a central motto in the group. In Mozambican slang curtir a vida means to celebrate and enjoy life. It also connotes an imperative of ‘living in the moment’. And it was not uncommon the motto was cited when the young men explained why they had unprotected sex. Moluwenes themselves call sex without a condom sexo puro (pure sex). They frequently talked about sexo puro as a principle of their ancestors, conveyed through the Changana expressions nhyama ni nhyama (flesh against flesh) and ku nyicana n’gati (to mix blood with semen). Just before I left the party I saw two naked men bending over to penetrate the young women who were getting undressed. Condoms were obviously not used. Next day, I asked Custo to tell me what had happened after I left. When I expressed skepticism about the fact that they had not used condoms he responded, ‘So ok, you think I should use camisinhas [small shirts: slang for condoms]. Well, I knew that I could have broken the gaja’s [derogative slang for girls] asshole, but I kept banging, the coca was working. Clearly it is going to bleed if you are being hard on a girl and she is tight, but it is not often. Even if you smell that she’s got the shit [period] you don’t care [laughter]. It is like if you are running to catch a wild animal. You don’t stop (…) Even though you know she can give you the disease of the century [AIDS]. I told you, it is about enjoying life’. Bataille said of the orgy that it is, ‘a state of exaltation composed of the intoxication commonly accompanying the orgy and erotic ecstasy. Its potency is seen in its ill-omened aspects, bringing frenzy in its wake, and a vertiginous loss of consciousness, reeling towards annihilation (…) involving wild 138 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. cries, violent gestures, wild dances, and emotions, in the grip of immeasurable convulsive turbulence’ (Bataille 1962:112-114). Struggling to understand safe and unsafe sexual behaviors anthropologists have explored the sexual cultures that nurture erotic practice while increasingly pointing to the significance of social inequality and structural violence (Parker, 2001). Questions of life and death have often been ignored in studies of sexual cultures largely because we assume that people do not know or understand the threats and risks of getting infected with HIV. Quite on the contrary the case of the moluwenes indicates that we need to explore why people have unsafe sex despite knowledge about the risk of HIV transmission. In fact it may sometimes be less accurate to talk about sexual risk-taking, especially if people do not have unsafe sex despite the dangers associated with it, but at least partly because of awareness that such dangerous acts may cost them their lives, an awareness which Bataille noted, is essential to transgression and its highs. Pedro’s comments on why they indulged in nhyama orgies may be conductive to understand this enigma: ‘The best sex is the savage kind of sex that you have with anybody at whichever street corner or party. So when you talk about condoms, it is a kind of sex that you have with your head. I mean using your head. That is why we don’t feel much excitement in such situations. When I say this it is because to remember to use a condom you need to think, and use your head. Without a condom it is just nice, you simply grab her, throw her at the bed and that is it. Yes, I know about AIDS. But I know what I am doing, I am turning off my head, letting go’ When moluwenes have unsafe sex it is not because they do not know the risks of getting infected with HIV and eventually dying from the disease. More significantly, knowing and being aware of these risks at a certain level of consciousness, does not impede the seeming desire to play with such dangers of contracting a deadly disease. Asked what the difference is between people, who use and do not use condoms Pedro answered: 139 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘If you just look at people you cannot see the difference between who use and who do not, but the one who use will always feel more relaxed. But that is the thing, who wants to be at ease all the time? That is not life is it? And sex, sex is like, crazy, and I like to be in the crazy moment’. The ideological contradiction between the use of condoms among ‘enlightened people’ and the moluwenes celebration of ‘crazy moments’ is conspicuous when it comes to FRELIMO’s policy on HIV prevention. Peer sexual education in public schools and HIV awareness campaigns are based on Western health discourses that cast safe sex messages in Portuguese and semi-scientific concepts of risk with which many young men and women find it hard to identify. In contrast to the seriousness of official health discourses the sexual slang of young people assembles around playful Changana idioms and fantasies of safadeza (dirtiness) (Groes-Green 2009a). Divided into rough stereotypes we could say that moluwenes’ masculine ideal is organized around the here and now of bodily desires, erotic skills and spontaneous acts vis-à-vis a middle class masculinity molded around the ideals of disciplined planning of a future, civilized behavior, hard work, continuous learning and reproduction of family traditions (Groes-Green 2009b; Groes-Green 2009c). As a result of not having the same opportunities for social mobility young men end up incorporating the counter image and caricature of a ‘primitive’, unruly and eroticized masculinity, condemned by public health institutions and the governing elite preaching abstinence, faithfulness and safe sex. Moluwenes’ celebration of the ‘crazy moment’, of an impulse driven sexuality where danger plays a significant role in the construction of transgression diverts from results by other research done about safe and unsafe sex in Mozambique. In his review of recent studies about use and non-use of condoms in Mozambique, Gune (2009:316) suggests that people tend to not use condoms in moments of security and intimacy with a loved one or with persons who are regarded as ‘safe’ (see also Manuel 2005, 2009). Instead, the condom seems to be consistently used in what he, inspired by Turner terms ‘liminal moments’, that is, moments where normal restrictions are subverted, which gives way to sexual engagement with people, who are seen as socially unacceptable, 140 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. sick or outright dangerous (Gune 2009:316). This resonates with the findings of Karlyn (2003), who shows that a specific form of experimentation among urban youth, called saca cena, involves secrecy, casual sex and strict condom use. It is the anonymity, secrecy and casual character of the saca cena that endows it with a tacit agreement about using condoms (Karlyn 2003). My findings point in a slightly different direction than those presented by Gune, Manuel and Karlyn. Although the young men in the study also experienced erotic situations as somehow subversive or liminal, I hold that the excitement was based not only on facing the dangers associated with a certain type of partner with whom they had sex, but on a general awareness of the deadly risks of not using a condom. So instead of wearing a condom to protect themselves from the dangers of liminality, they in a sense chose to fixate the experience of liminality by taking it to an extreme where liminality equals the highs of penetration, pain and a possibility of dying. Also, there are signs that working class men in Maputo ignore the messages of safe sex due to fatalist ideas that God or ancestors decide their destiny and hence that they might as well live in the moment and have fun (Groes-Green 2009b). Death racing in Alto Mae: Paulado and the sense of sovereignty It was afternoon and the sun was setting. I sat with a beer in the backyard of Ignacio, a man in his fifties who had bought a house in the city centre with money from trafficking coca out of South Africa. He was patrão (patron) and a good friend of the moluwenes. People lay down on the dirty mattresses as every so often chatting or half asleep. Inside the house Pedro was on the phone clearly excited. After a while he came out and shouted that we had to get ready. A few minutes later a car stopped in front of Ignacio’s house. Pedro and the others jumped in. I was not sure what was going on so I say I would stay at Ignacio’s. But they convinced me it would not be a dangerous ride. However, after some quick turns we were driving full speed down Avenida 24 de Julho, one of the longest and most trafficked roads in central Maputo. Luiz and Pedro shared an ecstasy pill and swallowed it with some beer. The driver, who was also high, swerved into another car next to us and shouted in exaltation. While I was getting 141 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. nervous the rest of the group was clearly feeling a rush. As we approached Matola, a neighboring town, I tried to get Luiz’ girlfriend Ivanea to speak with me to divert my attention from the dangerous situation until we reached a safe spot where I could get off. Ivanea tried to explain what was going on, ‘When I’m paulada (pausing as the car hit a bump) I’m in a place where I don’t careanymore, people around me, they kind of disappear, but I’m still talking. I can dance or fuck or whatever (…) it’s like, in the moment I’m just not afraid of anything, like now’. Drugs were essential to molewenes’ transgressive moments. Whether it was marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy or drugs from a curandeiro (healer) they were always used in situations of excess, such as when having sex, drinking and partying, or before or after fighting. But it was also an integrated part of the ritual of death racing. Death racing or in Portuguese corridas de morte is always combined with being intoxicated with drugs or alcohol. Essentially, Custo told me, the idea of death racing is to get paulado (high) through a blending of the effects of chemical substances and the thrills of driving through the city ‘committing illegal things’. To be paulado can also mean to be ‘shot hard’, to be ‘hit’, ‘hurt’ or ‘dangerously injured’, and some moluwenes believe the expression comes from Brazilian slang for injecting crack cocaine. In order to grasp the state of being paulado where fear of death and pain disappear we can draw on Bataille’s (1991) concept of sovereignty. In Bataille’s writings sovereignty includes moments of non-reflexivity and extreme bodily experiences of superiority which stems from transgressive moments. Hence, sovereignty entails a feeling of being in charge of the world which far from being rooted in rational thinking and factual power is rather an inner sacred state. In and through the practice of base behaviour any person may reach a momentary sense of sovereignty, particularly well illustrated by uncontrolled laughter, defecation or indulgence in the face of death (1991:197-222). In a sense then, when moluwenes face death as directly as they do in the death race or in orgies it has the potential to bring to life feelings of sovereignty and implement a social raison d’être which the state and 142 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. the people in power have deprived them. Grappling with these complexities we may consult Maffesoli’s (1993:96) explication of the dialectic between reaching out for ‘little deaths’ as a symbol of orgiastic experience and being exposed to the annihilation of social death: ‘[W]hat is important is the irrepressible drive of the will to live which does not fear, in manifesting itself, to borrow the traits of successive ‘little deaths’, ‘knowing’ that thus it protects itself ritually from a much more disturbing social death.’ (Maffesoli’s 1993:96) ‘Moluwene sovereignty’: Beyond resistance, escapism and desperation Jones (2005) argues that we need to pay more attention to the social conditions for resistance and broader movements for change when analyzing the subversive potential of impoverished people. She illustrates her point with reference to Mozambican sociologist Carlos Serra’s distinction between struggles of middle class Maputo citizens within the realm of the ‘mundo não problemático’ (nonproblematic world) and the struggle of marginalized inhabitants of the ‘mundo problemático’ (problematic world) (Jones 2005:59). In the former world the structural violence of today’s neoliberal reforms is resisted by journalists, lawyers and researchers who provide critiques of parasitic and corrupt practices and illicit forms of accumulation. Such organized critiques, which in some cases have led to their persecution or execution by people in power, can arise because this social group has its basic necessities covered, a good education and relative freedom of speech. In the latter world the resistance of the dispossessed is directed at everyday suffering, hunger and exclusion from the realm of the state and ordinary society. These forms of resistance are tied to an experience of disenfranchisement which is often personal and highly individualized. In their desperate struggles as beggars, street children, lixeiros (rubbish collectors), street vendors, prostitutes and mentally ill vagabonds the people in the problematic world use all their energy and waking hours to search for means of daily survival because, eloquently put, ‘hunger does not take holidays’ (Jones 2005:68). Jones goes on to asks what forms of resistance can 143 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. arise in such conditions and what organized struggles can emerge among persons who are hungry, desperate, unacknowledged and basically invisible and dispensable to society. Clearly, these are not the social segments that we will see rise in revolts, and she rightly adds, that in some many case salvation is instead sought for in evangelical churches, visits to curandeiros (witchdoctors) while others turn to alcohol, glue-sniffing, drugs and crime (Jones 2005). I largely agree with this excellent delineation of the socially segregated world in urban Mozambique. However, Jones’ description of these practices as a form of escape or as signs of desperation in a world of insecurity does not entirely fit the impression that the moluwenes gave me of their situation. While we will certainly not see the moluwenes take part in any organized political overthrow of the elite, they did take part in the more spontaneous riots in Maputo on February 5 2008 and could potentially participate in future riots over food prices, unemployment and other social issues. In a similar vein Hanlon (2010) describes how poor Mozambicans, driven by panic and rage, killed a number of Red Cross volunteers, policemen and strangers who were accused of spreading cholera or using sorcery. He argues that these killings, all directed at officials of power, were not caused by a rage against the state, but against a state that had become distanced from the people and which ignored their needs (Hanlon 2010:128-30). From the perspective of the moluwenes, these statements are correct and yet somewhat imprecise. Certainly, the country’s ideological collapse and the lack of social integration and opportunities are key words to understanding why moluwenes distance themselves from ‘the state’. Yet, desperation, escape and insecurity are hardly words which capture their daily experience, whether sitting in worn down squatter houses, sleeping on benches, taking drugs or driving stolen cars through the city. This is not to say that such experiences do not occur or that their lives are in any way more secure or ‘unproblematic’ than the marginalized people Jones depicts. But if we want to truly grasp the practice of drug use, crime and unsafe sex orgies we have to follow in their footsteps, literally, in order to tune into the subjectivity and inner experience of transgression. As uncomfortable as this may sound I believe such steps are necessary to avoid jumping to conclusions regarding sentiments or motives of ‘hard-to-reach’ segments 144 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. of young men, especially because practical engagement, or what anthropology calls participant observation enable us to tap into a shared universe of social experience (Hastrup 1995:51). As studies from central and northern Mozambique have shown, tales and uses of sorcery are a compelling means for poor rural and peri-urban people to grapple with incoming strangers associated with the state, such as FRELIMO officials, doctors and the police, especially in remote, and formerly RENAMO controlled localities (West 2001; West 2008; Bertelsen 2009). Largely based on Agamben’s notion of violence as stately control with a populace of disposable ‘bare life’, Bertelsen (2009) shows how counter-sorcery in the town of Chimoio is viewed as a force that protects life and property in the face of a greedy and violent state. Counter-sorcery, he notes, constitutes a cosmology of the occult which resists, ‘the nebulous arts of accumulation through transgressive acts’ (Bertelsen 2009:228). These forms of local protection, he adds, have surged in response to a corporate state with little political and economic control at its periphery, which spreads fear through death squads that arbitrarily execute criminals (Bertelsen 2009:231-32). This depiction of protective measures resonates with the way moluwenes undertake radical measures to create a sense of sovereignty and meaning, not through magical forces but in the shape of excessive practices which convey an aura of invincibility. But Bertelsen’s account differs when it comes to explaining mechanisms of these responses to the state, the greedy, the rich. In his examples, strangers or representatives of the centre are feared and ambiguous enemies, even the emerging ‘community police’ which appears to operate on both sides of the law (Bertelsen 2009:230). According to my findings the moluwenes encountered the world of the state and the affluent in a less fearsome fashion. As opposed to Bertelsen’s informants living in a rural town, detached from the urban heart of the state and its allies, moluwenes live in ‘the vicinity of the state’, where dreams of improvement flourish despite widespread corruption and poverty (Nielsen 2008). Although moluwenes had no direct contact with state officials beside the police, they had indirect contact with the local elite in the sense that rich people’s property was often stolen and broken into and 145 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. because the drug trade frequently has ties to influential politicians and business moguls. As noted, there were occasional encounters with the members of the elite, such as the politician’s son who joined their party with a load of cocaine and there were cases where police officers were bribed, when they had been caught stealing or driving too fast. Maybe this habitual relationship with a culture of greed and corruption in itself has intensified a desire for seizing objects, getting high and becoming indifferent to death and punishment, much in the same way the elite accumulates and sacrifices value in incredible feasts of corruption, casino visits and presents to the president. Another factor which maybe contributes to annulling the youngsters’ sense of fear is their shared experiences of being orphans or of having little contact to family and kin. The notion of ‘having nothing to lose’ is supported by this absence of a steady network of kin and carries with it the conviction that creating their own family, having a wife or building a life in the ‘traditional’ sense is futile. So as the moluwenes are scavenging through highs and lows of marginal existence their transgressive acts become more than shields against fear. In his study of Puerto Ricans drug dealers in New York, Bourgois (1995:319) explain that marginalized people living in a criminal environment tend to turn their subversive potentials inwards since, ‘self-destructive addiction is merely the medium for desperate people to internalize their frustrations, resistance, and powerlessness’. In comparison, what might appear as young men repetitively destructing themselves through violence, drug use and unsafe sex in Maputo, is rather predicated on a desire to momentarily transcend their experience of exclusion and yields ‘a sense of sovereignty’. We might explain this contradiction by suggesting that transgressive experiences create a space for a subjective and elusive empowerment while objectively and seen over time the result is oppression by larger socio-economic and political forces. The moluwenes are neither completely engaged in a struggle against society nor entirely placing themselves outside of it. They are neither organizing for social change as ‘subalterns’ forming a counter-hegemony, nor are they simply struggling for survival. They are creating their own liminal space, instantaneously crossing the boundaries set up by society’s laws, taboos and norms, 146 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. installing senses of sovereignty by positioning themselves in arenas of danger, with an aura of invincibility and fearlessness, and where notions of ’work’, ‘education’ and ’career’ no longer matter. Conclusion I have shown how inclinations towards erotic ecstasy, violence and intoxication become moments of sovereignty around which young men reconfigure a sense of manhood and social worth. Excessive tendencies among marginalized young men are observed in postcolonial cities around the world, where neo-liberal reform makes social and public institutions collapse along with rising unemployment and deepening poverty (e.g. Barker, 2005; Vigh, 2006; Ferguson, 2006). As this article demonstrates, Bataille’s anthropology of transgression strikes to the core by examining processes through which practices of violence and uncontrolled sexuality take centre stage and acquire meaning through violation. Contrary to widespread anthropological explanations of transgression the excessive activities of moluwenes are neither acts of resistance to or subaltern protests against the state or institutional order nor rebellious safety valves taking the pressure off authoritarian societies. Instead they represent a creative violation of rules and norms nurturing in young men an experience of subverting existing hierarchies, if ever so temporarily, and of achieving what Bataille terms ‘sovereignty’, a sense of superiority based on and embedded in the transgressive experience. Under circumstances where the old socialist project of moçambicanidade is smoldering and the new neo-liberal promise of employment and wealth lose credibility less fortunate young men take refuge in sexual excess and instant pleasures. With the demise of national unity and in the shadow of neo-liberalism leaving poor young men little to live for the threats of HIV infection and AIDS are downplayed while pure sex, violence and dangerous activities are favored. It is questionable if such tendencies of excess can bring about broader social changes. Batailles’ answer is ambiguous when he says that ‘social inequality and poverty’ can be the root of revolution or disturbances, but then adds that the class of social outcasts often have no share in the desire to cast down the mighty from their seats since, ‘their rebel spirit make them unlikely rulers’ 147 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. (Bataille 1962:137). Nevertheless, any attempt to fight crime, violence, drug use and unsafe sex amid the devastating AIDS epidemic in Africa will fail unless it addresses social marginalization as the chief obstacle on the road to making young men make sense of law, rules and responsibilities for the future as well as to rendering lethal practices less attractive. References Aboim, S. (2009) ‘Men between Worlds: Changing Masculinities in Urban Maputo’, Men and Masculinities 12(2):201-224. Agadjanian (2005) ‘Men Doing Women’s Work’: Masculinity and Gender Relations among Street Vendors in Maputo, Mozambique’ in R. Morrell & L. Ouzgane (eds.) African Masculinities. Nairobi: Spear Books. Pp. 255-69. Ahlberg, M.A., E. Jylkäs & I. Krantz (2001) ‘Gendered Construction of Sexual Risks: Implications for Safer Sex among Young People in Kenya and Sweden’, Reproductive Heath Matters 9(17):26-36. Arnfred, S. (2004) ‘Concepts of Gender in Colonial and Post-colonial Discourses: The case of Mozambique’, Gender Activism and Studies in Africa. Codesria Gender Series 3. Dakar: Codesria. Pp. 108-128. Bähre, E. (2007) ‘Reluctant Solidarity: Death, Urban Poverty and Neighbourly Assistance in South Africa’, Ethnography 8(1)33-59. Bakhtin, M. (1984) Rabelais and his World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Barker, G. T. (2005) Dying to be Men: Youth, Masculinity and Social Exclusion. London: Routledge. Bataille, G. (1962) Eroticism. London: Calder & Boyars Ltd. Bataille, G. (1985) Visions of Excess: Selected Writings 1927-1939. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 148 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Bataille, G. (1988) Inner Experience. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. Bataille, G. (1991) The Accused Share: Volumes II and III. New York: Zone Books. Bourgois, P. (1995) In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Bairro. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Buur, L. (2009) ‘The Horror of the Mob: The Violence of Imagination in South Africa’, Critique of Anthropology 29(1):27-46. Cornwall, A. (2003) ‘To Be A Man is More Than a Day’s Work: Shifting Ideals of Masculinity in Ado-Odo, Southwestern Nigeria’ in Lisa A. Lindsay & Stephan F. Miescher (eds.) Men and Masculinities in Modern Africa. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman. Crapanzano, V. (2006) ‘Transgression and the Erotic’ in Rao, U & J. Hutnyk (eds) Celebrating Transgression. New York: Berghahn Books. Cross, M. (1987) The Political Economy of Colonial Education: Mozambique 1930-1975. Comparative Education Review 31(4):550-69. Donnan, H. & F. Magowan (eds) (2009) Transgressive Sex: Subversion and Control in Erotic Encounters. New York: Berghahn Books Douglas, M. (2000[1966]) Purity and Danger. London: Routledge. Durham, D. (2004) ‘Disappearing Youth: Youth as a Social Shifter in Botswana’, American Ethnologist 31(4):589-605. Errante, A. (1999) ‘Peace Work as Grief Work in Mozambique and South Africa’, Journal of Peace Psychology 5(3):261-279. Evans-Prichard, E. E. (1951) Kinship and Marriage among the Nuer. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fabian, J. (1991) Time and the Work of Anthropology. Amsterdam: Harwood. Ferguson, J. (2006) Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order. London: Duke University Press. 149 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Gluckman, M. (2004[1963]) Order and Rebellion in Tribal Africa. London: Routledge. Gómez, M. B. (1999) Educação Moçambicana: Historia de Um Processo: 1962-1984. Maputo: Livraria Universitária, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. Groes-Green, C. (2009a) ‘Health Discourse, Sexual Slang and Ideological Contradictions among Mozambican Youth: Implications for Method’, Culture, Health & Sexuality 11(6):655-668. Groes-Green, C. (2009b) ‘Safe Sex Pioneers: Class Identity, Peer Education and Emerging Masculinities among Youth in Mozambique’, Sexual Health 6: 233–240. Groes-Green, C. (2009c) ‘Hegemonic and Subordinated Masculinities: Class, Violence and Sexual Performance among Young Mozambican Men’, Nordic Journal of African Studies 18(4):286-304. Gune, E. (2008) ‘Momentos liminares: dinâmica e significados no uso do preservative’, Análise Social 187:297-318 Hanlon, J. (1996) Peace without Profit: How the IMF Blocks Rebuilding in Mozambique. Oxford: James Currey. Hanlon, J. 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Maiguashca (eds) Critical Theory, International Relations and ‘the Anti-Globalization Movements’. New York: Routledge. Karlyn, A. (2005) ‘Intimacy Revealed: Sexual Experimentation and the Construction of Risk among Young People in Mozambique’, Culture, Health & Sexuality 7(3):279-292. Köpping, K.-P. (2002) Shattering Frames: Transgressions and Transformations in Anthropological Discourse and Practice. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer. Lévi-Strauss, C. (1971) Elementary Structures of Kinship. London: Beacon Press. Lopes, A. J. (2001) ‘Language Revitalization and Reversal in Mozambique: The case of Xironga in Maputo’, Current Issues in Language Planning 2(2-3):259-267. Maffesoli, M. (1993) The Shadow of Dionysus: A Contribution to the Sociology of the Orgy. Aldine, NY: SUNY Press. Magowan, F. (2009) ‘Courting Transgression: Customary Law and Sexual Violence in Aboriginal Australia’ in H. Donnan & F. Magowan (eds) Transgressive Sex: Subversion and Control in Erotic Encounters. New York: Berghahn Books. Pp. 211-234. Mains, D. (2007) ‘Neoliberal times: Progress, Boredom, and Shame among young Men in Urban Ethiopia’, American Ethnologist 34(4):659-673. Malinowski, B. (2002[1927]) Sex and Repression in Savage Society. New York: Routledge. Manuel, S. (2005) ‘Obstacles to Condom Use among Secondary School Students in Maputo City, Mozambique’, Culture, Health & Sexuality 7(3):293-302. Manuel, S. (2009) ‘Presentes Perigosos: Dinâmicas de risco de infecção ao HIV/SIDA nos relationamentos de namoro em Maputo’, Physis 19(2):371-386. 151 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Morrell, R. (1998) ‘Of Boys and Men: Masculinity and Gender in Southern African Studies’, Journal of Southern African Studies 24(4):605-630. Mooney, K. (2008) ‘Ducktails, Flick-knives and Pugnacity’: Subcultural and Hegemonic Masculinities in South Africa, 1948-1960’, in S. Tomsen (ed.) Crime, Criminal Justice and Masculinities. Burlington, VT: Ashgate. Pp. 335-357. Niehaus, I. (2002) ‘Perversion of Power: Witchcraft and the Sexuality of Evil in the South African Lowveld’, Journal of Religion in Africa 32(3):269-299. Niehaus, I. (2007) ‘Death Before Dying: Understand AIDS Stigma in the South African Lowveld’, Journal of Southern African Studies 33(4):845-860. Nielsen, M. (2008) In the Vicinity of the State: House Construction, Personhood, and the State in Maputo, Mozambique. PhD Dissertation, Institute of Anthropology. Copenhagen: University of Copenhagen. Nzioka, C. (2001) ‘Unwanted Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Infection among Young Women in Rural Kenya’, Culture, Health & Sexuality 6(1):31-44. Parker, R.G. (2001) ‘Sexuality, Culture and Power in HIV/AIDS Research’, Annual Review of Anthropology 30:163-179. Passador, L. H. (Forthcoming) ‘Women Are Evil’: Personhood, Gender, Sexuality, and Disease in Southern Mozambique. Forthcoming in C. Izugbara & C. Groes-Green (eds.) Sexuality, Politics and the Occult in Africa. Radcliffe-Brown (1965) Form and Function in Primitive Society. Essays and Addresses. London: Free Press. Rao, U. & J. Hutnyk (eds) (2006) Celebrating Transgression. New York: Berghahn Books. Scheper-Hughes, N. (1993) Death Without Weeping. Berkeley: University of California Press. Scheper-Hughes, N. & P. Bourgois (eds) (2005) Violence in War and Peace: An Anthology. Oxford: Blackwell. 152 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Silberschmidt, M. (2005) ‘Poverty, Male Disempowerment, and Male Sexuality’ in L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (eds.) African masculinities, pp. 189-203. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Stroud, C. (1999) ‘Portuguese as Ideology and Politics in Mozambique: Semiotic (re)constructions of a Postcolony’, in J. Blommaert (ed.) Language: Ideological Debates. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Pp. 343-381. Sumich, J. (2008) ‘Construir uma nação: ideologias de modernidade da elite moçambicana’, Análise Social 43(2):319-345. Sumich, J. (2009) ‘Urban Politics, Conspiracy and Reform in Nampula, Mozambique’, Crisis States Working Papers Series No.2. Working Paper no. 60. London: LSE, Crisis States Research Centre. Sumich, J. (2010) ‘Nationalism, Urban Poverty and Identity in Maputo, Mozambique’, Crisis States Working Papers Series No.2. Working Paper no. 68. London: LSE, Crisis States Research Centre. Taussig, M. (2009) What Colour is the Sacred? Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Taussig, M. (1997) The Magic of the State. New York: Routledge. Taussig, M. (1993) Mimesis and Alterity. New York: Routledge. Turner, V.W. & E. Bruner (eds.) (1986) The Anthropology of Experience. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Turner, V. W. (1995[1969[) The Ritual Process. Structure and Anti-Structure. Aldine: Transaction. UNICEF (2010) Plan of action for orphaned and vulnerable children. New York: UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/mozambique/hiv_aids_2580.html [Last accessed August 6 2010] Vigh, H. (2006) ‘The Colour of Destruction: On Racialization, Geno-globality and the Social Imaginary in Bissau’, Anthropological Theory 6(4):481-500. Virtanen, P. (2005) ‘Tradition, Custom and Otherness: The Politics of Identity in Mozambique’. 153 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Identities 12(2):223-248. West, H. G. (2001) ‘Sorcery of Construction and Socialist Modernization: Ways of Understanding Power in Postcolonai Mozambique’, American Ethnologist 28:119-150. West, H. G. (2008) ‘From Socialist Chiefs to Post-Socialist Cadres. Neotraditional Authority in Neoliberal Mozambique in H. G. West & P. Raman’ (eds.) Enduring Socialism. London: Berghahn Books. Wood, K. & R. Jewkes (2005) ‘Dangerous Love”: Reflections on Violence among Xhosa Township Youth’ in Andrea Cornwall (ed.) Readings in Gender in Africa. Oxford: James Currey. Pp. 90-94. Whyte, S. (1997) Questioning Misfortune. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 154 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. CHAPTER 4: CONTESTED MASCULINITIES AND SEXUALITIES Article 4. Hegemonic and subordinated masculinities: Class, violence and sexual performance among young Mozambican men Introduction As observed in studies from sub-Saharan Africa there seems to be a rise in forms of masculinity that to different degrees are based on sexuality or violence (Silberschmidt, 2004; Silberschmidt 2001;Wood & Jewkes, 2005; Barker, 2005). However, there is a need for more discussion of the processes through which sexual and violent practices can be seen as substituting masculine powers based on wealth and status. Although there is a growing literature on men and masculinities in sub-Saharan Africa (Morrell & Ouzgane, 2005; Morrell, 2001; Lindsay & Miescher, 2003; Silberschmidt, 1999) the question of how to classify forms of male power in varying social and economic contexts remains to be answered. Findings from 15 months fieldwork among urban middle class and impoverished young men in Maputo, Mozambique in 2007, 2008 and 2010 indicate that there is a need to examine the social background against which masculinities emerge and transform in Southern Africa.20 The main argument in the article is that poor young men tend to rely on sexual practices or violence as ways of expressing male authority vis-a-vis female partners in the absence of economic powers and social status amid massive 155 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. unemployment and poverty while middle class peers were able to gain authority in sexual relationships through their power as consumers who can provide money and to girlfriends and lovers. Fieldwork consisted in a survey involving 500 young men and women, the results of which have been discussed elsewhere (Groes-Green, 2009a, 2009b), 15 focus group discussions (FDGs) with 90 informants all together, 45 of them male and 45 female, and finally 13 male and 13 female informants who participated in the FDGs were chosen for individual in-depth interviews. The informants were between 17 and 23 years old, the majority of them less than 20 years old. Of the 90 informants participating in FGDs, 21 were middle class youth from the urban city centre and 69 were youth from working class backgrounds in impoverished suburban areas. Most middle class youth lived with their families in guarded condos in the city centre called Maputo cimento (concrete Maputo) due to its modern buildings and roads. All informants from middle class backgrounds attended secondary school, some in public and others in private schools. None of them needed to work since they received money from their parents, often between 10.000 (310$) and 26.000 meticais (815$) a month which is well above the average monthly income in Mozambique. Besides, the young men were often allowed to use their parents’ car to roam around the city or take girlfriends and lovers out for dinner or to the beach. Most of them were in the final year of secondary school preparing for university or waiting to start a training job in the business or public sector, facilitated by social contacts in the families. Their parents, most often the fathers, mostly held senior positions in the public sector or the government, or in private businesses and had household incomes between 250.000 (7800$) and 60.000 (1875$) meticais a month. Working class youth among whom I conducted most of my studies, lived, as do the large majority of the population, on the suburban outskirts of the city characterized by poverty, unemployment, poor housing and shortage of basic necessities. Two thirds of working class youth attended a public secondary school. The last third was permanently unemployed and had ended their education before or just after completing primary school. Some of them tried to make a living or support their families by selling copies of DVD movies, phone cards or even stolen goods on the street or by 156 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. taking all kinds of odd jobs, but most had to rely on the limited income of other family members or live off the crops grown on the family’s machamba (small plot of land). The poor young men’s reasons for dropping out of school or not entering secondary school were either that their parents could not afford to pay for the tuition or that they believed education would not bring them closer to finding a job. The large majority of informants from impoverished areas had been rejected as they tried to get a training deal in a shop or a firm. Even getting a job as a guard, which is one of the most common jobs taken by poor men, was becoming difficult due to the rising competition brought about by economic reform and migration to Maputo city from rural areas in Maputo province and neighboring provinces. Most of their parents were unemployed, but some fathers had jobs as taxi drivers or part time jobs doing manual labor and some of their mothers worked as maids for affluent families in Maputo cimento. Often, families were dependent on financial support from members of the extended family with a higher income or with access to land. Even with support from kin the household income of the families was often less than 200$ a month, and in many cases the young men in the study had less than 10$ a month to spend on clothes, leisure activities or gifts for girlfriends. Hegemonic and protest masculinities: Class and gender relations Inspired by the philosopher Antonio Gramsci’s (1957) power analysis, Reawyn Connell (Connell, 1995; Connell & Messerschmidt 2005) has over the years elaborated a series of concepts for masculinities defined by their place in the matrices of power, inequality and gender structures. Among Connell’s key concepts, ‘hegemonic masculinities’ is the most notorious and popular in studies of men in Southern African. In many studies the concept has been used to describe various male powers over women ranging from economic, social and physical dominance to political, judicial or cultural authority (e.g. Broch-Due, 2005; Dover, 2005; Bhana, 2005; Heald, 1999; Mooney 1998). Although many studies have rightly used the concept to shed light on the prevalent gender inequalities and injustices, especially in South Africa, the findings from the present study in Maputo’s urban and suburban areas show that the 157 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. concept of hegemonic masculinities does not capture the social inequalities and complexity of male powers. In particular, the findings point to the necessity of adding complementary concepts that illustrate the harsh social contrasts between middle and working class masculinities in urban Southern African settings. By reference to Antonio Gramsci’s differentiation between hegemony and dominance and Connell’s elaboration of Gramsci’s ideas in masculinity studies I argue that hegemonic masculinities are often linked to a privileged social class that is able to maintain a gender hierarchy, not through force but through economic support to girlfriends which make them economically dependent. Without the symbolic power of money subordinate men more often try to maintain masculine control in relationships to female partners through bodily powers of violence or sexuality depending on the situation. In particular, I argue that some young working class men’s violent relationships to their female partners should be understood in the light of what Gramsci defined as dominance seen as a form of power which tends to substitute hegemony when an accepted or naturalized authority is challenged. While hegemony is understood as a hierarchical power relation based on a large degree of complicity and stability between partners in a relationship, dominance is defined through the use of force and coercion in situations of conflict and disagreement (Gramsci, 1957; see also Kurtz, 1996). While Gramsci applied these concepts in the analysis of class relations, Connell applied the concept of hegemonic masculinity to the study of relations between men and women as well as between classes of men. In this article I primarily use these concepts to explain power relations between young men and their female partners and not in a broader social analysis. Connell (1995: 109–114) refers to forms of masculinity which are opposed to and subordinated to hegemonic masculinities. For example she defines ‘protest masculinity’ as a marginalized masculinity which cannot be based on the privileges of hegemonic masculinity but needs to rework the themes of male superiority in a context of poverty. Protest masculinity, according to Connell, entails a focus on active heterosexual practices which, along with the ‘level of tension’ that follows from poverty, leads to an ambience of violence where boys put 158 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. together, ‘a tense [...] facade, making a claim to power where there are no real resources for power’ (Connell 1995: 111). This makes the power that poor unemployed young men have over women fragile and unstable. Connell explains that unemployed young men, ‘[b]y virtue of class situation and practice (e.g., in school)’ [have] ‘lost most of the patriarchal dividend. For instance, they have missed out on the economic gain over women that accrues to men in employment’ (...). (Connell 1995: 116). Thus, Connell illustrates how poverty and marginalization of the lower social classes tend to increase the tendency to use violence and coercion, because the power that used to rest on money or work no longer has a base, and therefore becomes illegitimate. When men no longer posses the power of money, women become less dependent on them and begin to contest their authority by unsettling the patriarchal dividend. As a result men try to reestablish and restore authority by using a violence which in effect merely proofs the illegitimacy of a man’s power. As she writes, men’s use of violence against women is a sign that hierarchy and hegemony is no longer stable and that the gender order is in a process of crisis and transformation, ‘Violence is part of a system of domination, but it is at the same time a measure of its imperfection. A thoroughly legitimate hierarchy would have less need to intimidate’ (Connell 1995: 84). Yet, as Connell & Messerschmidt (2005) and Hearn (2004) remind us, what has been termed a ‘crisis of masculinity’ does not exclude the possibility of a well functioning hegemony among socially and economically dominant classes of men. The male ideal that stands out as the hegemonic masculinity in much of sub-Saharan Africa is commonly referred to through the notion of the ‘breadwinner’ ideal. Living up to the breadwinner ideal requires that a man can provide economically for his female partners 159 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. and his family and that his partner’s allow him to ‘earn’ his male authority through this practice (Silberschmidt, 2001; Cornwall, 2003; Hunter, 2005). Although certainly, many of the young men who were part of the study were not ready to establish a family or ready to get married, they were very influenced by the breadwinner ideal. Many of the young men I interviewed subscribed to the breadwinner ideal, even when they were only 16 or 17 years old. As some of the poorest young men told me, they were constantly reminded that, ‘without money you are nobody, you are worthless in the eyes of women’. The feeling of being ‘a worthless man’, informants told me, was frequently related to girlfriends’ or lovers’ complaints that they did not provide gifts and financial support. Others explained how, faced with the impossibility of getting a job, they felt ‘unmanly’ when they realized that their family expected them to one day become husbands and heads of households. Hence, young men’s ability to live up to the ideals of the hegemonic masculinity in Maputo depends entirely on their place in the social structure. Due to the widening gap between upper and lower classes of youth in the city and the high prices on consumer goods it is mostly middle class youngsters who are able to live up to the breadwinner ideal. Their easy access to cash enables them to provide girlfriends with consumer goods and fashionable gifts like necklaces, mobile phones and to take them out for ‘dinner and drinks’ in the city centre. At the other end of the social ladder working class youth are, in the face of marginalization, increasingly left without jobs, money and education. In the absence of work, status and money many informants from poor backgrounds reasserted their masculinity through ‘bodily powers’ understood as powers based on abilities and physique of the male body. Despite the fact that violence and sexual performance are both practices anchored in the body findings showed that were highly contradictory forms of power. Juxtaposing some young men’s increasing preoccupation with sexual satisfaction of female partners with other young men’s use of violence against their partners, it seemed that sexuality and violence emerge as bifurcated reactions to the problem of an unstable male authority brought about by unemployment and poverty. Some informants’ preoccupation with satisfying their female partners and constant discussions 160 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. about improving sexual performance seemed to illustrate a search for power and male authority by noncoercive means. I term this male power ‘sexualized masculinity’ because it is based on the man’s ability to perform sexually, give erotic pleasure and become respected due to his sexual satisfaction of the female partner. Neo-liberal reform and the social polarization of masculinities For decades large parts of sub-Saharan Africa have experienced socio-economic polarization and felt the dire social consequences of globalization and neoliberal reform (Ferguson, 2006). A structural adjustment program, launched in 1987 by The World Bank and IMF, forced the Mozambican government to open up for foreign investment and businesses. During the civil war from 1977 to 1992 the ruling party FRELIMO was able to employ a part of the male population in the public sector, i.e. the military, agricultural work, educational institutions, the health sector and industries which had been nationalized in the wake of independence21 (Arndt et al., 2006). This policy came to an end from the mid 1990s when national companies were privatized and the public sector was shrinking (Marshall & Keough 2004; Pitcher 2002). Due to the international community’s interest in building a democratic society with a flexible market these initiatives were accompanied by a rise in development aid from the UN and Western donors (Fauvet, 2000). The growth of investment in the private sector paved the way for a growing middle class with access to higher education, stable jobs and good incomes (Pitcher, 2002; Sumich, 2008). At the same time luxurious restaurants, bars, nightclubs and private leisure associations popped up where these goods are on display and conspicuous consumption takes place (Hawkins et al., 2009). The downside to this development was economic deprivation of the majority of the Mozambican population (Marshall & Keough, 2004; Calder, 2005), mass unemployment among youth in urban centers (Garcia & Farés, 2008) and an increasing gap between on the one hand the elite and the middle class living in secure urban areas, and on the other hand the impoverished populations living 161 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. below the poverty line and struggling for survival in rural and suburban areas (Baptista Lundin, 2007; Virtanen & Ehrenpreis, 2007). During fieldwork I observed how young middle class and working class men relate differently to the socio-economic changes in Maputo. Male middle class youth with easy access to jobs or support from their families were clearly able to adapt to ideals of consumption and consequently found it easy to live up to female partners’ material expectations. By contrast, in Maputo caniço22 young men frequently expressed anxiety about the material demands which were put upon them by girlfriends and casual sexual partners. The majority acknowledge that an ideal man is one who has a job or an education and who can provide for his woman. Consequently, the lack of access to education, the high level of unemployment and the prospects of unemployment after completing secondary school caused deep frustrations in romantic relationships. The prevailing dissatisfaction among young women in my study was directly linked to their male partners and their families’ inability to support them economically. And young men often complained that their girlfriends showed them no respect and that they, ‘only think about money’. The tendency towards conflicting gender relations has been observed across different parts of Africa sometimes related to generational changes and sometimes linked to male disempowerment in the household, due to unemployment and lack of incomes, which tend to fuel disagreements over and redefinitions of male roles and responsibilities (Cornwall, 2003; Silberschmidt, 1999). Faced with the financial inabilities of their families and boyfriends young working class women in Maputo increasingly engage in relationships with so-called patrocinadores (literally meaning a donor or sponsor: in other regions called sugar-daddies) (See also Hawkins et al., 2009). Patrocinadores are usually older affluent men who poor young women rely on to fulfil their material needs and pay for their education in exchange for company and sexual favours (Luke & Kurz, 2002; Silberschmidt & Rasch, 2001). Poor young women’s contemporary relationships with patrocinadores may also be understood in the light of a new ideal of female independence observed across Africa, especially in globalized settings (Cole, 2003; Haram, 2005; Silberschmidt & Rasch, 2001) where youth’s search for ‘romantic 162 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. adventures’ and material wealth challenge customary adherence to arranged marriages and obligations towards the extended family (see e.g. Tersbøl, 2005; Mills & Ssewakiryanga, 2005; Spronk, 2006). The construction of Maputo’s hegemonic masculinity and its discontents Despite the fact that the concept of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ has been used in analyses of gender relations for more than a decade there are still disagreements as to its meaning and there is little consistency in the use of the concept in analyses of power and gender relations (Beasley, 2008; Whitehead, 1999; Jefferson, 2002; Hearn, 2004; Howson, 2008). In order to meet fellow scholars critiques of the concept, Connell & Messerschmidt (2005) redefined ‘hegemonic masculinity’ as a normative male ideal in a society which supports the gender hierarchy and subordinates marginal masculinities and men who do not comply with it. Hence, hegemonic masculinity is to be seen as a cultural prototype or ideal masculinity which is largely acknowledged and accepted by both women and men in a society, even if they have no chance of conforming to the ideal (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005; see also Lusher & Robins, 2009).23 In most African societies, including Mozambique, the man is seen as the natural provider for the family who besides often controlling the land also attempts to decide over sexual and reproductive issues (Goody, 1976). Anthropologists remind us of the possibility that such gender roles and divisions of labor were put in place by colonial regimes and that in fact, it was in earlier times and still in some parts of Africa the women and female elders who remain in charge of the households, offspring and agriculture (Arnfred, 2007; Arnfred, 2004; Amadiume, 1987). The hegemonic masculinity in Southern Mozambique which is linked to the man’s role as provider was cemented during the Portuguese colonial transformation of society through forced labor in the prazo system (Arndt et al., 2006). According to the ideals of Christianity and official Portuguese tenets, it was men’s responsibility to provide for the family for which reason they could legitimately be induced or forced to work in the fields in return for a low salary (Arnfred, 2004). Mozambique was conquered by the Portuguese in the 16th century and slavery was introduced in the 163 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. 18th Century. When slavery was officially abolished in 1850 many men kept working for low wages on plantations or in the mines in South Africa (Arndt et al., 2006). During colonial rule it gradually became a male responsibility to do income generating work outside the household such as contract labor in semi-industrial production and odd jobs in the informal market (ibid.). The hegemonic masculinity among young men youth in Maputo today is constituted by a combination of this historically inherited provider ideal and the more modern ideal of a male consumer with access to material symbols and commodities. If a young man in Maputo wants to become a man of status among his male and female peers he must live up to these ideals. Young men who live up to this hegemonic masculinity are sometimes called showoffistas, which stems from the English ‘to show off’, and refers to persons who publicly exhibit their fashionable clothes, cars and beautiful girlfriends. Young men and women of both middle and working class background agreed that being well dressed and providing women with material benefits was essential to be an attractive man. As an unemployed young woman of 19 years said, ’It has to be a good looking man, so I look at the shoes, the trousers, the shirt. And hey, the guy better be showoffista. He will have to carry me around in his car.’ Among young men with no access to cash, fashionable cars and clothes the ideal of the showoffista is impossible to live up to. In the context of consumerism a sexual economy is established where having many sexual partners is the exclusive privilege of upper and middle class patrocinadores and showoffistas. As observed in similar situations elsewhere in Africa young working class women’s engagement with wealthy boyfriends make them gradually independent of male partners of the same age and class (Cole, 2003). Some young working class men told me that they occasionally try to put up with the their knowledge that the girlfriend has a rich man as lover because they know they may benefit from the money and commodities that girlfriends accumulate through these transactional sexual relations. The 164 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. consequence of not having an income is not only that these youngsters see their girlfriends run off with wealthier men. In the long run poverty also makes it impossible for them to pay the lobolo (bride price) in the event of marriage, whereas middle class youngsters can easily afford to marry and at the same time be able to support several casual sexual partners. Against this background it is perhaps not surprising that young men from poor backgrounds apply different strategies in the struggle to keep a girlfriend by other means than the strictly economic. Violence and the moluwene: The movement from hegemonic to violent masculinities During FGDs one third of the male informants admitted that they had been acting violently against their girlfriends or female lovers. By far most of them came from the impoverished suburban areas, and only one of them had a middle class background. When asked why they used violence against girlfriends in sexual relationships many informants explained that they were acting like their fathers, uncles and ancestors have always done, ‘when women are unruly’. Some asserted that, ‘put women in their right place’ is a tradition, ‘which shows the spirit of an African warrior’ who were often described as ancestors from an unspecified pre-colonial past. Furthermore, when trying to explain or justify violence poor youngsters repeatedly invoked the expression moluwene, which is borrowed from Changana, spoken by the majority of the population in the suburban areas of Maputo24 (Lopes, 1998). In Changana moluwene has a range of meanings, including being wild, aggressive, a warrior and ‘a tough man’. The moluwene prototype is seen as an original African man who is dominant in relations to women and ‘a warrior in life’. Being moluwene is often described in opposition to the rich and middle class men who are condemned and ridiculed as physically weak, boring, morally correct and too well mannered (GroesGreen, 2009a). Male informants from poor backgrounds often mentioned how they felt provoked when a girlfriend complain about their inability to help financially by paying the rent or tuition fees at school and their refusal to take them out for dinner or give them luxurious gifts. The economic aspect of 165 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. violence against women was all too evident in most cases, but it also had to do with a general male conviction that they somehow own their girlfriends and that any kind of infidelity was an insult to their manhood.25 Informants mentioned that they saw infidelity and complaints as the most legitimate reasons to punish the girlfriend with different degrees of violence to ‘make her respect you’ and ‘not be an interesseira’26. To ascribe violence against women to male disempowerment certainly does not do justice to complex causes of physical coercion. Nevertheless, there seems to be a clear link between violence against women, social marginalization of men and historical suppression, which has been observed in many cultural contexts (Barker, 2005; Bourgois, 1995; Silberschmidt, 1999; Morrell, 2003). Morrell (2003) explains how power aspects of British colonialism and the suppressive structures of Apartheid informed a particularly violent form of masculinity in the South African context. As an affirmation of masculine power, South African men’s violence against women takes place in the interpersonal realm of relationships characterized by social despair, misogyny and ideas of male entitlement to women’s bodies (Morrell, 1998, 2003). The shortcomings of the hegemonic masculinity thesis Inspired by Connell’s theory on masculinities researchers studying youth in South Africa have suggested that male violence and sexual behavior are integrated elements in a patriarchal society that ensure the rule of hegemonic masculinities (see Bhana 2005, Wood & Jewkes, 2005; Wood, Lambert & Jewkes, 2007; Jewkes & Morrell, 2010). For example, in her study of masculinities among black South African school boys Bhana (2005) convincingly argues that the violence which boys use against each other in a poverty ridden environment serves to consolidate a sense of masculine hegemony. Others such as Wood & Jewkes (2005: 96) remind us that we need to question the view of masculinity as naturally aggressive and violent. Yet, in their ethnography which is highly detailed it is difficult to understand young men’s use of violence against girlfriends as well as their obsession with sexual conquests of women as anything else than a construction of a dominant masculinity in relation to 166 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. women. Although, I recognize these tendencies and agree that the making of masculinity occur in relationships to female partners I would argue that it is just as significant to address how class relations between more and less privileged groups of men define men’s making of manhood. Trying to conceptualize the impact of relations between classes of men, I propose, with reference to Gramsci (1957) and Connell (1995) that hegemony and violence, as forms of power, may, roughly speaking, be perceived of as separate alternatives than as practices which are entangled and mutually reinforcing. As Gramsci (1957) noted, hegemony is based on stability, complicity and some degree of consent between the stronger and the weaker part in a specific power structure while force, coercion or violence is used when ‘naturalized’ power is undermined (Gramsci, 1957). In Gramsci, Kurtz (1996) insists, hegemony and domination are defined as two different but complementary forms of power, ‘In one, domination, it uses coercion and force against those who resist its authority and power. In the other, hegemony, it uses intellectual devices to infuse its ideas of morality to gain the support of those who resist or may be neutral, to retain the support of those who consent to its rule (…)’ (Kurtz, 1996: 106).27 In the same vein Connell & Messerschmidt (2005) points to the fact that a thoroughly legitimate gender hierarchy has less need to use violence. As they emphasize hegemony does not mean violence, although it could be supported by force - it means ascendancy achieved through culture, institutions, and persuasion (Connell & Messerschmidt 2005:832). Returning to Gramsci’s concepts of dominance and hegemony from his political analysis of the state and civil society to the field of gender relations we may conclude on a similar note. Following Gramsci’s outline of the concept of dominance it becomes apparent that naked force and violence is an option to which poor young men in Maputo resort when their hegemony, i.e. their ‘taken for granted’ authority based on stable jobs and financial abilities, is contested. When the gender hierarchy is broadly accepted by the partner and the woman is still satisfied 167 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. with the way in which the male partner performs as a provider it implies that hegemony is still in place. However, his hegemonic position is undermined in circumstances where the material bases of the provider role are controlled by another group of men and thus removed from the subordinated men, such unemployed youngsters in Maputo’s suburbs. Sexual performance, physical appearance and ‘sexualized masculinities’ According to a range of scholars the role of sexuality, especially among youth, has changed radically in various parts of Africa (e.g. Silberschmidt, 2005; Aboim, 2009; Cole, 2004; Spronk, 2006; Heald, 1999). Traditional emphasis on reproductive purposes and cosmological meanings of sex has gradually been substituted by or accompanied by an equally significant desire for sexual satisfaction (Cornwall, 2003), recognition (Spronk, 2006) improved self-esteem, (Silberschmidt, 2001) or economic needs and interests (Hawkins et al., 2009). A central finding from my study was that young working class men are increasingly preoccupied with their sexual performance, bodily strength and physical appearance. Undoubtedly, emerging sexualized masculinities are linked to the influx of images of sexy and trained bodies from foreign movies, magazines and MTV. However, the tendency should also undoubtedly be seen in the light of young men’s ever decreasing ability to regain control in the social and economic arena of gender relations. Working class youngsters cultivated their physique and male identity, not only through the practice of bodybuilding and sports, but also through the development of skills in the intimate sphere of sex and seduction. This is much in line with findings among poor young men in other parts of Africa where investment in sexuality is explained as an effect of poverty and lack of job opportunities (Aboim, 2009; Wood & Jewkes, 2005; Silberschmidt, 2005; Tersbøl, 2005; Cornwall, 2003). It became clear that to the majority of young men in the study being a skilled lover was seen as the most effective way to hold on to a girlfriend when a job, education or other kinds of socio-economic status was out of reach. The youngsters explained to me how improving their sexual skills would guarantee that women would 168 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. eventually see them as ‘a real man’ (um homem de verdade). In many instances this implies the ability to sexually satisfy the female partner as well as to demonstrate erotic skills and charm in the intimate sphere. These qualities include being strong, decisive and enduring as well as knowing how to stimulate the erotic zones of the female body and bring a woman to orgasm. As a male informant of 21 years from a poor suburb said, ‘When you have sex, you can’t shoot [ejaculate/come] early, you have to show to her that you are a very potent guy. Women like guys like that, sometimes she shoots before you. She is tired, and she says, ‘this uncle gave me a lot of work today’. Many poor young women assured confirmed the idea that a man’s ability to satisfy women sexually can sometimes be just as important as his abilities to support a woman economically. This notion was confirmed by a woman of 22 years who told me, ‘For me to like him more and not to be discouraged, not leave him, and stay with him a long time, he has to know how to touch me, satisfy me. He should not be, like, in and out and game over, right. If he doesn’t please me and send me to the skies, it is unlikely that there will be a second time’ In the attempt to boost their sexual performance and skills men tend to exchange experiences with each other about sexual positions, tricks and the use of aphrodisiacs. Among the food and drinks men consume in order to improve their sexual potency and endurance they mention black beer, milk, eggs, peanuts and lemon. Talking about his sex life a poor young man of 24 years mentioned the maneuvers he uses to satisfy his partner, 169 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘I do some special things in bed that I have learned from movies. Sometimes I also prepare a mixture of eggs and yogurt that gives me the strength. Another fundamental thing is to do some kind of sport, and especially before the action you must be well prepared. Being in good shape is also important. There are women who demand that you take a long time before you come, and if you come quickly they will call you weak’ Another indicator of the increasing male preoccupation with sexuality is that many men revealed that they consult curandeiros (local healers) in order to increase sexual endurance, hardness of erection and sometimes in order to achieve penile enlargement. A few curandeiros I interviewed in Maputo spoke about a large demand for help with potency problems and sexual performance among young men. As scholars have argued there is a close link between masculinity, violence and manifestations of sexual powers (Silberschmidt, 2001; Connell, 1995; Cornwall & Lindisfarne, 1994). Though, what these findings indicate is that there is a qualitative difference in the use of violence and the performance of sexuality as ways of asserting a sense of manhood and power. Developing sexual capital in the absence of economic capital Based on the findings I believe it is likely that men’s concern with their sexual performance in order to satisfy women indicate that sexuality becomes a way of reasserting male authority. The fantasy of sexual dominance in some cases paradoxically preserves a sense of controlling the woman even if in reality the focus in on the woman’s well-being and orgasm. In this light, the abilities of young men in the sexual domain can also be conceptualized as a form of sexual capital which give young men a sense of respect in the eyes of female partners and which can be seen as poor young men’s answer to a situation where economic capital is out of their reach. The sexual satisfaction, serves the purpose of holding on to a partner by means of giving her pleasurable erotic experiences and fulfilling her needs. Hence, sexual performance is not merely a strategy to secure one’s status among other men but rather a 170 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. gateway to staying in power in a relationship and keeping a desired female partner. We may understand the development of sexual capital against the backdrop of Mauss’ (1934) concept of ‘techniques of the body’ which he understood as a person’s use of corporeal performances and skills in order to support his or her authority. Following Mauss (2000) we may see these ‘techniques of the body’ used in the sexual arena as part of a logic of reciprocity. When the young man cannot provide the female partner with material gifts and money he can at least provide erotic experiences, a well trained body and sexual satisfaction. As Mauss (1934:211-214) noted, a continuous flow of gifts and performances, be they material or immaterial, emotional or corporeal, may help build authority and respect as well as mutual dependency while an interruption of reciprocal exchanges could provoke social conflicts. Furthermore sexual performance can be seen as serving the purpose of preserving an imagined control over women, expressed by informants through metaphors of ‘punishment’ or ‘suffering’. This is in line with Bourdieu’s (2001) observation that sexual intercourse in many cultures is represented as an act of domination and as a symbol of male possession of a woman. Although control is not effectively achieved by means of sexuality men’s desire for control over a woman is expressed through sexual practice (Bourdieu, 2001). This resonates with my findings where the desire for control over women was repeatedly expressed by my male informants in relation to their sexual performance. As an unemployed young man of 17 years said, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing these days. I have quit school because there is no way I can pay for it. I just roam around, trying to grab the girls. I want to be known as ‘a good lover’. Like, you know, the guy who really makes them suffer, makes them cry, and stops them from complaining’ The desire for control, however, does not necessarily translate into real coercion or physical force but rather stays an imaginary dominance expressed as sexual fantasy. Though words like ‘suffer’ and ‘cry’ are associated with violence these sexual practices do not necessarily constitute pillars in a relationship 171 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. of dominance. In discussions with male informants they explained that ‘suffering’ and ‘crying’ were to be seen as metaphors for a woman’s reaction when she reaches climax and thus seen as a sign that the man ‘did a good job’. As the quote shows the sexual performance is framed by the young man’s desire for a reputation as ‘a good fuck’ and not as ‘an oppressor’. In fact, the young women told me that a partner's ability to perform in bed and be a caring lover was a prerequisite for a satisfactory relationship. Conclusion: Masculinity without hegemony Understanding the complexity of a Mozambican setting that is subject to major cultural and economic reconfigurations these years requires a thorough rethinking of the classification of masculinities and the different positions available in a changing gender matrix. In this article I have explored the background against which new forms of masculinity centered on sexuality and violence emerge among working class youth in Maputo. Feeling the consequences of neoliberal reform after years of privatization and rising unemployment rates young men of the poorer segments of society are unable to live up to female partners’ expectations of them as providers of gifts, commodities and financial support. As middle class youngsters like the showoffistas and older middle class patrocinadores expand their sexual networks through transactional relationships with less fortunate women, their working class peers find it increasingly difficult to find or hold on to a girlfriend. This situation of economic hardship and general social despair pave the way for a rise in violent and aggressive masculinities as exemplified in the prototype of the moluwene cast as a heroic warrior and ‘tough man’ living according to ‘original African’ traditions. While this new situation may pose a challenge to generations of youth who have practiced a hegemonic masculinity based on the provider ideal there is little to suggest that women are thereby granted a more influential or less fragile position in Mozambican society. At a time when the breadwinner role is increasingly difficult to fulfill young working class men in Maputo develop a masculinity that takes the body and its physical powers as its sources. In this article I have focused on two strategies anchored in bodily powers. One strategy which was 172 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. observed among some informants from impoverished backgrounds was that of improving their sexual performance in relationships with women. Training their sexual stamina and using aphrodisiacs were means of developing what I termed sexual capital, which would earn them the respect vis-à-vis girlfriends that they could not gain in financial terms. The other was the practice of violence against female partners, justified as a return to an original and tough African masculinity. Masculinities enacted through sexuality or violence cannot easily be subsumed to the category of ‘hegemonic masculinity’. Instead findings indicated the need to distinguish between hegemonic and subordinate masculinities, or what Connell (1995) calls protest masculinities and what Aboim (2009) refers to as ‘sexualized masculinities’. The tendency in studies of African masculinities to term all male powers ‘hegemonic’ risk missing not only the complexity of gender hierarchies, it also blurs the immanent significance of class and social inequality to male agency. Impoverished youngsters’ violence against female partners is not to be seen as automatic reactions to poverty, unemployment and social marginalization. First of all, patterns of male violence against women have been observed in most culture and societies. What makes young men’s use of violence against female partners in Maputo worrisome is that it seems to present itself as an alternative to and a substitute for economic powers. Since economic powers become limited at a time when formal jobs are disappearing and education is reserved for the privileged few the turn towards violent masculinities obviously has to do with larger social and economic changes. Since these changes are brought about by the Mozambican government and the international community’s promotion of neoliberal politics the question is how to counter social inequality and unemployment in efforts to diminish destructive aspects of subordinate masculinities in Southern Africa. References Aboim, Sofia (2009) Men between worlds: Changing masculinities in urban Maputo. Men and Masculinities 12(2): 201–225. 173 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Arndt, Channing, Robert C. James & Simler, Kenneth (2006) Has Economic Growth in Mozambique Been Pro-Poor? Journal of African Economics 15(4): 571–602. 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Mooney, Katie (1998) ‘Ducktails, flick-knives and pugnacity’: Subcultural and Hegemonic Masculinities in South Africa, 1948–1960. Journal of Southern African Studies 24(4): 753–774. Morrell, Robert (2003) ‘Silence, sexuality and HIV/AIDS in South African Schools’. In: Britt Tersbøl (ed.), Gender, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS: Research and intervention in Africa. Copenhagen: University of Copenhagen. Morrell, Robert (2001) (ed.) Changing Men in Southern Africa. London: Zed Books. Morrell, Robert (1998) Of Boys and Men: Masculinity and Gender in Southern African Studies. Journal of Southern African Studies 24(4): 605–630. Ouzgane, Lahouzine & Morrel, Robert (2005) African Masculinities: Men in Africa from the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Pitcher, M. Anne (2002) Transforming Mozambique: The Politics of Privatization, 1975–2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Silberschmidt, Margrethe (2005) ‘Poverty, Male Disempowerment, and Male Sexuality: Rethinking 177 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Men and Masculinities in Rural and Urban East Africa’. In: Lahouzine Ouzgane & Robert Morrell (eds.), African masculinities: Men in Africa from the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Pp. 189–203 Silberschmidt, Margrethe (2004) ‘Masculinities, Sexualities and Socio-Economic Change in Rural and Urban East Africa’. In: Signe Arnfred (ed.), Re-thinking Sexualities in Africa. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute. Silberschmidt, Margrethe (2001) Disempowerment of men in rural and urban East Africa: Implications for male identity and sexual behaviour. World Development 29(2):657– 671. Silberschmidt, Margrethe (1999) Women Forget That Men Are the Masters. Nordic Africa Institute. Stockholm: Almquist & Wiksell International. Silberschmidt, M. & Rasch, V. 2001. Adolescent girls, illegal abortions and “sugar-daddies” in Dar es Salaam: vulnerable victims and active social agents. Social Science & Medicine 2(12): 1815-26. Spronk, Rachel (2006) Ambiguous Pleasures: Sexuality and new self-definitions in Nairobi. Ph.D. Thesis. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam. Sumich, Jason (2008) Politics after the Time of Hunger in Mozambique: A Critique of NeoPatrimonial Interpretation of African Elites. Journal of Southern African Studies 34(1): 111–125. Tersbøl, Britt (2005) At a Loss in the Land of the Brave: A Study of Sexual Relationships in the Context of HIV/AIDS and Poverty in Namibia. Ph.D. Thesis. Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen. Virtanen, Pekka & Ehrenpreis, Dag (2007) Growth, Poverty and Inequality in Mozambique. New York: UNDP/International Poverty Centre. 178 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Weis, Lois (1990) Working Class Without Work. High School Students in a De-Industrializing Economy. London: Routledge. Wood, K., Lambert, H. & Jewkes, R. (2007) “Showing Roughness in a Beautiful Way”: Talk about Love, Coercion, and Rape in South African Youth Sexual Culture. Medical Anthropology Quarterly Volume 21(3): 277-300. Wood, K. & Jewkes, R. (2005) ‘Dangerous Love: Reflections on Violence among Xhosa Township Youth”, from R. Morrell (ed.) Changing Men in Southern Africa’. In: Andrea Cornwall (ed.) Readings in Gender in Africa. Oxford: James Currey. Pp. 90- 94. 179 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Article 5. Philogynous masculinities? The globalization of women’s sexual rights and men’s sexual capital in Southern Africa Introduction Despite recent years’ critiques of predatory and dominant (hetero)sexualities in Africa few attempts have been made to specify, ethnographically and theoretically, alternatives to hegemonic and harmful models of manhood (Bannon & Correia 2006; Cornwall 2000; Morrell 2005; Walker 2005). No doubt, investigations of men’s risk taking behavior, multiple partnerships and sexual violence against women have brought us closer to understanding the enigma of gender dynamics, the repression of patriarchy, and the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa (e.g. Wood et. al. 2008, Bhana & Pattman 2009, Dunkle et al. 2007, Peacock & Levack 2004, Koenig et al. 2004, Peacock et al. 2009). Yet, the dearth of knowledge about non-dominant or ‘pro-female’ configurations of heterosexual masculinities points to the necessity of addressing gender notions that connect male behavior with alternative notions such as pleasure, love, non-violence and care for female partners (see Walker 2005; Reid and Walker 2005, Montgomery et. al. 2006; Cole & Thomas 2009; Oxlund 2009, Abiom 2009). A growing number of African and Western feminist researchers challenge the thesis that women are universally subordinated to men, as originally advanced by Rosaldo & Lamphere (1974), Ortner (1974) and later to some extent repeated by Connell (1995). Today researchers have begun to pay attention to notions of female power, agency and eroticism in Africa (Mustapha 2006; Tamale 2006; Arnfred 2007; Oyewùmí 2006; Amadiume 1987), empowering aspects of female same sex practices (Dankwa 2009, Morgan & Wieringa 2006) and female notions of pleasure, respect and independence (Haram, 2005; Spronk, 2008). Nevertheless, the interest in female 180 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. assertiveness has not translated into an equal exploration of what we might call pro-female or womenfriendly ways of being a man in the realm of sexuality. In order to explore alternatives I tentatively introduce the concept of philogynous masculinities to refer to male configurations, as elusive or limited they may be, which clearly avert from predominantly misogynous practices that continue to endanger female subjects through violence, inequalities, and irresponsible or unsafe sexual behavior. Thus, philogynous masculinities are defined as forms of manhood that subvert existing gender hierarchies and emphasize a manliness which is more caring, respectful and truly productive vis-à-vis female partners, as well as towards other classes of men and women. These forms of manhood may become manifest in emerging social, sexual and ideological landscapes where men acknowledge that their sexualities can play a positive and progressive role, and in cases where men realize that violence and multiple partnerships may threaten and harm not only their female peers but also their own lives. Exploring and developing notions of philogynous masculinities, both empirically and theoretically, is also a prerequisite for making more innovative action research and policy in Africa in the struggle against the spread of HIV/AIDS, violence against women, and ideas of women as sexual and domestic servants for men. During a 15 months fieldwork among secondary school students in suburban Maputo, Mozambique in 2007, 2008 and 2010 the majority of poor young men expressed hegemonic or dominant features of male power over women (see Groes-Green 2009c), and concomitant forms of masculinity which have been described in recent literature on masculinities in: violent or aggressive behavior against female partners, focus on multiple partnerships, prioritizing male over female sexual pleasure, and unsafe or irresponsible sexual practices (Wood et. al. 2008; Wood et al. 2007; Dunkle et. al. 2006; Aboim 2009; Walker 2005; Tersbøl 2006). Nevertheless, among a minority of poor young men in one of the schools I encountered a set of alternative notions and practices which caught my interest. In this article I shall concentrate on two notions, bom pico (in Portuguese literally ‘a good sting’) and mulumuzana (in Changana28 literally ‘a wise man’), which illustrate these young men’s tendency to pay 181 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. attention to women’s needs, to oppose violence, and even to appreciate when female partners have power and take charge. Furthermore, they conveyed a proclivity to acknowledge that men need to take responsibility in sexual affairs and avoid abusive behavior. This applies not only to decision making around condom use but also involves new forms of prioritizing in the bedroom, when it comes to yielding sexual pleasure. Undoubtedly, a great many young men in the poor suburbs felt that pleasure was redirected from being a question of a man’s gratification to being a question of ways to ensure that the woman reached climax, and preferably before the man had his first ejaculation. What some of these poor youngsters had in common was that they did not primarily enter sexual relationships to prove their masculinity and virility. Rather, in interviews and informal talks they explained how they sought companionship, intimacy and mutual pleasure and in the same vein they dissociated themselves from men who were seen as rough and violent towards women. They also depicted themselves as opposed to rich men, who ‘live by their wallet’ and who give women ‘all the jewelry, but no satisfaction’. Um bom pico is slang and refers to men ‘who knows how to treat a woman in bed’, and who has the ability to continuously give her sexual pleasure and satisfaction. Mulumuzana is a local Changana expression, explained to me as a classic man in the Machangana ‘tradition’, who is considerate and patient towards his woman, and who shows restraint, respect and prudence in life. The first time I became acquainted with these notions was in relation to discussions around peer sex education, a form of sex education where young people teach other younger students about sexuality, reproduction and safe sex, and which is compulsory in secondary schools.29 Peer sex education was introduced in a limited number of secondary schools in Maputo in 1999 as a response to the growing HIV epidemic in the country. The Geração Biz (Busy Generation) program, as it was called, was based on the idea of young peer educators teaching younger students about safe sex through alternative pedagogic methods such as drama, discussions, music events and condom distribution. Due to its apparent success in transmitting knowledge to youth and its effective promotion of condom use it was ‘scaled up’ to all provinces in 2009 (Hainsworth & Zilhão 2009). In Maputo, where the majority of poor 182 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. youth attend secondary school, peer sex education is the primary source of information about sexual matters. Some young people, especially women, receive some advice on sex and reproduction from their mothers or aunts, whereas young men receive almost no advice at home. Through peer sex education, sex is spoken about openly in groups where young men and women mingle and discuss intimate issues and concerns with each other. In comparison to informants who had not received sex education in school, some of the young men in the study, who chose to take active part in lessons and activities around sex education, were remarkably knowledgeable about sexual and biological anatomy, and were able to specify details about menstruation, the prostate and female orgasms. In recent years, globalizing discourses on gender equality, sexual and reproductive rights, and HIV prevention have paved the way for introducing comprehensive sex education and so-called ‘life skills’ programs to in-school youth in different regions of Africa (Yankah & Aggleton 2008, James et al. 2006). Also, due to the prominent agenda in the UN for gender equality and women’s empowerment, local women’s organizations and foreign donors have placed women’s rights at the forefront of social struggles as well as public policy in the country. As Aboim (2009) shows, the influence of Western discourses about the egalitarian family and modern gender roles has led to new laws and policies in the country. In 2003 a new family law was approved, which emphasized the protection of women’s right to property and divorce and shared responsibilities in the family. This challenges men’s position as heads of households and their right to enter polygamous relationships (Aboim 2009:3), and more recently a new law was passed which criminalizes domestic violence and male violence against women in general. Safe sex education: gender equality, sexual rights and women’s pleasure While female informants seemed to receive advice on sexual matters from female family members, young men generally did not speak with parents or siblings about sexual issues. This means, that while young women had some basic knowledge about satisfaction and intimate issues when having their 183 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. sexual debut, men resorted to rumors and exchange of experiences with peers at the school. Thus, with the exposure to new ideas about women’s sexual rights and knowledge about sex and pleasure, as well as demonstration about condom use and videos about sexual debuts, young men’s already established notions of manhood and sex are challenged, modified or invigorated. While many poor young men showed little interest in the lessons and events of peer sex education or could not identify with its messages and language, as argued elsewhere (Groes-Green 2009a), the young men that I focus on here tended to incorporate central ideas that the peer educators taught them. For example, they sought to create an air of responsibility around them by talking very openly about direitos sexuais (sexual rights), orgasmo feminio (female orgasms), and uso de preservativos/camisinhas (condom use). Yet, such formal talks were also mixed with ways of hinting at how attentive lovers they were in bed (na cama), and how much they knew about the best way to make a woman come (se vir). ‘Geração Biz’ originally aimed to improve youths’ sexual and reproductive health in the face of the devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic.30 The Ministries of Health, Education, and Youth and Sports were the key implementers, with support from UNFPA and the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and technical assistance from Pathfinder International. The main aims of the program were to improve the ‘right of young people to a positive and healthy sexual and reproductive life’ and to give them awareness about dominant gender structures and the principles of gender equality. The peer education program included education in use of contraceptive methods, distribution of condoms, learning the basics of sexual biology, the rights of both genders to a pleasurable sex life, and the responsibility of men in sexual relationships (Benavente et al. 2007). Pedagogically, the program was based on the idea that young peoples’ attitude towards safe sex and equal gender involvement in HIV prevention is more easily ensured through teaching by peer educators with whom students can more easily identify and who they can trust in intimate matters to a larger degree than older teachers, doctors and parents (Hainsworth & Zilhão 2009). Also, through interviews with peer educators and their teachers, I found that the methods used to create awareness were inspired 184 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. by the Brazilian thinker Paulo Freire’s ‘pedagogy of the oppressed’, based on bringing awareness by creating alternatives to and challenging existing power structures through dialogic group work and practical exercise (Paiva 2004). In the case of Geração Biz the idea was to improve students’ consciousness about sex roles, emotional components and skills needed to ensure sexual health and mutual pleasure, and a general awareness about ways of negotiating safe sex practices and avoid gender oppression (Loforte 2009). As reported from other part of Southern Africa, sex education based on peer involvement and consciousness rising can have profound effects for safer sex practices, depending on local social, cultural and educational conditions (Campbell & MacPhail 2002; Tersbøl 2006; Cornish & Campbell 2009; Visser 2007). Sexual openness and women’s sexual rights Young peoples’ discussions about sexual issues in school were carried out in and around so-called ‘cantos’ de aconselhamento (advisory corners) where condoms were also distributed. Every school had one or two cantos, where peer educators would always be ready to give students advise about everything from how to put on condoms, how to talk about sexual issues and family planning with a partner and general issues such as contraception, menstruation or impotence. Quite often these talks not only concerned condoms or reproductive issues but also questions regarding emotional problems, expectations and concerns that trouble youth when they initiate sexual relationships. In order to make sex education more attractive to students, peer educators and NGOs arranged social parties with music, either at the school or at the beach, where youngsters came in great numbers to dance and drink soda pops. These parties were characterized by an open climate where students were openly lustful and sexually explicit, kissing and touching each other intimately. Notably, young women were highly active participants in social activities around sex education. The majority of peer educators were young women, and the focus on women’s rights and gender equality seemed to inspire them to bring up demands and ideas, for example with regard to improving their sex life with a boyfriend. Sex 185 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. education, whether taught in cantos, classrooms or at parties, was characterized by an egalitarian atmosphere where young women were highly sexual and assertive. In lessons, peer educators always stressed the importance of men and women listening to each other and men’s obligation to respect women’s needs when it comes to sex, reproduction and prevention. Another issue, that was often discussed in and around the cantos, was the unacceptability of male dominance and sexual violence. One popular saying among peer educators, when giving advice, went something like this, ‘You must treat your woman with care and nourish her like a machamba (plot of land). Give her attention and love, and your relationship will bear fruit’. It was in relation to such discussions within the context of sex education that the bom pico expression often surged, either in the classroom, at an event or even after school. To become um bom pico: The sexual satisfaction of female partners The young men describe um bom pico, which is Mozambican slang for a good lover (literally meaning ‘a good sting’), as a man who is able to satisfy his girlfriend (namorada) or lover (pita) sexually. After I had spent months building rapport among informants our informal talks about issues of sex and relationships became less filtered by shame, general taboos and male heterosexual norms. This allowed me to have elaborate discussions with the young men about the intimate meanings of being a bom pico. Besides describing it as a label used for men who are specialized in giving sexual pleasure and who are attractive to women, informants also associated the bom pico with emotional and affectionate aspects of sexual relationships. Notably, they often added that being ‘good in bed’ (bom na cama) was also a way of making a girlfriend love them or respect them so she would not look for another man. Besides being affectionate and attentive to women’s needs it was also indispensable to be ‘a long lasting’ lover, because receiving a girlfriend’s love was predicated on their ability to give her orgasms. Even when they admitted that they could not last very long during intercourse, they emphasized the necessity of being able to ‘go on and on’ until the girlfriend was satisfied. It was not unusual that the young men 186 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. confessed that they felt embarrassed if they ejaculated too early. This was due to the risk, that a girlfriend would think they were fraco (weak) and tell her friends, which could ruin a man’s reputation. As Pedro, a poor young man of 21 years, noted, being able to last long in bed was essential to being loved, ‘When you have sex, you cannot shoot [ejaculate/come] early. You have to show her that you are a potent guy. Women like guys like that. Sometimes she shoots before you, that is good. She is tired, and she says, ‘this uncle gave me a lot of work today’ (…) Then you are thrilled, you see her happiness and it feels like she only wants to be with you.’ In order to ensure potency and to be ‘long lasting’ the young men used different kinds of aphrodisiacs and food stuffs, which they believed would improve their sexual performance. Among the aphrodisiacs mentioned were traditional herbs, coffee beans, toxic drugs like cannabis as well as copies of potency enhancing pharmaceutics like Viagra. Herbs believed to strengthen erection were bought from curandeiros (local healers), while copy Viagra and cannabis were obtained among local drug dealers on the black market. Herbs and copy Viagra were used to boost the hardness of the erection, while cannabis was used in order to reduce sensitivity in the penis and thereby postpone ejaculation. While the young men were embarrassed when talking about their use of drugs and aphrodisiacs, they were very explicit about their use of food and drinks. As a poor male student of 19 years said, ‘I prepare a mixture of eggs and yogurt that gives me the strength to go on. Before I go out, I drink a few dark beers. That will keep me going if I get successful with a girl at the barraca [open roadside bars]. You must be well prepared. Being in good shape is also important. There are women who demand that you take a long time before you come, if you come quickly they will call you weak. You know, everybody wants a woman who says ‘u ni tsaksile’ [you satisfied me, you made me happy]. But when 187 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. you are done, you cannot just fall asleep. I always caress her for a while and hold her tight, whispering sweet words in her ears.’ When poor young men talked about the importance of being a good lover it was mostly related to the wish to live up to partners’ expectations, because, as they said, ‘sex is all about the woman’ or ‘her pleasure is my pleasure’. Furthermore, as the quote above illustrates, showing affection was often seen as essential to a good relationship. Thus, the young men expressed values and ideals that contradicted the image of young men as self centered and inattentive to women’s needs and well being in sexual affairs, conveyed by much literature on masculinities in Africa (e.g. Nyanzi et. al. 2009; Paulo 2009). The important moment when having sex was when the female partner showed signs that she had reached an orgasm. Informants explained, that when women say things like ‘I am flying’ (estou a voar) or ‘I am going crazy’ (estou a ficar maluco) it means that they are being satisfied. In Changana, among the majority of informants the maternal language besides Portuguese, the exclamation ni kunza (make me whole/fill my hole) was also regarded as an indication of pleasure. In their opinion, the most obvious way of measuring their ability to perform well sexually was to look out for signs of orgasm such as shivers, moans, blushing or ejaculation of fluids. Changing young masculinities in the face of neo-liberal reform Analyzing young men’s sexuality includes keeping an open eye on the minute ways in which masculinities are constructed and contested in the face of global political, cultural and socio-economic currents (Morrell and Ouzgane 2005; Aboim 2009). Trying to understand the local production of masculinities, I analyzed the impact of recent changes brought about by globalizing forces observed across the region. Due to pressure from The World Bank the Mozambican government has since 1987 carried out neo-liberal economic reforms including a liberalization of the market, cuts in public spending and privatization of national companies (Hanlon 1996). Together with an increase in labor migration to Maputo this has led to massive unemployment and deepening poverty on the outskirts of 188 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. the city (Pitcher 2000; Virtanen & Ehrenspreis 2007). At the same time, economic reforms have paved the way for a middle class of young men and older patrocinadores (literally donors/sponsors: also referred to as sugar-daddies) who embrace a consumer culture with big cars and conspicuous consumption at expensive restaurants and bars (Arndt et al. 2006). As I have attempted to show, these social changes have created a polarization between poor young men, who are increasingly marginalized, and men of higher status, who have the economic ability to sustain a number of girlfriends and lovers. The large majority of informants lived in impoverished neighborhoods, in worn down houses of reed or bricks, often with scarce access to clean water and electricity. Although they attended secondary school, they also tried to find work in the informal sectors in order to support themselves and their families. This is difficult to manage, and often students are absent from school because of a sudden opportunity for work. But not all were successful as street vendors in the informal economy, where incomes from selling fruit, toys, newspapers and cigarettes can be very low and unsteady. In this sense many of the young men are socially marginalized, and it is not only hard to generate an income for themselves and their families, it also becomes practically impossible to give money or gifts to their girlfriends. This situation is aggravated by the impossibility of obtaining popular brands that are a prerequisite for being seen as fish (cool) among peers. The young men in the study were constantly reminded of their economic inabilities when popular women in their neighborhoods were picked up by rich middle or upper class men in their big fancy cars. The pressure to become bom picos to a large degree derives from the feeling of economic subordination and inabilities to compete with middle class men in financial terms. Competing with patrocinadores and showoffistas: The development of sexual capital The above mentioned notions of masculinity were shared by poor young women in the study, who confirmed that men should be good lovers to become respected as boyfriends. There was an agreement among women, that at a time when many men cannot find work or assist the woman financially, a real 189 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. man (um homem de verdade) should at least be able to satisfy a woman sexually. Percina, 24 years old, said, ‘For me to like a man like Dercio [the boyfriend] and not to be discouraged, he has to know how to touch me. He should not be, like, in and out, and game over, right? If he doesn’t send me to the skies, it is unlikely that there will be a second time, especially when he is poor.’ The qualities that most young women emphasized as manly in relation to sex included being handsome and physically strong as a lover, but equally important was his knowledge about how to treat a woman with care and give her affection. The young men were very aware of the necessity of being um bom pico, not only in order to satisfy a girlfriend, but also in a broader perspective to make up for their lack of economic status vis-à-vis more affluent men. They frequently criticized their richer peers and patrocinadores for ‘stealing’ the girls in their neighborhood. They repeatedly referred to these men as showoffistas, a derogatory term for younger rich men, who ‘show off’ their high status in public by wearing fashionable clothing brands and driving expensive cars. Expressions like showoffistas, posseman (slang for a man with expensive goods), patrocinadores and ATMs (short for Automatic Teller Machines) were critical references to men who seduced women with expensive gifts and invitations to fancy restaurants. The young men also distinguished themselves as stronger, more physically active and youthful in contrast to showoffistas, who they described as lazy, weak and out of shape. This distinction resonates with Barker & Richardo’s (2005) observation that many low income young men across Africa are frustrated over the fact that young women are more attracted to older men with income and or control over land. From this follows an intergenerational tension, in which young men distance themselves from ‘sugar-daddies’ in terms of identity or values (Barker & Richardo 2005:171). Yet, a curious result of the growing cosmopolitan segment of older middle class women and female Western expatriates is, that poor young men sometimes have transactional sexual relationships with older women, also called sugar-mummies or quarentonas (‘forty year olds’). Compared to the 190 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. sugar-daddy or patrocinador phenomenon these relationships are not very common, but I observed how getting a sugar-mummy was a prevalent dream among poor young men, especially when they were frustrated that their female partners had a patrocinador. The bom pico notion contrasts with the hegemonic ideal expressed by the majority of secondary school students. In sexual terms, being a bom pico was high focalized on the pleasure of the woman rather than the man, which diverts radically from the norm in most of Southern Mozambique that men’s orgasm is the primary, and that a woman’s satisfaction is either irrelevant or secondary (Loforte 2005). If asked what characterizes ‘a real man’ in the household, most male and female informants mentioned that a man must work in order to support his wife and family and, if he is young, he should be able to support his girlfriend. In Mozambique and other parts of Africa the male breadwinner ideal has a long history which goes back to the establishment of wage labor systems during colonial times (Arnfred 2004, Aboim 2009, Silberschmidt 2005).31 A large number of men also described a real man as someone who is able to support a number of extra-marital lovers besides his wife. This ideal of having multiple partnerships is still widely appraised among Maputo’s urban poor, who see men’s ability to have many female lovers as a symbol of power, legitimized by reference to former ‘traditions’ of polygamy (Loforte 2005). By contrast to these hegemonic values, some of the poor young men who had received sex education associated sexual satisfaction with a monogamous relationship. The opposite value of being monogamous was most likely also conditioned by the practical obstacle that having casual partners require enough money to pay for gifts, dinners and other expenses (see also Hunter 2005). As noted by Hunter (2005), having fewer partners may also be resulting from a fear of contracting HIV/AIDS, the dangers of which young men witness when friends or family members die from the disease. Yet, the segment of poor young men striving to be um bom pico often did not speak openly about being monogamous, nor did the speak about the emotional significance of satisfying their partners sexually. I noticed a clear difference between what they said in focus group discussions (where 191 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. what was said, and not said, was highly dependent on public norms) and what they said in individual interviews, where the young men were much more open and honest due to a high degree of privacy and confidentiality. In focus group discussions most young men to some extent bragged about the number of sexual conquests they made and how good they were ‘in bed’. But under more private circumstances, informants confided to me that they had been lying because they did not want to lose face by appearing as ‘weak men’ in front of others. In fact, they did not subscribe to the ideal of having multiple girlfriends and did not want to have other girlfriends than their girlfriend. Quite often, even the young men who appeared as highly ‘macho’ in focus group discussions admitted in our informal talks that they were much ‘softer’ when they were with a female partner than when they were with peers, and that they were more concerned about being sexually weak or not living up to their girlfriends’ expectations than about what their male peers might think about them. This discrepancy between statements in focus group discussions and individual interviews indicates that hegemonic masculinities are still deciding sexual norm in public space, but that under private circumstances poor young men’s practices and values may be undergoing transformations in the intimate sphere. As argued, informants from poor backgrounds insisted that the best way to compete with rich men in the pursuit of women’s love and respect was by becoming good lovers. Poor young men often acknowledged that sexual performance carries a power that can make up for lack of employment and cash. I have termed this endeavor to improve sexual skills in order to achieve status vis-á-vis female partners ‘sexual capital’, because it contributes to building a status and an emotional attachment, enabling poor young men to hold on to a female partner in the absence of work, financial capital and material possessions. Martin & George (2006) explain how sexual capital can be understood through Bourdieu’s theory on forms of symbolic and cultural capital that are at once internalized and externalized. Seen through their theoretical lens, sexual capital becomes incorporated in the body as a habitus and praxis of knowledge while it simultaneously becomes objectified as a given in ‘the sexual field’, understood as the network of sexual relations to persons of the same or the other gender (Martin 192 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. & George 128-131). This interpretation opens up for a theory on sexual capital, in which we can follow the exchange between and substitution of one form of capital (sex, pleasure, affection) for another (money, status, power). Applying this perspective to my findings, what seems to be the case is that when economic capital is scarce among young men due to lack of access to work and education, the status that can be won through sexual performance in intimate relations to a female partner becomes the focus of attention. While being a breadwinner and/or having multiple sexual partners requires employment and economic power to support the various female partners, sexual capital can be obtained at little financial cost, for example by building one’s body to become more physically attractive to women or by developing one’s ability to give a woman orgasms or being ‘good at cuddling’. Thus, sexuality transforms from being merely an aspect of gender relations to becoming the single most important option left in young men’s competition for women’s appreciation. This is why the circulation of knowledge, exchange of ideas and interaction around peer sex education can attain such a central significance in young men’s lives. Sex education becomes a source of vital information to their very assertion of manhood vis-á-vis girlfriends. As Connell (1995) reminded us, we cannot understand masculinities without paying attention to how men relate to women and to women’s expectations from men. Hence, many female informants insisted that they were only interested in poor men if they could give them satisfaction, love, and ‘treat them like a woman in bed’. Some even insisted that the only good reason for being with a poor same age boyfriend is that poor youngsters often turn out to have better sexual skills than old patrocinadores do. A 24 year old woman compared the sexual skills of her poor young boyfriend with the skills of her patrocinador, ‘He [the boyfriend] just knows how to touch me, he has got the energy in his fingers. It is as if he knows my body better than I do, like when he licks my pussy so carefully. With Elanga I know I will be sent to heaven. But when I have sex with Mister Geraldo [the patrocinador] it is me who takes the lead, he is a 193 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. senior you know, so I have to give him care. But the sex is not good [laughs], oh no, it is not like with my young prince, Elanga.’ But there were also many female informants who uttered that they could not stand patrocinadores because they had many partners and bragged about their sexual relationships. The young women stated that they were ‘disgusted’ by all sorts of men who were unfaithful or who were violent or jealous. In this light, it is probably not coincidental that there were tendencies among poor young men to oppose other men’s abusive and rough behavior, as illustrated in discussions of the mulumuzana and other local notions of manhood. The meaning of mulumuzana: Being a restrained and considerate man As Barker & Richardo (2005) show, the process of becoming a young man often entails ‘moments out of control’, uncontrolled sexuality, drinking and fighting with peers. While I observed these tendencies among some young men, they conflicted significantly with alternative notions about becoming a man that I found among other groups of poor youngsters. Notably, some male informants saw the transformation from boy to man as a civilizing process, where the playful and wild child is mounded into a restrained, ‘educated’ man who is able to contain his ‘bad emotions’. Someone who displays an orderly behavior (um bom comportamento), who can control his temper and ‘who thinks before acting’. Mulumuzana was the category that young men mostly referred to when explaining appropriate behavior towards women. Generally speaking, the mulumuzana refers to a man who is respected, who respects others, and who treats his family well. Among young men this term was also associated with abilities to control anger and temperament, not the least in relation to women. A notion which is closely associated is the ndota, which means a man who is intelligent, who easily resolves conflicts and who gets things done without much ado. As Luiz, a poor student of 20 years, told me, 194 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘I prefer to be like the ndota. Such men are powerful, they don’t show what they think, but they get their way because they listen to the woman, and their women like them, because they treat people well, and know how to control themselves. It’s better to keep calm, even if women provoke.’ The ndota is contrasted to the hosi (powerful man, chief) who actively shows his power in front of women, either by force or just by showing off his wealth through status symbols like big cars, or by talking down to other men in the company of women or peers. Showing restraint was a significant aspect of the ndota and mulumuzana notions, for example if a girlfriend was unfaithful or when she was provocative: ‘You know, if my lover is flirting with someone or if she has been out all night without calling me, it is not good to get anxious or angry. That will ruin everything and show that you are a weak man. If you want to keep her and get respected, you just laugh at it. If it becomes too much, and she lacks respect, you can leave her, but you can’t hit her or be jealous, then you are just like a ntunga [a ruffian].’ These notions were often contrasted with the notions of being a ntunga or a moluwene, both of which categories were seen, in general, as types of men who have a violent and angry nature and who do not respect anyone, neither their family, nor their girlfriend. The moluwene category is also seen as opposed to the moral and educated man, because it refers to somebody who acts in an uncontrolled, wild and sometimes brutal or indecent manner towards women and other men (Groes-Green 2009a). Talking about the importance of being prudent and considerate towards women, young men also opposed themselves to ‘angry men’. For example, a young man once pointed to a drunk man on the street who shouted something derogatory to two women and said, ‘a nani tihanye’ (he has anger), while shaking his head in disapproval. In particular, anger and violence were seen as signs of being nervous (nervoso), a characteristic which most Mozambican men would agree is extremely unfortunate and unmanly. Being 195 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. nervous referred not only to insecurity or anxiety, but also to lacking control over emotions and temper. The poor young men frequently said that violent men are simply nervous people who cannot control their emotions. For example when I described a situation where a man had been jealous or shouted at his lover, one of the informants responded, ‘ai coitado, ele deve ser nervoso’ (oh, sorry for him, he must be nervous). But the mulumuzana was also distinguished from the wuswete, ‘a man who goes with many women’, and the mulheringo, in Mozambican Portuguese slang, a player, an unfaithful man. Hence, the examples of ‘philogynous masculinities’, that I point to here, are not characterized by multiple partnerships or uncontrolled sexuality, but are often in opposition to such features of manhood. Thus, the young men were also condemning the makundzana and fodeljão, which are both notions for men ‘who only think about sex’ and ‘who are sexually indiscriminate with women’, i.e. who are putos (slang for male whore). This does not mean that the poor young men believed that an ideal man was merely passive in a relationship or under a woman’s complete control. They also explained that even if affection and pleasure are essential to mutual respect, it is essential to not end up being a mudlawana. A mudlawana is depicted as a man who people feel sorry for because he has no self esteem or pride, and who is naive towards the world around him. The notions of ndota and mulumuzana contrast significantly with the findings of Wood et al.’s (2008) among impoverished young men in an urban township of South Africa’s Eastern Cape. The young men they describe tend to be violent towards their female partners, and often justify their anger by pointing to their partners as guilty of infidelity or indecent behavior, and explain that their beatings are signs of love and caring. The young men say that they drink alcohol to work up an ‘angry mood’ needed to ‘punish’ a girlfriend, and yet underline that they ought to stay in control and avoid beating women. Specifically, the men express a tension between maintaining control in order to discipline girlfriends and the lack of control due to alcohol and anger. Often they justify beatings by reference to isibindi (courage) or rights to defend their dignity, and yet, because violence in public is less approved 196 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. of, there is a tendency to save the beatings for private spaces (Wood et al. 2008:58). A similar observation is made by Barker & Richardo (2005) who refer to studies saying that when young men are groomed to react aggressively and violent through socialization, they have to respond aggressively to challenges from other men or women, or else they risk being seen as passive and un-masculine. Different scholars have pointed out how factors such as widespread unemployment and socio-economic hardship in various African settings lead to masculinities based on multiple partnerships, extra marital affairs and violent sexual practices (Silberschmidt 2005; Hunter 2005; Nyanzi et al 2009; Morrell and Ouzgane 2005, Barker & Ricardo 2005). Silberschmidt (2005; 2001) argues, that the consequences of unemployment and poverty in rural and urban East Africa often make men unable to live up to the provider ideal and their wives’ expectations. The absence of steady work creates a situation where sexual practice obtains a primary role in the reassertion of male self-esteem. The enactment of male identity through sexual practice, Silberschmidt asserts, does not imply an emergence of alternative or less oppressive masculinities. Quite the contrary, without the material base to support male authority men’s sexualities become a liability to marital relations when men engage in extra marital relationships or often resort to aggressive behavior (Silberschmidt 2005:196). Other scholars have pointed to the way men are socialized into having a dominant and controlling sexuality in relation to women, and that sometimes violating girls is seen as normal and as a way of getting respect (Morrell 1998; also Hunter 2006, Wood et al. 2008, Wood 2006, Wood et al. 2007; Walker 2005:213). These observations differ significantly from the way many poor young men and women in the suburbs of Maputo perceived of violence, respect, love and masculinity. The philogynously oriented male informants, that I discuss here, explained how it is shameful to hit a woman and that this is even more so in private where she has no chance of defending herself. Also, heavy drinking and violence is generally seen as less manly and regarded as childish behavior, although in practice even these men would get very drunk once in a while. At times these informants even claimed that manhood and maturity were the factors that prevented violence from occurring. Some even believed that uncontrolled 197 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. or aggressive behavior was something typical of women and not real men, or that in fact violence was an effeminate attribute. For example, a poor young man of 22 years said that he would always ‘count to ten’ before starting an argument with his girlfriend, due to shame of loosing temper or being exposed to his partner as weak and ‘nervous’. Discussion: From procreation to the power of pleasure As a range of scholars have emphasized, virility, fertility and fatherhood are central aspects of dominant masculinities in Africa (e.g. Hunter 2005; Nyanzi 2009). Having children has been seen as a symbol of male power and as a way of reproducing lineage in order to live up to ancestral obligations (Silberschmidt 2005). Similarly, female status in the household rested on ideals of maternity and fertility, and therefore sexuality was mostly regarded as a tool for procreation (Arnfred 2004:111). However, as Loforte (2000:210) has observed in her study of gender among the suburban poor in Maputo, with the advent of condoms and contraceptives and new gender ideologies there are signs that the sexuality of both women and men is dissociated from procreation in favor of individual pleasure and gratification (see also Paulo 2009). In various interviews both men and women stressed that the purpose of sex was to alleviate stress (aliviar estres), to ensure mental health, and to avoid emotional problems with the partner. Besides getting inspiration for their sex life from peers and peer educators, many young men in Maputo also get their knowledge from erotica and porn movies available on the urban market. After years of censorship by FRELIMO (the party in government since independence in 1974) the liberalization of the market has opened up for sexually explicit movies, TV and radio songs that are highly popular among young people. The growing presence of porn magazines and movies in shops, sexually explicit songs, and Brazilian TV series with sexy female protagonists are all part of a sexual liberalization of the public landscape in Mozambique, occurring side by side with more relaxed norms for erotic conduct and sexy dressing among youth (see Osório and Cruz e Silva 2008:254-259). 198 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Paradoxically maybe, the emphasis on speaking openly in secondary schools of Maputo about sexual issues in relation to safe sex has led to a situation where young men’s interest in creating pleasure and being a good lover makes them ambivalent towards the use of condom. While many of them used condoms consistently, there were also some who found it very challenging due to girlfriends’ sexual expectations and attempts to be um bom pico. Young men from schools in poorer suburban areas expressed a lesser tendency to use condoms consistently, than young men from better social backgrounds, but showed a greater concern with sexual performance. The reason for this may be the contradiction between practicing safe sex and being potent in order to yield pleasure. Hence, male informants’ hesitation to use condoms was due to fears that condoms will diminish pleasure, or worse yet, that they will lead to a loss of erection or even impotence. This tendency to prefer unsafe sex seemed to increase even further in relationships based on the values of love, trust and faithfulness (see also Manuel 2005, Tavory and Swidler 2009; Reddy and Dunne 2007). Male re-empowerment through a pleasure oriented sexuality Young men’s focus on potency and virility is a classic concern in various cultures in Africa where impotency is conflated with emasculation (Inhorn 2005; Connell 1996; Webb and Daniluk 1999). Yet, as Barker (2005) points out, young men do not enter sexual relationships solely to prove their masculinity and virility, often they also seek companionship, intimacy and pleasure. The notions of masculinity presented here are examples where men’s concern with potency is less a question of not living up to ideals of male fertility and fatherhood, and more a question of giving pleasure to the female partner. By applying the concept of ‘sexual capital’ I have illustrated that the purpose of this reempowerment is not to dominate a female partner, nor to control her sexuality, but to win her appreciation and ‘make her happy’ (by giving her pleasure), upon which a sense of manliness rests. Sexual capital, obtained through sexual knowledge, skills and intimacy with a partner, is the most immediate resource available in the competition with middle class peers and patrocinadores, who have 199 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. the economic upper hand when it comes to finding a female partner, whether as girlfriend or as casual lover. Young middle class men who tried to pick up girls from their big cars were portrayed as showoffistas – men who ensnared women with goods. Poor young men insisted that these ‘rich kids’ were only ‘showing off’ their wealth because they had ‘nothing to offer’ in the bedroom, indicating that bom picos are superior to more affluent men when it comes to being sexually affective and strong. Female power: young women changing young men? The thesis of the ‘universally subordinate woman’ represented by Ortner (1974) and Rosaldo & Lamphere (1974) has formed the theoretical basis for important scholarly work and feminist activism. As a theoretical framework it has informed approaches to the empowerment of women in oppressive patriarchal and gerontocratic social systems. However this model, which has also been highly influential in gender and development discourses, has often been transposed and applied to diverse situations in Africa without recognizing the cultural biases that inform this particular understanding of the nature of women’s subordinate social position (Arnfred 2006). The expression of young Mozambican women’s assertiveness in sexual relationships and their visible effect on young men can maybe be understood by turning the tables on theoretical assumptions that have been taken for given in gender studies. In other regions of the world scholars have shown how gender roles are being subverted (Allen 2003, Aggleton et al. 2006, Paiva 2007). Thus, another question raised by the bom pico notion is how to conceptualize the power relation between men and women in a situation where sexuality is seen as a central but ‘positive’ aspect of relationships. African feminist writings have over the last decades made clear that we cannot see women as mere victims and as universally subordinate, while analyzing men as always having the upper hand (Amadiume 1987; 1997; Oyewùmí 2006; Nnaemeka 1998; see also Arnfred 2007; 2006). .Indeed it is questionable if we can use the Western imported binary gender categories at all in contexts where seniority and status have more value (Oyewùmí 2002). The emergence of ‘women’ as an identifiable category defined by their anatomy and subordinated men in all situations, partly 200 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. resulted from the imposition of a patriarchal colonial state. Not unsurprising it was unthinkable for the colonial government to recognize female leaders among the people they colonized, such as the Yorùbá in Nigeria (Oyewùmi 1997:257-258). As Arnfred (2007) argues, sexuality has often been seen as the site for women’s subordination. But as she demonstrates with examples from studies among the Makhuwa in Northern Mozambique, women quite often are regarded as the better seducers while men are more often seen as progenitors who are under women’s control (Arnfred 2007:150). Such observations are echoed in Namibia, where for example Owambo women have ways of asserting erotic power and control in relation to men (Brown et al. 2005). These views clearly conflict with Connell’s (1995:79) classic argument that ‘all men share a patriarchal divided’, which despite social and cultural cleavages gives them the upper hand in gender relations, and Ortner’s (1974) arguments that women are universally subordinated men. If we address notions like um bom pico and mulumuzana as not only part of a competition between classes of men but also as a consequence of women’s explicit demands, this can inspire a rethinking of ways to entertain new initiatives in the promotion of gender equality, women’s empowerment, mutual respect and the well-being of both genders. The rise of philogynous masculinities By contrast to the many studies of men’s multiple sexual partnerships, their unfaithfulness and irresponsible sexual behavior, my data indicates that young men’s focus on women’s pleasure and wellbeing can perhaps be seen as expressing a masculinity that we may understand as ‘philogynous’. Some might argue that ‘philogynous masculinities’ sounds like a pleonasm, since it literally means womenloving, and in the end, are all heterosexual men not loving women in one sense or another? But beyond referring to men who court and adore women, the concept is used to carve out a theoretical space for notions of manhood that divert from those destructive heteronormative notions that we all know too well, and to illustrate the paradox that especially heterosexual masculinities in Africa are (and have for decades predominantly been) described in a specific way that tend to overemphasize dominant and 201 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. misogynous sides to male behavior vis-á-vis women. In this light, ‘philogynous’ refers both to the fact that some men are respectful of women and attentive to their emotional needs and sexual desires, and to forms of manhood that contest what Connell called rather hegemonic masculinities. But the young men also showed philogynous tendencies in another regard. They praised female partners who showed initiative in public life and who were not afraid to speak their mind and challenge them in discussions. They said, they preferred a partner who took decisions when, for example, they went shopping together and who overruled them about where to go out or what to do on a Saturday night. In fact, some said that they liked to play the role of the supportive boyfriend, who tried to inspire the woman to follow her dreams and to succeed in finding a job or get an education. Indeed, in one of the discussions a poor young man of 22 years told me that he was in favor of powerful women rather than, ‘those who are too passive and docile’. A powerful woman (uma mulher poderosa), he added, ‘… can sometimes be the stronger part in a relationship, and then I enjoy to stand in the background, watching her and being there for her when she needs my support. Trust me, I like to feel that she is in charge, it takes some of the responsibility off my shoulders when she takes hold of the situation.’ Much literature has in recent years argued for the necessity of capturing the multiplicity and mutability of masculinities in various cultural, political and socio-economic contexts (Connell & Messerschmidt 2005) including in Africa (Morrell & Ouzgane 2005, Uchendo 2008, Oxlund 2009). Some studies have undertaken the task of exploring what women empowering and women-friendly masculinities may look like in impoverished settings (Montgomery et al. 2006, Admed 2003, Pineda 2000), and from a cultural theoretical and literary perspective Dollimore (1991) sought to conceptualize how dissident writers such as Oscar Wilde and Michael Foucault constructed sexualities and manliness in ways which transgressed or actually challenged the gender order (see also Morrell 2001:9). Scholars writing about masculinities in Africa have pointed out that while patriarchal values still saturate social and cultural configurations 202 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. across the continent, this does not exclude the possibility for a variety of alternative masculinities to emerge and contest male dominance and hegemony (Morrell and Ouzgane 2005; Walker 2005; Lindsay and Miesher 2003). Yet, remarkably few studies on the continent have provided ethnographic details that indicate where changes in gender structures can come from, and which role men play towards contributing to that change. The fact then is, that African males are a very heterogeneous group and being a man or boy is quite often internally inconsistent. Accounting for the intersections and distinctions makes it possible to evade treating males as a homogeneous group and turning masculinity into a negative, unchanging set of traits (Ratele 2008). To be able to capture and conceptualize the myriad of non-dominant and alternative masculinities that may exist among young men in Africa, it is paramount to take as a part of departure their own experiences of the world and their own notions of manhood and social relatedness (Oxlund 2009). This, as Oxlund (2009:223) suggests, can be the first step towards avoiding possible pitfalls of taking for granted that all masculinities are hegemonic or, I would add, fixed in a hierarchical relation to women, by recognizing that emerging generations of young men are likely to construct their personalities in new and highly contradictory ways, in response to changing social, cultural and political landscapes. As I have tried to show, global discourses on gender equality and sexual rights, socioeconomic changes and policies of reform can nurture or invigorate various local formations of masculinity in diverse and unforeseeable ways. Drawing inspiration and knowledge from peer sex education, notwithstanding its original intentions, a group of poor young men somehow shaped their male identity around the bom pico notion. This entailed ensuring that their partner was satisfied with their sex life by always attempting to improve their own sexual abilities and sensibility to the partner’s needs. On a concluding note, I would say that these young men, by embracing women’s sexual rights to pleasure, also facilitated the production of knowledge, bodily practice and sensibilities necessary to build their own sexual capital and social status in relationships. The endeavor to build status and sexual capital, I demonstrated, involved a certain degree of ambivalence towards safe sex, not the least when it 203 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. was seen as an impediment for giving pleasure. The ambivalence, as shown, lies in the difficult dilemma between asserting manhood through the ndota and mulumuzana notions of ‘responsibility’ and ‘prudence’, which would imply that they insisted on condom use to express these virtues or asserting their manhood through the bom pico notion. The latter might easily imply not using a condom out of fear that it would cause impotence and thus make them unfit to perform satisfactory in the eyes of the female partner, or to avoid that the latex diminished her pleasure. Whichever of these notions will prevail, they are good examples that even among poor young men there are philogynous tendencies to focus on the sexual pleasure and well-being of women. 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Osório & Cruz e Silva (2008) Buscando sentidos: Género e sexualidade entre jovens estudantes do ensino secundário, Moçambique. Maputo: WLSA. Ortner, S. (1974) ‘Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?’, in Rosaldo, M.Z. & L. Lamphere (eds) Women, Culture and Society. Palo Alto: Standford University Press. Pp. 67-89. Oyewùmí, O. (2006) ‘Colonizing Bodies and Minds’, in B. Ashcroft, G. Griffiths & H. Tiffin (eds) The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. New York: Routledge. Oxlund, B. (2009) Love in Limpopo: Becoming a man in a South African university campus. PhD Thesis. Department of Anthropology. University of Copenhagen. Paiva, V. (2007) ‘Gendered Scripts and Sexual Scene: Promoting Sexual subjects among Brazilian teenagers’, in R. Parker & P. Aggleton (eds) Culture, Society and Sexuality. Pp. 427442. New York: Routledge. Paulo, M. (2009) Sexuality and HIV/AIDS maong young residents in Mafalala barrio, Maputo, Mozambique, in D. Mwiturubani, A. Gebre, M. Paulo, R. Mate & A. Socpa (eds) Youth, HIV and social transformation in Africa. Dakar: Codesria. Pp. 51-76. Peacock, D. & A. Levack (2004) The men as partners program in South Africa: researching men to end gender-based violence and promote sexual and reproductive health. International Journal of Men’s Health 3(3):173-188. Peacock, D., L. Stemple, S. Sawires, T. Coates (2009) Men, HIV/AIDS, and Human Rights. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 51:119-S125. Pineda, J. (2000) Partners in women-headed househols: Emerging masculinities. The European Journal of Development Research 12(2):72-92. 209 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Pitcher, M. A. (2002) Transforming Mozambique: The Politics of Privatization, 1975–2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ratele. K. (2008) Analysing males in Africa: Certain useful elements in considering masculinities. African and Asian Studies 7(4):515-536. Reddy, S. & M. Dunne (2007) ‘Risking it: Young heterosexual femininities in the South African context of HIV/AIDS’, Sexualities 10(2):159-172. Reid, G. & L. Walker (eds) (2005) Men behaving differently: South African men since 1994. Cape Town: Double Storey Books. Rosaldo, M.Z. & L. Lamphere (1974) ‘Introduction’ in Rosaldo, M.Z. & L. Lamphere (eds) Women, Culture and Society. Palo Alto, Cal: Standford University Press. Pp. 1-17. Silberschmidt, M. (2005) ‘Poverty, Male Disempowerment, and Male Sexuality: Rethinking Men and Masculinities in Rural and Urban East Africa’, in L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (eds.) African masculinities, pp. 189-203. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Silberschmidt, M. (2001) ‘Dispowerment of Men in Rural and Urban East Africa: Implications for male identity and sexual behaviour’, World Development 29 (2), 657671. Spronk, R. (2006) Ambiguous Pleasures: Sexuality and new self-definitions in Nairobi. Ph.D. Thesis. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam. Tamale, S. (2006) ‘Eroticism, sensuality and ‘women’s secrets’ among the Banganda’, IDS Bulletin 37(5):89-97. Tavory, I., & A. Swidler (2009) Condom Semiotics: Meaning and Condom Use in Rural Malawi. American Sociological Review 74(2):171-189. Tersbøl, B. (2006) At a Loss in the Land of the Brave: A Study of Sexual Relationships in the Context of HIV/AIDS and Poverty in Namibia. Ph.D. Thesis. Institute of Public 210 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Health, University of Copenhagen. Virtanen, P. & D. Ehrenpreis (2007) Growth, Poverty and Inequality in Mozambique. New York: UNDP/ International Poverty Centre. Visser, M.J. (2007) ‘HIV/AIDS Prevention through Peer Education and Support in Secondary Schools in South Africa’, Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance, 4(3):678-94. Walker, L. (2005) ‘Men Behaving Differently: South African Men since 1994’, Culture, Health and Sexuality 7(3):225-38. Webb, R.E. & J.C. 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CHAPTER 5: CONTESTED FEMININITIES AND SEXUALITIES Article 6. ‘The Bling scandal’: Sexual defacement and transforming young femininities in Mozambique INTRODUCTION In recent years African cities have seen a rise in young women publicly expressing themselves erotically in and through fashion, clothing, sexual activity, music, dancing and nightlife activities. According to scholars these phenomena, in some settings causing controversies, have been informed by a globalized popular culture as well as a changing socio-economic landscape on the continent (Hawkins et al., 2009; Spronk, 2006; Karlyn, 2005; Cole, 2004). The question is how recent social changes in Mozambican society affect formations of femininity, or rather femininities, when women’s bodies and sexualities become a major concern in public discourse. In the article I analyze the ways in which a highly erotic concert performance in Maputo in 2007 by the popular singer Dama Do Bling accentuated female ideals and subject positions among young women and made female sexuality a public priority in political and religious circles. During fieldwork among young women in the city from highly different social backgrounds I discovered how the event, as part of popular culture, yielded diverse responses and meaning according to social class, religion and ideological positioning in society. Not only did the event, later referred to as ’the Bling scandal’, reveal dissonances among young women, it also generated a ferocious debate among politicians, intellectuals, international aid organizations, the media and the 212 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Catholic Church. While these central voices in the city’s power matrices decried the destructive ramifications of the Bling show the event also served as a reference point for ongoing transformations of young women’s sexual subjectivities vis-à-vis other women and men. In order to explain the transformative potential of ‘the Bling scandal’ I shall draw on Taussigs (1999) concept of defacement. While the concept normally implies to ‘disfigure’ or ‘spoil’ an appearance, in Taussig’s work it refers to subversive events which reveal or makes explicit what has hitherto has become known as ‘a public secret’. By revealing public secrets, such events tend to destroy conventional ideological power, based on a tacit understanding that such knowledge or acts must stay clandestine in order to avoid moral uncertainty or ideological contradictions (Taussig 1999). Consequently, referring to classic and recent ethnographies I suggest that sexuality in Southern Africa is maybe less of a taboo than normally assumed. Rather than being subject to societal control and constraints in the realm of kin and peers, sex and erotic expressions have historically been confined to specific locales of intimacy while being banned from public places and institutions, such as the city centre, schools and the media. Rooted in colonial and post-colonial power structures, an ideological, moral and spatial differentiation between poor and marginal parts of the city and the modern part has taken place which has invariably defined the restrictions and opportunities for young women. The city of Maputo is under influence from global currents which usually emanate from the cultural and political epicentres of Brazil, the US, Europe and South Africa. These currents have placed gender equality and women’s rights on the public agenda through NGOs, the government and the UN (Aboim, 2009). At the same time pop music, American movies, Brazilian telenovelas and fashion increasingly celebrate young women’s eroticism and sensuality (Hawkins et al., 2009). This occurs amid neo-liberal policies and a privatization which has restructured the economy to an extent where unemployment is pervasive and formerly male or female occupations have become blurred sites for competition (Agadjanian, 2005). These global influences have had a significant impact on the social and sexual landscape of young people. When young women in Maputo enter the world of seduction and 213 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. night life they face the new possibilities that their sexual and reproductive powers give way to, especially in the absence of access to education, regular jobs and other means for social mobility (Hawkins et al., 2009). This transition from childhood to womanhood is a time of self definition and formation of a social habitus in relation to a sexual arena where choices are influenced not only by one’s own interests but also those of the surroundings. While there is a vast literature on male dominance and female subordination in Africa there is still a knowledge gap on femininities that challenge patriarchal structures and ideologies. Yet, in recent years there has been a rethinking of theories on femininity in African societies that has made us look at the multiplicity of ways to being feminine, including powerful and non-heterosexual femininities. Recognizing that not all women are necessarily subordinated to men some researchers have paid attention to developing notions of female agency and power in Africa, including notions of respectability and female independence (Haram, 2005; Spronk, 2006). It has been argued that constructions of male dominance in Africa are at least partly a consequence of the colonial encounter (Oyewùmí, 2006; Arnfred, 2006), and some scholars have demonstrated that female assertiveness, being a significant feature in many pre-colonial societies, is still manifest in areas like agriculture, cooking, spirituality, eroticism and same sex practices in present day Africa (Dankwa, 2009; Arnfred, 2007; Tamale, 2006; Amadiume, 1997; Amadiume, 1987). Spronk (2007) illustrates how young female professionals in Kenya look for pleasure and love rather than ’a good husband’ or ‘a provider’ and Tamale (2006) gives examples of young Ugandan women’s use of erotic practices in order to seduce and satisfy men whom they which to establish a relationship. In both Kenya and Uganda young women’s erotic assertiveness meet resistance from older generations that uphold an idea that such practices are derived from Western influences or that they are incompatible with the decency of African women. Similar conflicts are displayed in the study from Maputo, where especially parents express concern about explicit erotic manifestations in the way daughters dress, walk, speak or act in public, particularly in relation to young men. While parents are often very conscious about the way daughters 214 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ought to behave in a community saturated by moral standards of the church, young women are often more concerned with their ability to attract and build relationships with the opposite sex. After a short outline of the social setting and the methods used in the study I will show what happened at the Bling show and how the event caused havoc in the Mozambican public. Thereafter I shall discuss how erotic manifestations and sexuality are intrinsically tied to colonial and post-colonial ideologies and the separation of moral spheres. This leads to an analysis of the implications of transgressing the divide between sexual practice in private and public space for young women and society in general. Methods and the social setting The study was carried out in different social settings in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique which has a population of around one million inhabitants. The female participants in the study were between 16 and 23 years old and the majority of them attended secondary school. The data for this article are drawn from individual in-depth interviews with 12 female informants, 6 focus group discussions with 34 female participants as well as various informal talks with many other women during fieldwork that lasted from March 2007 to April 2008 and with a short follow up study in May and June 2010.32 A few months into the fieldwork I gradually began to do participant observation by following informants in their everyday life. Through the different stages of participant observation I established contact with three groups of informants consisting of 24 young women, who came from different social and cultural backgrounds. One of the groups consisted of seven young women living in middle class urban neighborhoods and attended secondary schools in the city centre. This group was studied by socializing with them in their homes or at public places like ice cream shops, private piscinas (swimming pools) and parks in the downtown area. Another group consisted of twelve young women living in and attending secondary schools in suburban and relatively poor suburbs. Socialization with this group, most of who no longer lived with their parents, took place at street corners in their neighbourhood, in their homes and on weekends I went with them to the barracas (open-air roadside bars) and to private parties, 215 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. the beach or discotheques. A third group consisted of 5 young women who had dropped out of secondary school and lived on the outskirts of the city in a semi rural area. Interaction with this group was shorter than with the two other groups but because I stayed in a house close to their neighborhood I had easy access to their social environment which enabled close interaction with them in their everyday life. Prolonged interaction with informants produced a climate of trust and confidentiality, which is a prerequisite for open dialogue about intimate issues (Groes-Green, 2009). Being a white man (and 33 years when initiating the study) influenced the fieldwork in significant ways due to difference of gender and race. On the one hand I was initially uncertain about the nature of the information I gathered from interviewees because of the risk that the women depicted an ideal version of themselves, in terms of morality and sexual behaviour. Yet, by participating in their daily lives for a long period and not being afraid to sometimes get drunk with them or disclose intimate information about myself I was able to create a climate of openness that allowed them to treat me more like an older brother (which they called me) than as a white foreign researcher. On the other hand, for ethical reasons I constantly tried to find a middle ground between avoiding emotional or sexual intimacy with them and at the same time indulging in the highly sexual culture of parties and dancing that gave me a rare insight into the contextual and shifting nature of erotic life and feminine practices. INSIDE THE EVENT: THE DAMA DO BLING SHOW As Ivanêa Mudanisse alias Dama Do Bling went on stage in Cine África concert hall in Maputo City, June 29 2007 the show received enormous public attention throughout Mozambique and was broadcasted on national radio and TV channels as well as on the internet. Everybody was expecting a blast from the rising star who was not only inventing a new style of music, a blend of hip hop, punk and traditional African rhythms, in the media she had also been presented as the first ‘intellectual performer’ among young talented musicians in the country. The award winning singer graduated from law school at Mozambique’s most prestigious university, from which she earns the title of doutora (doctor of science 216 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. or law), and she has therefore been seen as a role model for younger generations of Mozambicans. As she walked into the spotlight that night amid great applause she was only wearing her sunglasses, a pearl necklace and transparent lingerie that covered only the most intimate body parts. While her lack of clothing and her sexy performance was indeed provoking to many what shocked people most was the obvious fact that she was well into her pregnancy. Shortly after the band started playing the introductory tunes Dama do Bling began touching her breasts while stroking her voluminous stomach. After a few song performances she ended up placing one of her hands between the legs so as to simulate that she was masturbating. The show provoked very different reactions from the crowd. Most of the older and mature crowd eventually walked out of the concert hall as Dama Do Bling became gradually more daring in her performance. Others expressed their anger or unease about the show by shouting and demanding that the singer should ‘be decent’ or ‘stop it’. During the show I was standing at the back wall of the hall from where I observed middle aged couples shaking their heads as they hurried towards the exit doors, some of them dragging their teenage daughters with them by the hand. Most of the younger audience seemed excited about the show. Some were dancing around in circles making wild gestures, others made V signs with their arms and fingers, signalling approval of and solidarity with the performer. Some female informants whom I accompanied to the concert, later said that the show was the greatest experience in their lives and that the daring atmosphere felt liberating and inspiring. As the 18 years old women Maria33 from the poor suburbs said, ‘Everybody was paralyzed when they saw her, pregnant and naked and all that, but most of us loved her courage and pride, and she is someone everybody would like to be, cause she doesn’t care what the fine people think or how society judges her.’ 217 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Although the majority of young women in the crowd were delighted with the performance I later realized that some of the young women had been disappointed with the singer’s behavior. Some weeks later another informant, Alissa, 19 years old, told me that her disappointment was due to Dama Do Bling acting disrespectfully towards her unborn child. According to Mozambican traditions, she told me, children are a holy gift from God and ancestral spirits, but sexual behavior may cause danger to an unborn baby. In Alissa’s opinion Dama do Bling had denigrated not only herself but ‘all respectable Mozambican women’. This reaction clearly shows the paradox of the female body at it is perceived in Mozambican society. The naked female body is conventionally seen as a highly erotic object and a beautiful symbol of fertility and yet the physical fact of pregnancy somehow desexualizes the body, and makes it the anti-thesis of eroticism. For example, there are still strict customary rules in Maputo, prohibiting persons who have recently had sex from being close to or touching a pregnant woman if there are of the same family or kin group. ‘The massacre on women’: Public outcry and ideological contestations The Bling show triggered a fierce public debate on sexuality, pregnancy and women’s behavior that revealed new dissonances as well as underlined recurring ideological cleavages in Mozambican society. Through major news papers public opinion put pressure on Mozambican Women’s Organization (OMM) to intervene against the ‘immorality of Dama Do Bling’ whose show was labeled by a newspaper editor as ‘a massacre on women’ (Savana, 23 June 2007:9). Conservative papers depicted Dama Do Bling as ‘a threat to Mozambique’s proud family traditions’ and further described her show as an insult to the founding fathers of FRELIMO, the country’s ruling party since independence in 1975. In an article where a popular magazine compared Dama Do Bling’s performance to prostitution the party’s political icon, former president Samora Machel was cited as saying that women should not use their bodies to making indecent gestures (TVCABO, 2 July 2007:3). In an interview on a popular radio program a member of parliament pointed to the failure of ‘some celebrities’ to live up to their 218 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. responsibilities as family role models by ‘taking Mozambique in the wrong direction’ (Radio Moçambique, 4 July 2007). In the same program the archbishop of the Catholic Church remarked that Dama Do Bling reduced ‘the sacred time of pregnancy’ to ‘a public striptease’. Defending Dama Do Bling, academics from Universidade de Eduardo Mondlane argued that it was hypocritical to ostracize the singer for an expression of nudity which traditional Mozambican communities have condoned for centuries and which Portuguese colonialists and later post-colonial society banned for ‘andro-centric reasons’ (Serra, 2007). Despite the public outcry Dama Do Bling kept defending her style and opinions. The fact that she had an abortion only a few weeks after her show, she commented, only intensified her dedication to the struggle against ‘antiquated values of old men’. She made the case that her abortion had been a result of stress and public critique and then underscored that pressure or threats would not keep her from being a women’s liberator in the world of an old conservative generation (TVM, 11 October 2007). In her public appearances at TV or album releases she showed her disregard for female norms by wearing highly erotic clothing or by occasionally showing up in a fireman’s uniform. In her song lyrics Dama Do Bling openly criticize sexually restrictive norms and the idea that women are responsible for taking care of the home and children. In the song ‘Calls for Bling’ from her 2007 album she mocked the way her family tried to influence how she dressed, ’Messages, messages, calls, calls Even aunt Raquel called me all the way from Chimoio Since she discovered Onecell Grandad Samuel also wanted to contribute He send a tailor to dress me up ’You have to dress up or at least cover your legs Cover everything from the legs to the ears’ 34 219 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. The strongest backfire from Dama Do Bling came when a reporter asked why her reaction to the critics had been so unbridled. In her response she quoted another song where she questioned the legality of the political elite and their right to decide over women’s behaviour, ‘So a young woman with a diploma is not allowed to sing, while a minister with sixth grade is allowed to legislate?’ (Macua blogs 2007) Using anti-elite rhetoric against her critics she fed into a widespread but normally silenced impatience with politicians seen as corrupt and detached from the world around them. In the following weeks Dama Do Bling gained massive popularity among some of the young women in the study, who generally had little sympathy towards politicians and journalists. When I talked to them about women’s ideals and roles in society they often referred to Dama do Bling songs that encourage girls to ‘advance’, ‘to show it all’, and ‘to take of their clothes’ and ‘be crazy’. As fans they practiced certain rituals before concerts. Dama do Bling’s most famous music videos were played on the computer and her movements, gestures and lyrics were imitated. Songs by other female idols like the American singers Rihanna and Beyoncé were also played and compared with the Mozambican singer. There was also an exchange of opinions about her looks, clothing, hair and jewellery in music videos and a discussion about what to wear in order to show allegiance. FEMALE SEXUALITIES AND SUBJECT POSITIONS In the following I present the social and cultural background of three informants and portray different subject positions of young women in the study through their experiences of and opinions about the Bling show. The cases serve to elucidate contrasting tendencies encountered among the young women in the study by highlighting the thrust of class, morality and kin relations towards shaping their sexual 220 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. lives and erotic behavior. Although they represent disparate reactions to and personal choices under particular ideological and social circumstances they also show a common search for a femininity which bridges the dilemmas of pursuing dreams of independence and freedom while ensuring some kind of social respect and recognition from kin and broader society. Sylvia: Private eroticism amid kin based restrictions on sexuality Sylvia was 17 years old and lived in a semi rural area on the outskirts of Maputo with her mother and stepfather and two older sisters. She had dropped out of secondary school when she became pregnant and was now working with her mother on the machamba (small plot of land) while trying to get a job as a housemaid. Her stepfather was unemployed and the household income was based on crops from the machamba which the sisters tried to sell on the local market place. Sylvia had little contact with peers from school and mostly socialized with her sisters and other girls in the neighbourhood while taking care of her son. She maintained a sexual relationship with her ex-boyfriend who was the father of her son, but he declined to take responsibility and did not want to make any commitments although he sometimes supported Sylvia with money and gifts. Sylvia did not go to the Dama Do Bling concert but saw the show on television at her neighbour’s house. She believed Dama Do Bling was a strange person, and said that she would never behave like her, in the sense of showing her body and masturbating in public. But at the same time she added that she was sometimes envious of women, who dared being so openly sensual and erotic. As she said, she loved to be ‘dirty’ (safado) when she was with her son’s father and that she knew nothing better than to make a striptease for him or asking him to ‘do naughty things’ with her. Sex was not treated as a taboo ridden issue in her family or among her friends. Although she never spoke about it with her stepfather she frequently discussed intimate matters with her aunts and her sisters, who, she recalled, had given her advice on men and sex since she had her first menstruation. In Sylvia’s opinion sexual pleasure and mutual satisfaction was essential to a well working relationship. So even though the financial help she received from her son’s father was one 221 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. motivating factor for meeting to have sex she stressed that their good knowledge about each other’s needs and fantasies was equally significant for her desire to stay with him. But her family who were regular churchgoers insisted on a set of rules as to how their daughters should behave and dress in public. Her mother reminded her to dress as ‘a real women’, indicating that she should wear a capulana (the ‘traditional’ dress in Mozambique) and on Sundays when going to church she was asked to wear a white dress covering her arms and legs. Sylvia accepted her mother’s instruction, but said that she got annoyed when she was going to a birthday party and the mother asked her not to wear short skirts and bikinis which she warned was used only by ‘cheap girls’. Although she agreed that the pop star acted insensitively towards the audience she deemed the debate about Dama do Bling’s behaviour misplaced because, as she mentioned, the singer had merely behaved like many young women do every weekend at parties or nightclubs. As she said, every Mozambican woman, ‘like to move the body in flirtatious ways and dance around with little clothes on. It is a competition about who is most womanly and who has the power to get the best men’. Since Sylvia rarely had money to ‘go out’ at bars and discos she instead liked to dance and ‘play little games’ with her female friends at home. When the parents were out they held small parties where they took off their clothes, made strip and dancing shows and lay on the bed cuddling each other. Cheerfully Sylvia also admitted that they sometimes watched porn movies and had fun imitating the female actor’s movements, expressions and moaning. In fact, most female informants in the study revealed that they watched porn movies regularly and almost always in the company of friends rather than individually. Maria: In search of freedom and erotic power at the expense of kin support Maria, 18 years, lived on the outskirts of the city in a small apartment which she sometimes shared with girlfriends. Her parents had both died when she was a child and she had grown up with her grandparents 222 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. in a small rural town on the coast. At the age of 15 she had travelled to the big city against the will of the grandparents in order to as she said, ‘try her luck, and escape poverty’. At first she had lived with a cousin who took care of her while she attended secondary school. But her situation changed when she met an older Dutch man in a nightclub who soon became her lover. He decided to give her a monthly contribution so she could rent an apartment where they would be able to meet in privacy when he was in the country to do business. After a while he convinced her to drop out of school since, as he had said, she no longer needed an education or a job when he was paying for everything she needed. Her circle of friends were young women her own age or older with whom she went to discos and the beach to ‘have fun and look at men’. Many of her girlfriends had left their home and lived together in warn down apartments in the city’s less fashionable parts. Besides her lover she also had casual sexual relations with other men she met in the city’s nightlife, mostly older men who catered for her and bought her gifts. The reason was her desire to remain relatively independent on the Dutch lover, since in her mind, too much attachment could limit her opportunities if one day he turned abusive or if he suddenly decided no longer to support her. Maria disregarded her grandparent’s advice not to engage with patrocinadores (literally: sponsors) who support women financially in exchange for sex. Yet, at the same time some family members, such as her cousin in the city, tacitly accepted her sexual relationships because of the economic benefit of no longer having to support and take care of her. Whenever they went out to bars in the city centre Maria and her girlfriends dressed up in sexy outfits and prepared fancy hairdos. Most of them identified as curtidoras (literally: women who enjoy life) who are commonly defined as young women having sexual relationships with patrocinadores. In Mozambican youth slang and among curtidoras themselves the word refers to women who enjoy life and to have fun and implies engagement with patrocinadores in public places such as restaurants, bars, parks and beaches. Curtidoras often identify with trends and youth cultures in the US, South Africa and Brazil and do their most to keep up with fashion currents. Many curtidoras survive, pay their studies and occasionally support their families 223 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. by means of gifts and money from boyfriends or patrocinadores. Patrocinadores are usually much older and have a wife and children so curtidoras rarely dream of marrying them. Maria and most of her friends were big fans of Dama Do Bling and went to all of her concerts. In fact the large majority of fans were young women who lived in the city, and although they came from different social backgrounds, there was an overweight of young women who opted for ‘a patrocinador solution’ to their problems of being poor or having abusive men or families. Maria saw Dama do Bling as a woman who did not accept to become dependent on one man, but wished to remain free to choose as many men as she liked without being controlled or punished, ‘We all would like to be independent like Dama do Bling, in the sense of having our own car, house, work and money to sustain our whims. When we get older we can find out if we are going to get married or not. Because when we are already settled in a man’s house and don’t have work, he always tells you that, ‘it is me who sustains you’, ‘you are not going out, stay here’. There is a lot of quarrelling because you were with somebody outside. But when we are together and there is a woman passing by, he appreciates her shamelessly and you are not allowed to question him. They want us to keep quiet and stop dressing up sexy, but we will not be like silent dolls’. Maria’s notion about ‘freedom’ (liberdade) was that she could choose from different men, ideally by changing partner if somebody became too demanding or turned violent. At the same time she was aware of the necessity of saving up the money she received from her patrocinador to invest in property and in order to support her kin financially. She explained how she sensed a change among her peers when it comes to equality of men and women in terms of behavior and power, ‘Yes, there is freedom and more power to the women. In past times, a woman wouldn’t go alone for a soda or a beer at the barracas. There were places where the woman had to be accompanied, not 224 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. anymore. Now we can even make a man support us, and ask him for money. Women are studying, there is development. But the best part is that we can behave just like men, go out and go crazy’. I repeatedly heard curtidoras saying that they did not mind what people thought about them when expressing erotic intent towards men in public, even if they knew that ‘fine women’ scorned them. Maria and her peers rarely went to church although many saw themselves as religious. Whether their families were Christian or Muslim they felt that they were not welcome in the Church or the Mosque because of their ‘way of living’ which the rest of their families could not accept, at least publicly. However, many curtidoras like Maria were accepted by the curandeiros (local healers/witchdoctors) who gave them all kinds of advice ranging from tackling spiritual problems to seducing a man and ensuring that he stayed faithful and supported her with money. For example, an erotic trick known as ‘putting a man in a bottle’ entailed using love potions such as drinks made of herbs or special body creams thought to create an erotic and emotional tie with the lover. Experiences with erotic and spiritual tricks circulated between curtidoras, but were vigorously kept a secret from boyfriends, lovers and families, since such practices are considered malevolent witchcraft (feitiço) in contrast to more acceptable practices of benevolent healing (curandeirismo). The case of Alissa: Choosing moral safety and a femininity of public decency Alissa, 19 years old, lived with her parents and brothers in an affluent part of the city centre. She had just finished secondary school and was going to enter law school. Her father was a pilot and her mother worked as a secretary in the Ministry of Education. Her family was frequent churchgoers and her mother had a high position in the church community. Both of her parents and her brother were members of FRELIMO, the ruling party in government since independence in 1975. Alissa was engaged to her boyfriend who was 24 years old and came from a family of Portuguese decent who owned a large 225 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. transport company. Referring to the Dama do Bling concert she underlined the importance of behaving correctly in public, ‘Bling seems to forget this, that women should be responsible for the household and the children, not going around sharing their bodies with everyone and forgetting where they come from’ Alissa believed that it was her responsibility to behave in a way that her family would approve. When she rarely went out to bars with her friends usually one of her brother was there to look after her and protect her. On several occasions, when going out to restaurants, bars or discos I observed how family members of middle class young women, tried to prevent their sisters or daughters from talking to or approaching men. I found that the family members’ fencing off strategy towards men was less an attempt to avoid any contact with a man than about allowing the right one to talk to her. For example, men with cheap clothes or ‘bad manners’ would be pushed away, while an educated and well dressed man would be allowed to dance with her. However, neither the young women nor their families allowed any intimacy or explicit sexual interaction to take place in public space. Among middle class families like Alissa’s the establishment of a sexual or amorous relationship must pass through the stage of introduction to the family followed by a ritual presentation of the couple to the extended kin group at a special ceremony. After a period of twelve months Alissa’s fiancée is expected to marry her in the Christian tradition as well as pay the bride price (lobolo) according to ‘tradition’. Most ethnic groups in Maputo perform the lobolo ceremony, but socioeconomic hardship has made it increasingly difficult for many groups of poor men to pay the bride price (Granjo, 2005). After the lobolo ceremony the young woman is formally becoming a member of the man’s kin group and from then on is seen as belonging to her husband (Da Costa, 2005). Alissa believed that the traditional ideal of a Mozambican woman is one who takes responsibility for raising the children, who takes care of the house work and does the cleaning, washing and cooking. When asked 226 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. who does not live up to this ideal, Alissa mentioned women who go dancing at the discotheques every weekend, who sleep with foreign men or who live alone without a family or husband. During informal conversations Alissa told me that she agreed with local priests who stress that women are better off staying at home and taking care of their children rather than strolling around the city ‘half naked like a prostitute’. SELF DEFINITION, LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES AND TRANSACTIONAL SEX As the three cases show, sexuality is a core theme in the construction of young femininities in Maputo. In the years of 2007 and 2008 the Bling scandal became a reference point for further definition and display of one’s sexual subjectivity by embracing or repelling her controversial behaviour. But during a short stay in Maputo in 2010 I found that the event still served as a significant identity marker among the three women. By now Sylvia was not only dating her ex-boyfriend but also had an affair with a man ‘from the city’ who had slightly more money. She was afraid what her son’s father would do if he found out, and I gathered that she feared he would use violence against her. In order to know whether she welcomed recent developments in the government’s gender policy I asked Sylvia what she thought about a new law against domestic violence passed in 2009. She told me that this law was probably necessary because young women are becoming ‘so unruly that men can no longer control their girlfriends and wives’. When I asked what she meant, she spoke as if she was becoming one of Dama do Bling’s followers, ‘We all think that we are kind of women of Bling [mulheres do Bling], and if parents cannot help us get a better life, maybe we can get the money we need by finding a rich man. But when we do that the other men get angry because they do not like to share a woman. Then they beat up the women, calling them whores [putas].’ 227 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. The Bling scandal seemed to favour a polarization of types of women and behaviour according to the ideological distinction between femininities, inherited from colonial and post-colonial discourses. Although from different vantage points these discourses juxtapose the moral, decent and educated women to the immoral, dirty, erotically savage, and uncontrollable women of lower social status. The polarization of femininities and the financial aspect of relationships can be illustrated by looking at the way categories like boyfriends and lovers are increasingly replaced by terms such as patrocinador, HR (short for homem rico, a rich man), cote (old lover, literally meaning fee) or even an ATM. Concurrently, young women like Maria who identify as curtidoras or as girlfriends are now from many sides including the Catholic Church labelled as prostitutes, whores or ‘fallen women’ in need of help. In addition, segments of particularly middle class youth tend to describe curtidoras with derogatory expressions like interesseira (women only interested in the money), sanguessuga (leech) and golpista (women who rob men of their property). At the same time women of higher social status, such as Alissa, seem to be preoccupied with showing themselves as decent and respectable women in contrast to ‘scandalous women’ such as Dama do Bling and women who seek casual sexual liaisons with men. A similar trend has been observed by Spronk (2006) in her study of young women’s self definitions in Nairobi. She notes that the moralizing responses to Kenyan women’s engagement in casual and commercial sexual relationships tend to arise in periods of social change where conventional gender roles of patriarchal society are challenged (Spronk, 2006:126). Yet, the ideological polarity which she describes between ‘respectable’ traditional African values and ‘western’ corrupted values in Kenyan postcolonial discourse differs in significant ways from the ideological contradictions observed in Mozambique. While there are similar beliefs that the ‘sexualisation of women’ emanates from American or Western popular culture, the opposition to female erotic expressions and transactional sex draws heavily on the aforementioned colonial and post-colonial polarization of the traditional and uneducated women versus the civilized and well mannered woman. As Arnfred (2004:114) writes, FRELIMO ideology cast women as oppressed not just by colonialism, but also by ‘traditional society’, which 228 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. through initiation rituals and the lobolo reduce women to sexual objects rather than liberated compatriots. Researchers have observed how women are subject to men’s widespread powers in the patrilineal kinship systems of Southern Mozambique, not least in the realm of sexuality and reproduction (Da Costa, 2004). Among many ethnic groups, including the Manchangana and Ronga (also called Tsonga) who constitute the majority in Maputo, the man is often depicted as the one who takes the initiative in sexual matters, inviting a woman to have sex or to be his partner (Loforte, 2000). Yet, the notion that it is inappropriate for a Machangana woman to show sexual desire, to seduce a man or to be active in the sexual act has been modified by scholars suggesting that women in fact are highly active in the sexual act and do regard their own pleasure as a priority (Loforte, 2000). Also the ideal of the responsible ‘housewife’ with good manners cannot merely be ascribed to traditional African traditions but is also rooted in colonial times and reproduced in post-colonial discourses. As Arnfred (2004) argues, the Christian ideal which was prevalent during Portuguese colonial rule stressed that the woman was to be ‘queen of the home’ (rainha do lar), an ideal which did not fundamentally change when FRELIMO introduced the notion of the female ‘companion’ (companheiha) in the postindependence period (Arnfred, 2004:111-117). The double standard of FRELIMO’s tenets consisted in the idea that although a woman was her man’s equal companion she was de facto assumed to take responsibility in the household. Moreover, sexual or erotic expressions were seen as examples of prostitutions or as vile obscenities that should become extinct (ibid.). It can be argued that the Catholic Church and FRELIMO in different ways contributed to the binary model of femininity in which women who engage in sexual affairs for money or who have children with different men are condemned while the responsible housewife is posed as the female ideal. As Arnfred comments, FRELIMO’s icon, former president Samara Machel, was highly supportive of this view, 229 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘Even worse than ‘children of the bush’ were prostitutes, ‘women who transform their bodies into shops. (…) A prostitute is a rotten person with a foul stench’ (Machel 1982:33) A particular kind of prostitute, according to Machel, consisted of ‘girls of twelve to sixteen years who hunted down adult men in political power. Interesting, the President’s blame was laid exclusively on the girls, and not on his fellow Party members.’ (Machel in Arnfred 2004:117, reference in original) In such statements, expressing some similarity with debates around the Bling scandal, women who engage in relationships with patrocinadores are not only condemned for their immorality, they are also portrayed as dangerous predators who corrupt men in power. Against this background it is not difficult to understand why a woman like Alissa needed to distance herself from female representatives of sexual assertiveness in order to appear more decent and sexually pure. Also, coming from an educated middle class family it is quite common to sympathize with the views of both the Catholic Church and the ruling party. To Maria however, such prevalent views tainted the relationship to her family and kin who were closely tied to the church and deeply influenced by its teachings. Although the sharpened discourse tend to put curtidoras in a bad light they also drew on the conceptions of them as erotically ‘dangerous’ and ‘powerful’ in order to justify choices of female independence and fun seeking behavior through flexible sexual relationships. As shown in other studies in Mozambique young women get involved in an urban consumer culture where they encounter the possibilities of being part of a lifestyle that they see as an alternative to the female housewife ideal they have been taught at home (e.g. Hawkins et al., 2009). The emergence of Maputo’s urban consumer culture is a consequence of neo-liberal policies adopted by FRELIMO since the end of the 1980s and which today has paved the way for a growing middle class as well as deepening inequality and massive unemployment. So while female idols such as Dama Do Bling represent a celebration of the new world of consumer goods and luxuries they at the same time inspire the poorer segments of society and women like Sylvia and Maria to look for social mobility through a 230 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. manipulation of erotic powers vis-à-vis middle class men. Casual sexual engagements with men in exchange for goods, money and luxury has been studied in different parts of Africa under the concept of ‘sugar-daddy relationships’ (Silberschmidt and Rasch, 2001) or ‘transactional sex’ (Hawkins et al., 2009; Luke and Kurz, 2002; Cole 2004). Transactional sex is probably not a recent phenomenon in Africa but it seems to be growing in modern times with an increasing commercialization of sexuality, deepening inequalities and a change in values and family structures in urban centres (Hunter, 2007; Luke and Kurz, 2002; Cornwall, 2003; Cole, 2004). It is certainly not without risk that young women in Maputo engage in transactional sex. Patrocinadores are often reluctant to use condoms and due to the inequality of the relationship most young women find it hard to insist (also see Hawkins et al., 2009) although scholars have observed subcultures of youth with more negotiating power (Karlyn, 2006). The risks involved are underlined by the high number of young women infected with HIV/AIDS. In Mozambique youth (age 15-24) account for 60% of new HIV infections (UNAIDS, 2009), with young females being most vulnerable with an HIV prevalence rate of 23% in Maputo (MISAU, 2010). However, to many young women in poverty ridden contexts the short term economic benefits of having unsafe sex by far outweighs the long term risk of being infected with HIV (Reddy and Dunne, 2007). And, as observed in previous studies women in Maputo who engage in these relationships see themselves as strong social agents, who have the upper hand vis-à-vis patrocinadores and boyfriends, especially because of a feeling of controlling the man through sexual powers (see also Hawkins et al., 2009). Expressions like ‘milking’, ‘sucking’ or ‘putting men in the bottle’, point to this sense of being powerful agents who extract value and money from men seen as at once easily manipulated and persons who need to be taken care of. Some young women confirmed that the ambiguous role of ‘caretaker’ and ‘manipulator’ of men can at times convey a sense of pleasure in the sexual act and hence, be seen as constitutive of a particular female identity. As Gregg (2003) notes in her analysis of female agency and cervical cancer in a poor suburban settlement in Brazil, young women in thoroughly patriarchal societies sometimes feel they have to choose between the security of family life and marital stability and the 231 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. relative independence that characterizes casual and fluid sexual relationships. Relative independence is guaranteed by ensuring that the material benefit of sexual engagements comes not from a single man who wants control over a woman but from a changing and flexible network of men none of whom are allowed to have the final say (Gregg, 2003). ‘PUBLIC MORALITY, PRIVATE EROTICISM’: TRANSGRESSING BOUNDARIES The widespread notion that sex is a taboo issue in Southern Africa has been questioned by scholars with reference to historical and ethnographic sources. Delius and Glaser (2002) argue that erotic play and sexual experimentation were in fact actively encouraged in certain rituals and practices throughout the region. But, these practices did not imply a culture of permissiveness. In fact they were consistently separated from village life and confined to specific times and places. And there were severe sanctions against transgressions of existing taboos, such as penetrative sex which involved the risk of pregnancy. Impregnation not only put shame on an unmarried girl but more importantly her loss of virginity devalued her as woman and made it practically impossible to demand lobola (bridewealth) from the family of her future husband. To avoid impregnation of potential wives adolescents received guidance from family and kin, while older girls known as amaqhikaza were monitoring the practice of hlobonga, also known as thigh sex. In hlobonga practices the boy was allowed to rub his penis against the outer parts of the girl’s vagina, but was instructed to come only on her thighs. Sexual socialization as based on peer instruction and advice from the elders was transformed in many parts of South Africa under the impact of Christianity, migrant labor and urbanization. As Christian morality was imposed by colonizers debates about sexual behavior began to flourish between generations and new forms of colonial and male power eroded chiefly and customary rule in some places. Under expanding Christian influence, communities were unable to keep control, and shame and secrecy was gradually installed. While sex was rarely spoken about at home and improper erotic behavior banned from communities, curiosity was 232 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. aroused and sexual practices became uncontrollable outside the safe environments (Delius and Glaser, 2002:34-43). Among female informants from semi urban and rural areas, such as Sylvia and Maria, there were plenty of stories about families deploying rules for their daughter’s behavior similar to those described above, where elders and peers monitor their sexual practice. The young women explained that at the time of their first menstruation their sisters or aunts would take them aside and teach them about pleasures and pains of love and sex, telling stories about erotic tricks and ways to seduce a man through sexual activity or control him with spiritual or erotic powers. Many female informants recounted how they, during wedding feasts, birthday parties and other social activities involving drinking and dancing, were allowed to dance and flirt intimately with men, but had to keep out of sight if they wished to be more intimate. Examples were given about festivities where they had been kissing their cousin in the backyard or given the boy next door a broche (blowjob, oral sex) in the woods. These illicit erotic practices, they said, were tacitly accepted and considered normal for young people, as long as they were well hidden so that nobody could witness it and gossip about it publicly to other family members and neighbors. To understand how different moral stances apply to private and public behavior and the various versions of femininity among young women we must pay attention to the historical separation of ideological, social and physical spaces for female sexual expression in Maputo. During Portuguese colonization an ideological system of binary classifications was formed in which moral behavior, and especially female behavior was a central aspect. Colonial subjects were divided into the superstitious, uncontrollable, savage and rural versus the assimilated, Christian, educated, civilized and urban. In this system erotic practices and female initiation rites were aligned with superstition and savagery and attempts were made to ban all that was deemed un-Christian (Arnfred, 2004). In this colonizing process Mozambican women, who were formerly active in agricultural work, were now taught the skills needed to become ‘queens of home’ (rainhas do lar) and men were expected to become providers for the 233 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. household by working in the fields (Arnfred, 2004). As the Comaroffs (1992) have shown, colonial subjects of Southern Africa were transformed by means of a certain ‘esprit de corps’, involving reversing prior rules for men and women’s proper bodily behaviors and appearances. The Comaroffs (1992:216) argue that the project of nineteenth-century British colonialism was linked to the rise of a biomedical science that attempted to draw clear distinctions between what was perceived by the colonists to be a potentially contagious African body and the white, sanitized European body, which was then exposed to such sources of danger and disorder (Comaroff & Comaroff, 1992:224). In Mozambique a similar project was implemented by the Portuguese, distinguishing between assimilated women who embodied the housewife ideal and women who were seen as savage or ‘filthy prostitutes’ (Arnfred, 2004). During colonial times there was a spatial aspect to the ideological division between public and private which has continued until today. Specific places are associated with specific meanings, languages and behaviors that are historical products of political and ideological struggles. In territorial terms, the periphery of the city or what today is termed Maputo caniço (reed Maputo) where houses are made of reed and other elementary construction materials, is in the popular middle class imagination associated with filth, disorder, ignorance, witchcraft practices and native languages like Changana and Ronga. These zones of ‘traditional practices’, tied to ideas of home, birthplace or a true African lifestyle, encompass a certain sexual permissiveness in terms of erotic language and ‘dirty’ practice by contrast to modern and public sites of the nation state such as schools, hospitals and work places where sexual language and behavior must be controlled or contained (Groes-Green, 2009). Sylvia eloquently described her position in the city’s ideological matrix through the notion of ‘entrapment’ (emprisionamento). She described this as feeling trapped in a place where there was little room for independence and freedom from her partners and family, but where there was at least some room for playing around with girlfriends and lovers. Yet, she was wary of the risky way of living epitomized by Dama do Bling. Sylvia was not satisfied with living in a poor neighbourhood, but the city seemed so far 234 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. away, and although she saw it as an attractive place with access to luxuries she also feared it was an insecure place where she would be severed from family and friends. She expressed an almost fatalist notion about her connectedness to the neighbourhood, her family and the church and held that her future depended on her destiny which only God knew. Maria on the other hand felt that she belonged in the city, but complained that it was getting harder to maintain her life style as more and more people were critical towards her engagement with different men. As mentioned, the Bling scandal not only gave way to strong condemnations by politicians and the church, there were also powerful voices emanating from different foreign aid organizations and feminist groups. USAID and other Western funding agencies in Maputo have continually put pressure on local governments, the UN and NGOs to fight prostitution and pushed for measures to decrease casual sexual relationships in favor of monogamous and stable unions. While these efforts have sometimes been informed by religious and moral ideas about proper male and female behavior and the contaminating effects of ‘promiscuity’ in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, these is also a growing preoccupation with human trafficking and the more sinister sides to prostitution. Yet, although curtidoras are have little in common with stereotypes of exploited and powerless prostitutes their relationships with patrocinadores is now on top of the development agenda as an example of ‘women’s exploitation in The Third World’ (Speech by a UN official, September 2007). UN organs and a wealth of NGOs are carrying out studies into these illicit practices, in which they concomitantly question the agency of the curtidoras, whose assertiveness is discursively transformed into victimhood of male domination and ‘pop culture’. In this ideological environment the Bling show and the life style of women like Maria tend to contest predominant views about African women’s powerlessness in a sexual arena which is monopolized by men. Yet, recent studies of how femininities are transformed among young Mozambican women testifies to an alternative perspective, which open for a rethinking of gender relations, female power and which question the absoluteness of a hegemony of coercive men (Hawkins et al., 2009; Karlyn, 2005). 235 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. CONCLUSION: SEXUAL DEFACEMENT OR UNMASKING FEMALE EROTICISM In the broader picture we may understand the Bling scandal and the controversy that followed it through the concept of sexual defacement. Taussig (1999) defines defacement as the revelation of a ‘public secret’, which is generally known but, due to certain ideological and moral conventions, cannot easily be articulated. Knowing what not to know or express is a very powerful form of social knowledge, and unmasking such knowledge at once disturbs and re-enchants the subjectivities that surround it (Taussig, 1999). The Bling scandal seemingly altered the way sexuality is spoken about in the Mozambican public and subsequently brought sexual matters on the political agenda as a ‘talkable’ issue (Van Gelder, 2006). I have dealt with the implications of the Bling scandal which pictures Mozambican society as a place where sexuality and its uses are becoming contested between social classes, ideologies and groups of young women. Through the looking glass of a seemingly globalized popular culture of pop music, Brazilian telenovelas, pornography and sexy clothing female erotic expressions may be seen as recently introduced phenomena. But by looking closely into the historical construction of femininities in Maputo these phenomena in a sense make public what most of Mozambican society has known for centuries, namely that female sexuality plays a powerful role in the gender matrix and serves as a significant resource in the formation of women’s identities. What disturbs the dominant ideological order upheld by the political elite, the church and foreign aid organizations is the way female sexual behaviour is becoming something that defines women as social actors in public space, most vividly represented by curtidoras dressing up in sexy outfits and flirting with men in the very heart of the modern and civilized cityscape, the streets, restaurants, nightlife establishments and in the media. Perhaps, the Bling show became a scandal exactly because the singer revealed what everybody knew and had witnessed for a while, but nobody dared to state in the open; that the public and the city as such is under transformation, that women are increasingly acting in openly erotic ways. The nakedness and erotic performance of Dama do Bling can be seen as an act equal to the one played by the little boy in the fairy tale when he cried to the public that ‘the emperor has no clothes on’. Her performance made obvious what had been 236 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. masked by years of ideological divisions of the said and the unsaid, the proper and improper female behavior and the imagined separation of private from public domains. As a prominent conservative voice in the critique of Dama do Bling’s behavior stated, it was, ‘an insult to spit on the Mozambican people this way, because we know that every citizen do their outmost to ensure that there are educated and well mannered persons, and not bald-fazed people who show nudity (…) And do not come with the argument that you are persecuted and that people disturb your privacy. It is you who broke your own privacy, that is, if that ever existed’ (Opinião, Noticias 21 July). The perception of the Dama do Bling show as an event which epitomized the transgression of public and private behaviour was underlined by a commentary on the blog of the Mozambican sociologist Carlos Serra by his colleague Patricio Langa, ‘In an article I wrote I referred to the necessity of paying attention to what I consider a profound social transformation that occurred and still occurs in the private and public sphere of our society. I termed this phenomenon a silent revolution. In my understanding, and hypothetically speaking, phenomena such as Dama do BLING reveal a profound process of democratization of the private sphere which is now becoming reflected in public space.’ (Langa, 2007, capital letters in original) Arguably, the subject positions of Maria and Alissa and to a certain extent that of Sylvia are examples of an increasing assertiveness among young women in urban Mozambique. Both Maria and Alissa defended their rights to decide over their bodies and to define their own versions of a Mozambican femininity. In her effort to express opposition to the behaviour that she witnessed in Cine África, Alissa has an interesting affinity with her female opposite in the shape of Maria. It seems as if ‘the Bling 237 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. scandal’ demanded that all young women, irrespective of social background took a stand on these issues. Even Sylvia, living on the very margins of the city, justified her engagement with different lovers in stories about Mozambican women, herself included, as becoming less controllable by their male companions. If these issues were controversial before, as a consequence of this extraordinary event, they now require an explicit definition which enables each one to make sense of their own subject position as young women. Hence, the Bling scandal has intensified young women’s need to carve out an identity which somehow separates them but which also unites them in the sense of openly discussing an issue which has hitherto been ‘a public secret’. The Bling scandal made already existing practices visible, by pointing to the fact that erotic expressions, formerly confined to the intimate realm, are now increasingly exposed by young women who dress in highly sexual styles, talk ‘dirty’ on the street and express sexual intent towards men in bars and restaurants, in particularly older men seen as conveyers of money and status. Rather than suggesting a complete rupture of ideals and perceptions, I argue that the emergence of strong female idols such as Dama do Bling and the growing presence of assertive young women and female erotic expressions in public do not indicate a complete breach with the past, but rather point towards an accelerated transgression of private and public boundaries, with specific ideological connotations as well as social consequences. References Aboim, Sofia (2009) ‘Men between worlds: Changing masculinities in urban Maputo’, Men & Masculinities 12(2):201-224. Agadjanian, Victor (2005) ‘Men doing “women’s work”: Masculinity and gender relations among street vendors in Maputo, Mozambique’, in L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (eds.) African masculinities, pp. 255-269. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 238 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Amadiume, Ifi (1987) Male daughters, female husbands: Gender and sex in an African society. London: Zed Books. Amadiume, Ifi (1997) Re-inventing Africa: Matriarchy, religion and culture. New York: Zed Books. Arnfred, Signe (2007) ‘Sex, Food and Female Power: Discussion of Data Material from Northern Mozambique’, Sexualities 10(2):141-158. Arnfred, Signe (2006) ‘Male mythologies: An inquiry into the assumptions of feminism and anthropology. The case of matriliny’, Studia Africana 17:126-134. Arnfred, Signe (2004) Conceptions of gender in colonial and post-colonial discourses: The case of Mozambique. CODESRIA Gender Series 3: Gender Activism and Studies in Africa Dakar: CODESRIA. Cole, Jennifer (2004) ‘Fresh contact in Tamatave, Madagascar: Sex, money, and intergenerational Transformation’, American Ethnologist 31(4):573-588. Comaroff, John & Jean Comoroff (1992) Ethnography and the historical imagination. Boulder, Colorado:Westview Press. Da Costa, Ana Bénard (2005) ‘Género e poder nas famílias da periferia de Maputo’, Lusotopie 7(12):203-216. Dankwa, Serena Owusua (2009) ‘It’s a silent trade’: Female same-sex intimacies in post-colonial Ghana’, Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research 17(3):192-205. Delius, Peter & Clive Glaser (2002) ‘Sexual socialization in South Africa: A historical perspective’, African Studies 61(1):27-54. Granjo, Paulo (2005) Lobolo em Maputo: Um velho idioma para novas vivências conjugais. Porto: Campo das letras. Gregg, Jennifer (2003) Virtually virgins: Sexual Strategies and Cervical Cancer in Recife, Brazil. Palo Alto, Cal: Stanford University Press. 239 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Groes-Green, Christian (2009) ‘Health discourse, sexual slang and ideological contradictions among Mozambican youth: Implications for method’, Culture, Health & Sexuality 11(6):655-668. Haram, Liv (2005) ‘‘Eyes have no curtains’: The moral economy of secrecy in managing love affairs among adolescents in Northern Tanzania in the time of AIDS’, Africa Today 51(4):57-73. Hawkins, Kirstan, Neil. Price & Fatima Mussá (2009) ‘Milking the cow: Young women's construction of identity and risk in age-disparate transactional sexual relationships in Maputo, Mozambique’, Global Public Health (2):169–182. Hunter, Mark (2007) ‘The changing political economy of sex in South Africa: The significance of unemployment and inequalities to the scale of the AIDS pandemic’, Social Science & Medicine 64(3):689-700. Karlyn, Andrew (2005) ‘Intimacy revealed: Sexual experimentation and the construction of risk among young people in Mozambique’, Culture, Health & Sexuality 7(3): 279-292. Langa, Patricio (2007) http://circulodesociologia.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html. Da democratização da esfera da vida. [Last accessed August 4, 2010]. Loforte, Ana Maria (2000) Gênero e poder entre os Tsonga de Moçambique. Maputo: Promédia. Luke, Nancy & Kathleen Kurz (2002) Cross-generational and transactional sexual relations in subSaharan Africa. Washington, D.C.: International Centre for Research on Women. Macua blogs (2007) ‘Dama do Bling volta às rádios com mais um Hit’. http://macua.blogs.com/moambique_para_todos/2007/07/dama-do-bling-v.html#tp [Last accessed August 4, 2010] MISAU (2010) O impacto da HIV/SIDA em Moçambique. Maputo: Ministério de Saúde. Noticias (2007) ‘Nas palavras dos jovems’. Editorial/Noticias, 5 July 2007:9. Oyewùmí, Oyeronke (2006) ‘Colonizing Bodies and Minds’, in B. Ashcroft, G. Griffiths & H. 240 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Tiffin (eds) The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. New York: Routledge. Radio Moçambique (2007) Noticias. July 24 2007. Reddy, Shakila & Máiréad Dunne (2007) ‘Risking it: Young heterosexual femininities in the South African context of HIV/AIDS’, Sexualities 10(2):159-172. Savana (2007) ’A disgraça da Dama do Bling’, Editorial/Savana, 13 July 2007:7. Serra, Carlos (2007) http://oficinadesociologia.blogspot.com/2007/07/as-veredas-da-sexualidade- perigosa-3.html [Last accessed September 6, 2010] Silberschmidt, Margrethe (2005) ‘Poverty, Male Disempowerment, and Male Sexuality: Rethinking Men and Masculinities in Rural and Urban East Africa’, in L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (eds.) African masculinities, pp. 189-203. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Silberschmidt, Margrethe & Vibeke Rasch (2001) ‘Adolescent girls, illegal abortions and “sugardaddies” in Dar es Salaam: vulnerable victims and active social agents’, Social Science & Medicine 52(12):1815-1826. Spronk, Rachel (2007) ‘Beyond pain, towards pleasure in the study of sexuality in Africa’, Sexuality in Africa Magazine 4(3):3-6. Spronk, Rachel (2006) Ambiguous pleasures: Sexuality and new self-definitions in Nairobi. Ph.D. Thesis. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam. Tamale, Sylvia (2006) ‘Eroticism, sensuality and ‘women’s secrets’ among the Banganda’, IDS Bulletin 37(5):89-97. Taussig, Micheal (1999) Defacement: Public secrecy and the labor of the negative. Palo Alto, Cal: Stanford University Press. TVCABO (2007) ‘Mulheres merecem respeito’, TVCABO, 28 July 2007:3. TVM (2007) Journal do dia. Televisão do Moçambique, 11 October 2007. Uchendo, E. (ed) (2008) Masculinities in contemporary Africa. Dakar: CODESRIA. UNAIDS (2009) AIDS epidemic update May 2006. Geneva: UNAIDS & WHO. 241 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Van Gelder, Paul (1996) ‘Talkability, Sexual Behaviour, and AIDS: Interviewing Male Moroccan Immigrants’, Human Organization 55(2):133-140. 242 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Article 7. ‘To put men in a bottle’: Erotic tricks, female power and transactional sex in Maputo, Mozambique This is what Sadia35 confided to me during a late night conversation in 2008, ‘I did something bad this weekend. I put a piece of hair in my patrocinador’s [donor or sponsor] jacket in his wardrobe. It is a trick. It will make him think only about me (...) That night when I seduced him with my intimate parts he promised that he would stay with me and pay me so I can keep the apartment. It was my sister who has helped me to do this, and my aunt has also helped. She also went with me to the curandeiro [healer]. He gave us these herbs that I rub into my skin. So now Michel will only love me (...) You put a man in a bottle, and he will go nowhere without you.’ Sadia had been seeing Michel, a Spanish expatriate, for a month and was satisfied with the relationship. She worried that he planned to go back to Spain to stay with his ex-wife. So in order to change his mind she consulted her aunt and sister who provided her with ‘love herbs’ as well as advice about tricks she could use in bed so that Michel would not leave her. In the weeks after Sadia had applied their advice and used the herbs on Michel, he decided to give her some nice clothes and even paid for her last two month’s rent. In the first part of my fieldwork, I did not hear stories about erotic tricks (truques) and love potions, but I recall comments among young women about how easy it was to seduce men and how to convince a man to pay the bills by making him ‘go crazy’ in the bedroom. Talking openly about the relationship between sex and witchcraft, or erotic and spiritual powers, was highly 243 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. tabooed among young men and women on the impoverished outskirts of Maputo, where I did ethnographic fieldwork in 2007, 2008 and 2010. So it was only after a long period of building friendships and rapport among poor young female informants, aged 16-28, that I was allowed to know about these issues. Gradually some of my key informants began to open uo and explain how certain illicit practices of seduction actually worked. After some crucial moments when key informants had revaled some essential information I knew enough about the issue to probe further and to convince more and more young women to share their experiences and stories about ‘putting a man in a bottle’ as they said (por um homem na garrafa). This entailed detailed stories about tricks that women can use to evoke a man’s love and desire and thereby take control of his emotions as well as his material possessions. In Maputo poor young women who engage sexually with older and rich partners are often called curtidoras, literally meaning ‘girls who have fun’. In local parlance the category refers to a lifestyle of going out to bars and discotheques as well as the spending of money and luxuries extracted from relationships. But curtidoras can be both poor and rich, depending on their success in these relationships and how rich or ‘generous’ their rich lover is. Curtidoras’ sexual partners, who were normally much older than them, were in Maputo popularly called patrocinadores (literally: donors or sponsors) because they provide them with money and gifts. During fieldwork I encountered the latter term as a reference, both to white expatriates (expats) from Europe, North America and South Africa as well as to older Mozambican men who sponsor the lifestyle of multiple girlfriends. As globalization and neoliberal reforms in post-socialist Mozambique reconfigure issues of gender, sexuality and class, it becomes important to understand the power and positioning of curtidoras in the growing sexual economy. The neo-liberal economics introduced in Mozambique as structural adjustment since 1987 has engendered a gradual commoditization of women’s bodies, not the least in the areas of sexuality and reproduction (Chapman 2004, Pfeiffer et 244 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. al. 2003). Widespread poverty, rising food prices and growing unemployment undermine men’s role as providers and make it necessary for women to take part in income-generating activities outside the home, by working in the informal sector (Agadjanian 2005) or by engaging in transactional sex (Hawkins et al. 2009). They do this in order to support themselves and their families, to pay school fees, and to obtain fashionable consumer goods on display in the city’s burgeoning retail stores (Hawkins et al. 2009, Machel 2001). While there is a large body of literature on African sugar-daddies’ use of financial powers to attract and control younger women, studies on women’s use of erotic powers to seduce men or to circumvent gender structures remain few (exceptions are Hawkins et al. 2009, Arnfred 2007, Tamale 2005, Mustapha 2005). Although curtidoras represent a minority of young women in Maputo they constitute a visible and expanding group in the urban landscape of bars, discotheques and street life (Hawkins 2009, Karlyn 2005). As recent research illustrates, the emerging class of women entering the sexual economy is not confined to Mozambique but has been observed in different parts of Africa (Cole 2004, Haram 2006, Hunter 2009, Silberschmidt & Rasch 2001, Mills & Ssewakiryanga 2005, Nyamnjoh 2005). Focusing on curtidoras’ use of erotic tricks, the first aim of this chapter is to explain how spirituality and eroticism become resources in poor young women’s transformation of themselves into agents who actively extract power and money from men. The second aim of the chapter is to address the complexity of power in what has been termed ‘transactional sex’ or ‘transactional sexual relationships’ in regional African studies (Luke 2003, Hunter 2002, Cole 2004, Haram 2004, Leclerc-Madlala 2003, Bagnol & Chamo 2004, Maganja et al. 2007, Silberschmidt & Rasch 2001, Hawkins et al. 2009). There has been a tendency to see women in transactional sexual relationships as either powerless victims of economic inequalities and patriarchal privilege or as active agents who rationally choose cross-generational and transactional sex as an economic 245 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. strategy. I attempt to demonstrate that the meaning and motives which young women ascribe to these relationships go beyond both the model of the ‘female victim’ as well as the notion of the rational and ‘strategic agent’. Firstly, exchange of sexual and economic assets are never completely severed from social, emotional and erotic elements or motives, as I will demonstrate with reference to the curtidoras in this study. Thus, the findings from this study are more in line with the holistic perspective of anthropologists who argue that what appears as economic strategies and rational choices in social relations are more often than we think framed by underlying cosmologies of exchange which, in an African context, often encompass domains of kinship, ancestral spirits and broader social obligations (Perry and Bloch 1989, see also Mauss 2000). This is also significant because the erotic powers that the young women believe they posses are often drawn from female family members, to whom curtidoras consequently feel a strong if ambivalent indebtedness. Secondly, there is a need to explore how female erotic power in relationships with men is circumscribed and made ambiguous by women’s popularity in the eyes of men, as alluring bodies and physical appearances. Although curtidoras’ attractiveness makes headway for extracting men’s wealth, at the same time it evokes suspicion, jealousy and accusations of witchcraft among partners and women who find reasons to ostracize or punish them. So rather than reducing curtidoras to ‘victims’ of economically powerful men or forms of commoditization or as ‘strategic agents’ who consciously profit from sexual relations, I argue that they are caught up in a context specific matrix of power and reciprocity governed just as much by emotions, fears, and social obligations as it is governed by intentions to gain power and money. The original focus of my research was sexual cultures and condom use among secondary school students, but as I spent more time with the young women, I found that the seduction of patrocinadores was a recurring issue, which prompted me to explore the power 246 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. dynamics of female eroticism and men’s responses. This chapter focuses on findings among a subgroup of twelve young women who self-identified as curtidoras.-t I also base my discussion on informal talks with other young women, with curtidoras’ friends and male partners as well as family members.36 The first curtidoras I became acquainted with lived in the poor suburb of Malhazine. Having known them for three months I was gradually allowed to accompany them as they ventured into the city’s pulsating nightlife, where they lingered around rich and influential men who flashed their credit cards and fashionable cars. It was challenging to reach a level of rapport allowing for open and confidential talks with curtidoras. In the beginning I was mainly seen as an odd companion who often kept silent and stood in the background. But as I participated more intensely in the social life of the nocturnal environment I gradually gained the trust and respect of a broader network of female party-goers and also their male partners. From being a distant and odd observer I transformed into a trusted older ‘brother’ (irmão), made possible because the age difference between me and my informants was less than ten years, and because I became someone they could ask for advice about love and sex in liaisons with other white men. This role enabled me to get a firsthand experience of the dramas that played out in their broader social network of patrocinadores, boyfriends and family members. The segment of curtidoras that was part of my research was very diverse. In terms of socio-economic background they all came from poor suburban or rural districts and the majority of them settled in Maputo city when they were teenagers, often through contact with girlfriends or kin members who gave them shelter. Most of my twelve key informants had left their parents’ house and moved to the city in order to find work or to begin secondary school. Four of them moved from rural areas to Maputo city to look for a ‘better life’ because their families were poor and could not support them. The remaining eight had grown up in the poor suburbs but moved to Maputo city because they wished to ‘start over’ and have a life of their own. Sometimes the reason was that a 247 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. family member had been violent or sexually abusive, while in other cases they fled due to conflicts within the family caused by poverty, alcoholism, unemployment or divorce. Hence, the majority of them had only scarce contact with their families, although most of them tried to support their kin financially when possible. Many felt that they were obliged to help their family or kin members if they wished to maintain respect and status and avoid being ‘pushed out’ of the family. Some of them lived together in groups of two or three persons sharing small flats in downtown Maputo, while others spend most of their time with – or lived in the house of – their patrocinador. Among curtidoras living together, expenses for food and other basic necessities were usually shared, and since their income from patrocinadores was unsteady there was a tacit agreement that the successful curtidoras sometimes supported the less fortunate ones. Internal disputes were common if they competed for the same patrocinador, or when a curtidora suddenly became more popular than the others and refused to share her income. Curtidoras tended to distinguish themselves from female peers who did not have a patrocinador. For example they called their childhood friends matrecas (naive) and pobres coitadas (poor weaklings), because they were seen as not smart or pretty enough to seduce a patrocinador and therefore not deserving of a good life with nice clothes and money. They also made an effort to distinguish themselves from the women they called prostitutas (prostitutes) or putas (whores). They fiercely argued with people who indicated that they were prostitutes or easily seducted. Prostitutes, they said, cannot choose who they want to be with, ‘they just roam the streets looking for men’. When they said ‘prostitutes’, they referred to women who were openly picked up by male customers on designated streets and in the downtown area called zona quente (the hot zone). In contrast to prostitutes, curtidoras saw themselves as ‘classy’ women who chose their lifestyle, not out of need or greed but because they ‘loved the excitement of nightlife and men’. They also drew clear social and moral boundaries between themselves and the city’s more educated women from 248 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. the middle class, whom they described as snobby and tasteless, with reference to ‘unsexy clothes’ and ‘ugly bodies’. By contrast to slightly older female university students, who tend to wear trousers and blouses covering their breasts and legs, curtidoras dressed up in tight dresses, sexy jeans and miniskirts, that echoed the most recent fashion trends from Brazil or South Africa. Inversely, young women who were taking a higher education and the female business professionals explained to me, that the sexy outfits worn by curtidoras were unsuitable for decent women and a sign of mal comportamento (which can roughly be translated into bad behavior). These younger middle class women explicitly distanced themselves from curtidoras, whom they scorned for being easy prey to ‘lustful men’, by naming them intereseiras (women interested in money) or prostitutes. These categorizations of moral boundaries and norms for sexual behavior in Maputo often intersect with colonial and postcolonial inequalities and ideologies of gender and class (Groes-Green 2009a, Groes-Green, forthcoming). Sheldon (2003) eloquently describes the moral discomfort around women’s behavior in Maputo since colonial times, ‘Women were visible and troubling when they transgressed perceptual boundaries by behaving in overtly sexual or entrepreneurial ways. As long as women continued their customary work, such as weeding a patch of ground or pounding grain in a mortar, they were not seen, although that work was essential to African family survival and brought a rural sensibility into the center of urban development. But they entered into the historical record as a problem when they began to sell their bodies or their beer and when they married or joined in relation-ships with men outside the usual circle of acceptable marriage partners. By the end of the twentieth century, their efforts to sell produce outside the official markets and even their legal waged work in cashew factories came under attack, as women continued to insist on their active presence in the cities while men and governments tried to control them. One aspect of that control was seen in how women were labeled 249 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. when they became visible on the city streets and in city life. As was the case in many areas of Africa, women who dressed or behaved in western styles were seen as loose women, "stray women," or perhaps as prostitutes (…) Both colonial and socialist leaders decried the presence of women involved in the sex trade and tried to control prostitution’ (Sheldon 2003:361). There was another aspect which distinguished curtidoras from many other young women in the city, which is very often ignored in research on women who engage in transactional sex with sugardaddies. Curtidoras were almost always regarded as extremely beautiful and attractive among patrocinadores, and constated to ordinary or average women as well as women who were older or did not have ‘a perfect body shape’. In many ways curtidoras lived up to images of sexy, assertive and flirtatious women in American music videos and Brazilian TV series, and some of them aimed to look like idols such as Beyoncé and the local star Dama do Bling. Despite different ‘tastes’ in women, most patrocinadores I talked to agreed that these women were ‘elegant’, ‘hot’, ‘’irresistible’ and some mentioned that curtidoras as opposed to other women have ‘mysterious eyes’, ‘soft and delicate skin’ and a ‘magic smile’. Probing further into what characterizes them in terms of bodily features and sexual behavior, some said that curtidoras have ‘firm tits’, a ‘round ass’, and that ‘they move nicely in the bed’. As one older businessman said, ‘she sends me to another world just by the way she moves and squeezes my thing with her pussy’. Although references to juicy, youthful and agile female bodies seemed to be all about men’s fascination with women’s sexuality, as we shall see, the same appreciation just as often turned into suspicions of occult forces and female greed. Curtidoras explained the benefits of having a patrocinador as receiving luxurious gifts such as fashionable clothes and mobile phones and mole (Changana37 for money) to spend in the nightclubs with their friends. Some explained the life as curtidora as a shortcut to parties, 250 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. alcohol consumption and sex, and some liked to describe themselves as girls who celebrate life in the moment, ‘without thinking about tomorrow’. Furthermore, they mentioned the possibility of travelling with their partners to foreign countries like Portugal, Italy, UK, Scandinavia or the US or to beaches and lodges on the Mozambican coastline and in South Africa. Besides luxuries, parties and travel experiences, they also mentioned the money gifts they received as essential since it enabled them to support not only themselves but also their friends and, in particular, their kin and sometimes their same age boyfriends. For those who were able to establish a steady relationship with a man it was common to arrange for him to make a monthly money transfer to a bank account of their own or of a family member. Quite a few curtidoras were able to convince their partner to do this, and often the argument was that if he had to go on a business trip or visit his family she would need money to support herself while he was gone. Moreover it would also serve as an assurance that he wished to stay with her and that she would not look for other men. The monthly amount of money that curtidoras received depended on the status and income of their patrocinador, the intimacy of the relationship and whether or not they had more than one patrocinador. The income of curtidoras in this study ranged from 200 dollars and up to 2000 dollars, depending on the above mentioned factors. About half of the curtidoras attended public secondary schools but in fact they rarely took their lessons and exams. Their inactivity school-wise, they told me, was due to schools being boring and because, ‘even if you get a diploma it only leads to unemployment’. This is why many young women believed that engaging with wealthy men was one of the only chances for social mobility and for getting access to consumer goods and financial security for themselves and their families. 251 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘To put a man in the bottle’: Female powers, tricks and spells When curtidoras explained how they seduce men, the most common notions were ‘catching a man’ (prender um homem) and ‘putting a man in the bottle’ (por um homem na garrafa). These notions covered a range of meanings from having success in seducing a man, convincing him to become a patrocinador, making him sexually dependent, and making him fall in love or become infatuated as a way of getting control over his possessions. What puzzled me was that most informants, both men and women, argued that women are the stronger gender in the realms of sex and spirituality. Also my own surprise about the assertiveness of young women who openly flirted with me and other men in public space was later put in perspective by my discovery that such practices are connected with the pervasive idea that women can control men through their sexuality. In my informal talks with them about the seduction of men curtidoras often mocked patriocinadores for being matreco, Mozambican slang for being naïve and deceivable. When speaking about men as sengue, meaning ‘to milk’ in Changana (see also Hawkins et al. 2009), curtidoras implied that men were easy prey for women who extract favors and money from them. As Tania, a girl of 26 years said, ‘Men are weak, we have to use this force with care, it is dangerous, that thing we’ve got between the legs. ‘Use it with care,’ my aunt says. I sometimes get a man to do incredible things. (…) Last year he bought me a piece of land. The other day he ended up crying because he wanted me to marry him (...) He would die if I left him.’ Curtidoras’ discussions of the implications of using the sexual value of their bodies clearly illustrate their sense of power and control in the sexual arena. Most of them were acutely aware of the extent to which erotic acts and tricks may not only pave the way for material security, but also how they may end up having to take care of older spouses who are incapacitated by passion or love. 252 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Catching patrocinadores in Maputo’s nightlife The most common meeting places for curtidoras and patrocinadores are public parks, hotel swimming pools (piscinas), restaurants, ice cream shops, bars, holiday resorts and waterfront discotheques on costa do sol, the coastline near the city. If they are looking for a new patrocinador, curtidoras usually go to these places in small groups whereas they would normally show up alone if they came to meet up with a steady partner. When I went out with female informants, I noticed how they very often took the initiative in sexual affairs, actively seducing or flirting with a man, asking him to dance or caressing his body. Some curtidoras tried to keep female competitors away by asking a man not to dance with a certain girl or by pushing the other girls away. Provoking jealousy in a desired man was also a common way of trying to catch a man. For example, I saw one of the young women ask another man to kiss her or dance close to her in front of the man she really wanted, in order to provoke a reaction from him. As opposed to Western morality, jealousy was rarely seen as a sign of weakness, loss of control, or low self-esteem among this group of women. Especially when expressed by a woman, jealousy was apparently seen as a legitimate proof of love and willpower, and it was if not acceptable then at least tolerated if a woman expressed her feelings in public, for example by starting an argument with a boyfriend or by shouting at female competitors. Other seductive tricks included winking one’s eyes, addressing a man with a low pitched voice, performing sensual dance moves, and using body language. Indeed, informants regularly expressed the importance of knowing how to use bodily gestures to win the attention of men. Getting a man’s attention was seen as an essential first step towards ‘getting him in the bottle’. A field note illustrates how curtidoras navigated in Maputo’s nightlife, 253 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘As we entered the discotheque Coconuts, Sadia and Tania took a quick survey of the dance floor and bar area to spot any men of potential interest. They concluded that there were no peixes grandes [big fish] on this floor and went straight towards the stairs leading up to the VIP lounge. Following in their heels, I heard them plan how they would ‘sweet talk’ the bouncer into accepting them to go into the exclusive room. As we approached the entrance, a couple of older men in suits came over to have a look at the two women. Being a white man, I had no problem being let in. But the bouncer and the older men did not know me and were thus very reluctant to let Sadia and Tania in. Their reluctance aside, they were fascinated with the girls and especially Tania, who is a tall and slim woman of mixed color. The older men ended up asking the bouncer to accept both women into the lounge. Tania had insisted she would not enter without Nadia. The floor was filled with European and American expats as well as men of the Mozambican elite. A few young men were in the bar but mainly the room was populated by men in their fifties or sixties. There were luxurious sofas and chairs where men sat in groups smoking cigars and drinking rum. Later, I saw my friends gather around a Portuguese man whom I later learnt was a famous millionaire in Maputo. Both of them tried to get his attention by means of laughter, posing, dancing, and other body languages. But finally, I noticed how Tania discretely took his hand and pressured his palm firmly with her fingers.38 He was clearly giving in to her and after a few minutes she dragged him off to the parking lot where they entered his car and left.’ In other situations, curtidoras joked about the way they were able to exploit men who were fixated on their buttocks or breasts to get them to pay for drinks or give them money for a taxi. As the story above demonstrates, curtidorasuse their bodies as tools for seduction, regardless of the fact that they are concomitantly subject to the power of men’s monetary capabilities. As the example shows, 254 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. the young women did not simply succumb to flirtatious businessmen, but took part in a game of pulling men with the big wallets who appeared to be easy to control. Bedroom sorcery: Spells, charms, love potions and vaginal techniques Most curtidoras distinguished between the initial moment of seduction described with the terms pular (to pull) and khomala (to grab), and the final moment of prender (to catch) or por o homem no garrafa (to put a man in the bottle). A female informant explained how she moved from the moment of the khomala to the moment of putting a man in the bottle, ‘I start by caressing his face, his chest, arms, legs, until I reach the most sensitive parts. When I see his change of mood, becoming soft as we say, then I continue caressing, kissing until he gives in. That’s when you touch him in a special way. That is the khomala. But to be able to put a man in the bottle you need to get him in bed and do certain tricks. You make him go crazy with your tricks.’ Usually the sexual act played out either in hotel rooms or in a car or at the curtidoras’ place. Less often the patrocinadores invited the curtidoras to his place. The latter was most common among expats and foreigners whose wife or girlfriend lived in Europe or the US. Mozambican patrocinadores preferred to have sex in hotels or cars so the intimate encounters could be kept a secret to their wives and family. I also heard of patrocinadores who bought or rented an apartment where the curtidoras could live, and where meetings were arranged when a patrocinador came by on his monthly visit from abroad or on his way home from work. When a man had been ‘grabbed’ at a discotheque, bar or restaurant, as in the example above, the efforts to ‘put a man in a bottle’ could assume a variety of forms. Based on the many different explanations and stories I gathered, erotic tricks can tentatively be divided into five 255 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. types.The first type is the use of powerful invocations of spirits in relation to the sexual act. As they said, this can only be done with the help of a feitiçeiro (sorcerer/witchdoctor)39 or a curandeiro (healer) if he or she is paid well. There is normally a sharp distinction between the above categories, since one refers to a person performing illicit or evil acts, and the other is regarded as performing curative and life giving acts. Curandeiros are apparently very cautious about engaging in such invocations of spirits because it is seen as a potentially dangerous activity, both to the victim and to the invocator of the spirit.40 Initially, when I asked the young women about spiritual or magic forces, they would say that witchcraft did not exist or they would simply reject it as superstition. But when more rapport and confidentiality was built between the curtidoras and me, a number of them confessed that they either performed or knew somebody who performed these powerful tricks, some of which were associated with witchcraft. The first time this practice was revealed to me was when a key informant called Mariana phoned me because she was upset about her ‘lover’ not wanting to see her anymore. She came over to my apartment and explained the situation. In tears she told me that she could not understand why he left her, because she had been using this certain force which she had received from a renowned curandeiro. ‘It had always worked,’ she said, so she was afraid there was something wrong with her, or that another woman was using the same force against her. And then she explained in meticulous details the spiritual and erotic practices that I refer to here as ‘erotic tricks’, and how these tricks are passed on from curandeiros or ‘gifted’ family members. I used Maria’s description of the spiritual elements of erotic tricks, in interviews with other curtidoras, in order to allow for them to talk about issues that were otherwise highly tabooed. By making clear that I already knew about erotic tricks, young women were less prone to hide or reject their knowledge or experiences. Not only curtidoras but people in general often refute the existence of witchcraft because it is seen as a malevolent and dangerous force and therefore jeopardous to talk about. This tendency to treat witchcraft with caution and to not speak openly 256 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. about it is a very common in African societies that have been deeply affected by Christian beliefs and morality (Sanders 2001). The second type is the application of magic spells, sounds and exclamations that are supposed to be performed during sex. Knowledge about spells is often transmitted from kin members, especially maternal aunts and cousins and older sisters. Trying to avoid that a man discovers a woman’s use of spells, she must know how to cast spells by means of erotic sounds that do not turn into audible words. For example, the performance of magic spells can include moaning with pathos words in Changana such as ni kunza (make me whole/fill my hole) or ni zumbile (I am horny) that may in fact cover other meanings intended to ensure control over a man. The third type of erotic trick for ‘putting a man in a bottle’ is to leave charms or amulets like a necklace, a ring, a photograph or a bodily substance in the man’s possessions. Some curtidoras said they preferred to put a piece of hair or a nail in the pockets of a patrocinador’s clothes or in his car or briefcase. The placement of charms or bodily substance was seen as a powerful trick because the spirit of the person who owns the object is believed to cling to it and ‘work on the man even when he is travelling’. Without apprehending the reason, the man will experience an inexplicable attraction to the owner of the item when he is near the hidden object. But while personal items can create attraction, they are also thought to have the capacity to keep competitors away. As one informant recounted, she purposely ‘forgot’ her necklace in the back of her partner’s car in order to make her spirit ‘keep other women away’. One curtidora remarked that this trick should be used with caution, because if the patrocinador’s wife finds the item, it can be used in deadly sorcery against the owner. This depiction may give the impression that erotic tricks are merely applied strategically and intentionally. Yet some said, that these practices are more often part of a routine, and that it did not prevent them from also enjoying the sexual act or getting pleasure out of it. But there was agreement among the curtidoras that the pleasure of having sex 257 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. with a patrocinador was often deriving from a sense of control and sexual dominance over the man, rather than due to a good sexual performance. The young women preferred their poor young peers when they sought for pure sexual satisfaction, while older men were preferred for their economic abilities (Groes-Green 2009b).. Thus, the concern of poor young men in Maputo with improving their skills in the bedroom and efforts to increase their ‘sexual capital’ by using aphrodisiacs can be understood in the light of their lack of economic capital in competition with older rich men. The fact that young women’s seduction of men is facilitated by their use of erotic tricks as well as their attractive physical looks suggest that they are also in a sense drawing on ‘sexual capital’, if understood as a combination of bodily skills, power to seduce and a physical-phenotypic appearance that catches men’s attention. The fourth type of erotic tricks includes the use of aphrodisiacs and love potions. Some young women told how they bought special soups and herbs which they cooked and served for a partner. When eating or drinking the substances, the man can be affected in a desired way. Furthermore, since these love potions or medicines41 are believed to have aphrodisiacal effects, they were thought to work most effectively if served prior to the woman making her advances towards the man or just before having intercourse. These substances were thought to be particularly powerful if they were combined with love-making, since they are believed to relax a man’s body and prepare him for touches and pressures that can have a powerful effect. The fifth type is based on bodily hygiene, beautification and preparation of the skin and the vagina. From puberty, girls in Southern Mozambique, including the suburbs of Maputo, are taught how to maintain a high personal hygiene and are generally given a range of advice about beautification of their bodies by female kin, often aunts or sisters (Loforte 2000). As girls grow older, female kin remind girls of the procedures for cleanliness and talk about the powers of vaginal creams and vaginal contractions that can be performed during intercourse. Among other things, 258 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. creams are believed to give energy to the man’s penis so that he will moan in ecstasy or fall into trance when vaginal techniques and contractions are performed. In his classic writing about initiation rituals and love charms among Bantu tribes in what today is Southern Mozambique, Junod noted that girls use a, ‘(...) certain medicine which produces an abundant lather when boiled in water. The physician washes the girl’s body with it, after which she will ‘appear’ (a ta boneka) to the eyes of would-be suitors (tobane).’ (Junod 2003:100, parenthesis in original) The ‘physician’ that Junod (2003) mentions is often an aunt or another kin related female instructor, who, he adds, is responsible for ensuring that creams and medicines have the desired effect on a desired man. In order for a cream to have the full effect during intercourse there must be a free exchange of body fluids between the woman’s vagina and the man’s penis (see also Taylor 1992). Therefore, as a local saying goes, the sexual act has to consist of men and women rubbing their bodies, nhyama ni nhyama (flesh against flesh). This is also because ‘pure sex’ makes it easier for the woman to exert certain vaginal techniques that are believed to push the man into a state of ecstasy where he loses control, both over himself and his material possessions. Despite the high risks of contracting HIV and other STDs, such dangerous practices were not regarded as particularly worrying among informants.42 In a discussion about condom use, Maria, 19 years, commented that, ‘When the condom is on, I feel that I cannot decide what happens, that I cannot win him over. Also it is a question of what I want from him. If I want him to never stop thinking about me and to be 259 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. there for me when I need help, I cannot put rubber between us, it works against his desire (desejo) for me.’ This view has serious implications for existing HIV prevention strategies and research on sexuality and condom use. In discussions with curtidoras and young people in general, the large majority was aware of the high risks of HIV transmission and how to prevent it by using condoms, and yet, many did not use condoms with boyfriends, lovers or patrocinadores. Hence, when young curtidoras neglect sexual protection it is probably less a consequence of lack of awareness about forms of transmission and the dangers of contracting HIV than it is a conscious strategy to remain in control of the situation, so that the man can be ‘caught’. Contrary to findings from other studies of young women and sugar-daddies in Africa (e.g. Dunckle et. al. 2007, Luke and Kurz 2002), this implies that curtidoras do not have unsafe sex because they lack what is referred to as ‘negotiating powers’ due to age differences and economic inequality, but rather because they consciously opt for sexo puro (pure sex) as a powerful erotic tool. Curtidoras told me, that it was more often the patrocinador who insisted on using a condom because he was afraid of the consequences of impregnating a partner. It was not uncommon that patrocinadores were afraid that a pregnant mistress would ‘blackmail’ him by threatening to tell his wife or family about the illicit affair, or that a curtidora would keep the child and then force him to pay child support (Groes-Green 2009b). In other cases, an older businessman told me, the younger lover asks for a large sum of money in return for getting an abortion. In one case a curtidora became pregnant and, backed by her family, she told her patrocinador that she wanted to keep the child. But after negotiations between her family and the older rich lover, she was convinced to have an abortion in exchange for the man giving her parents a car and providing her with a job in his brothers company. 260 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘Occult passion’: Emotions, witchcraft and the danger of female eroticism Recent writings on transactional sex and the sugar-daddy phenomenon have stressed how the exchange of money and sex does not exclude the possibility of emotional attachment or feelings towards partners (Cornwall 2002, Mills & Ssewakiryanga 2005, Cole 2009). This does not imply that love or emotional attachment necessarily define these sexual relationships. Love or empathy may in some instances be lacking between partners, especially if liaisons are seen as coercive or violent (Wojcicki 2002, Wood & Jewkes 2008). But as the following excerpt shows, the interconnections between love and money, caring and dependency can become rather blurred, ‘A few months ago we were driving to South Africa in the Alpha [Alpha Romeo: car brand] when he suddenly stopped the car and said, ‘you, I’m not sure I can trust you’. But I told him that he has to relax and trust me. The thing is, that I want to be with him. I really like to go on these trips and get nice gifts. But it is not like being with a boyfriend. It feels more like he is my father or something. I care about him, you know, I feel like I kind of owe him my life. I don’t want to see him suffer. He took me out of my miserable life with my stupid brothers who beat me and abused me.’ Understanding power through the prism of the erotic, as Parker (2009) suggests, implies that we see the two as intrinsically connected. This means staying open for the possibility that the economic power of men conveys feelings in female partners, and in some cases that giving and receiving money symbolize emotional attachment (Mills & Ssewakiryanga 2005, Bloch 1989). Hence, when informants described sexual partners in terms of money and the material gifts they received, this was not equal to saying that they had no feelings for their patrocinador. In fact, I rarely heard of curtidoras who, in spite of frustrations or complaints about psychological abuse, entirely disliked their patrocinador or felt no emotional attachment whatsoever. As a consequence of evolving 261 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. emotional ties to patrocinadores there was a constant caution among curtidoras with respect to the dangers of falling in love. When speaking about erotic tricks, curtidoras mentioned how the intimacy of sexual acts could easily lead to a strong feeling of attachment. Notably, passionate love was thought of as ‘risky business’, because of the difficulties of remaining in control and of having the upper hand in relation to the man. Curtidoras also explained, that they had to avoid falling in love, because of the risk that a patrocinador might suddenly back out of a relationship if he experienced that his mistress had become too emotionally dependent. Falling in love was seen as a sign of loss of control which would cause the patrocinador to gradually gain his control and senses back. As a consequence, a curtidora said, ‘he may get out of the bottle’ (sair da garrafa), implying that he was no longer attached emotionally and therefore may lose interest. Patrocinadores also saw emotional attachment and passion in these relationships as problematic. In informal talks they told me, that they were afraid of being preso (trapped) by the feelings and passions that developed in relationships with curtidoras. Stories of crippling obsessions were frequent, as were stories of being torn inside by dilemmas of choosing between wife and family at home and an attractive young girlfriend. Both curtidoras and patrocinadores told me stories of wealthy businessmen who had lost everything to beautiful young women. Curtidoras had ensnared them erotically or by means of witchcraft and then made them sign documents that transferred all their property and cash into the curtidoras’ names and bank accounts. Suspicions of witchcraft were frequently ingrained in such stories about men who ‘went crazy’ over a woman. Experiences of immense passion leading to insomnia and inability to eat for months or thoughts of suicide were common, as a Mozambican patrocinador of 45 years told me, ‘I cannot think about anything else but her. And I have been taking pills to sleep or just to live a normal life. This is not what you call ‘love’. Love is about being sweet and in harmony. This just 262 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. makes me crazy (maluco), I am like a sick person. Whatever I can do to stay with her, I will do it. I do not care if I die. If only I can stay one more night with her, that is all I think about. There is something wrong.Some woman is throwing spirits at me, some dark forces!’ There were frequent discussions among Mozambican patrocinadores and younger men about the difference between on the one hand love (amor) and passion (paixão) and on the other witchcraft or spirit possession. As the quote above illustrates, there were suspicions that ‘going crazy over a woman’ and being passionate to an extent where it endangers a man’s physical wellbeing and control, did not constitute a natural part of a love relationship, and therefore, they firmly believed, it had to be the result of a woman’s spiritual and ‘dark forces’. A popular idiom among young Mozambican men for curtidoras who ‘trick their partners into bankruptcy’ was the notion of golpistas (coup maker), which originates in the expression ‘golpe de estado’ (coup d’états). The notion was translated to me as a young woman’s attempt to get total control over a man and his riches, only to deprive him of all his wealth and property and leave him with nothing. Stories of golpistas were imbued with ideas about women’s strong erotic powers and spells, seen to be tied to witchcraft. Yet, besides being associated with erotic spells, these powers were also tied to women’s reproductive powers, such as in stories about women who became pregnant on purpose in order to demand incredible sums or material effects like a car or a house in exchange for an abortion. Notably, women were often referred to as conveyers of erotic powers that men do not possess. For example, it was often said that men ‘go crazy over women’ and can walk around with a woman’s spell for years, while women are largely immune to men’s erotic powers. As Lidia, 23 years, said, 263 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘Men just don’t have that ‘thing’. You know, the ability to make you go out of yourself or do everything for him. You can try to keep him by being clever and using the tools you have, your body, your nice perfume and sexy clothes and a beautiful smile. And you can give him the hottest sex ever. But you won’t stay with him if he does not respect you, and gives you pleasure, or support you with gifts. When a man is in the bottle he can stay with a woman, even if she treats him bad and sleeps around. Because he thinks he cannot be with anybody else. (…) A woman cannot be put in a bottle. She can always find another man who can give her what she needs.’ The narrative about women’s erotic powers was also widespread among white European and American patrocinadores and their peers in Maputo. But in their narratives the curtidoras’ enigmatic powers were somehow intrinsically tied to the ‘black race’ and its ‘dangerous’ sex appeal. A pervasive idea among white expat men was that they as ‘whites’ were particularly vulnerable to the allure and magic of ‘black queens’. Compared to white women, they said, young ‘Mozambican’ or ‘African’ women had a sexual aura and ‘skills in bed’ that made white men go crazy. The common saying ‘once you go black, you never go back’ was used time and again by white expats to explain. why they could never again have sex with a European or American woman. Sometimes these white men told me that they were virtually impotent with white women in contrast to ‘African women’, portrayed as sexually insatiable or dangerous because, ‘they make you addicted to them like a drug’. By contrast to the way patrocinadores described the dangers of passion, which they aligned to witchcraft, curtidoras explained ‘love’ as a natural aspect of relationships to both boyfriends (namorados) and lovers (pitos) while they saw it as more of a burden in relationships with patrocinadores. Some curtidoras, who concurrently maintained liaisons with patrocinadores, boyfriends and lovers, tended to define these relationships according to whether they felt that love, 264 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. passion or economic interest constituted the most significant motive for getting involved. Paradoxically, sexual liaisons based on pure love (amor puro) were thought of as at the same time ‘longer lasting’ but also ‘less viable’ relationships. Less viable because there was no material interest and therefore such relationships could not be relied on to safeguard their future, health and survival. But oddly enough, they were often seen as longer lasting because, as in the Western idea of romantic love, the relationship could be dreamt about as a never ending fairy tale in which both parties overcome separation and material disparities and find each other in the end (see also Spronk 2006). Hence, a curtidora told me that she would marry her patrocinador and move with him to Los Angeles, but in the end it is, ‘this guy from the suburb that I want when I come back one day’. Such dreams, however, could rarely be sustained, and curtidoras knew that their love fantasies about their same age boyfriend were unrealistic if they decided to marry and have children with a patrocinador. As Cole (2004) points out, a rather curious aspect of the constellation of older rich men with poor younger women is, that the latter end up forming a new privileged class that pays for or even supports their boyfriends and family. However, the boyfriends I spoke with had a hard time accepting money that girlfriends had earned through involvement with a patrocinador. Young men showed a clear dismay at social situations where lack of work and education made them unable to compete with older Mozambican or Western men who were able to keep numerous younger mistresses. The generational conflict between young impoverished men and older rich adversaries in Maputo has also been observed by Karlyn (2005). He notes how male peers tend to criticize the morality of young women who practice sex out of economic interest (see also Cole 2004, Cornwall 2002). Notably, women who act overtly sexy in public or openly show financial interest in men are given a range of derogatory names by male peers ranging from sanguessugas (leeches) to intereseiras (women with a material interest). Also, these names indicate that women’s sexuality is 265 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. something to be feared, something one must be protected against. As in other African contexts, Mozambican women also run the risk of being stigmatized as whores (putas) if their public performance compromises their respectability (see Karlyn 2005, Haram 2004). Even worse were accusations of witchcraft or black magic (feitiço) which, if rumours spread among patrocinadores or peers, could make a curtidora a social outcast that nobody wanted to be around. I also heard of cases where a curtidora had been violently punished by a patrocinador or boyfriend because they claimed that she was allied to ‘dark forces’. Witchcraft accusations and violent acts against women due to the way their sexuality is perceived as dangerous by men, have been observed by a range of scholars stressing the association of female eroticism with occult and evil forces (Passador, forthcoming, Badoe 2005). Studies of love magic and eroticism in anthropology As a separate field of study, women’s use of erotic tricks to seduce men has received little interest in anthropology and related disciplines. In Malinowski’s (2005:344-379) book on sexuality in Melanesia, he devotes a chapter to the ‘Magic of love and beauty’ in which he makes a careful presentation of men’s application of love magic to create affection and attraction among women. He mentions, in passing, that women are known to have used largely the same forms of love magic (ibid: 40, 44, 355, 365), and yet the book ends up with a dearth of specifics on women’s erotic practices. Some of the erotic tricks that Melanesian men use are based on ‘love potions’, such as cooked food that has been chanted upon, some are linked to magical payments of ornaments, and others are linked to the application of oils or scratching and touching a desired person. Malinowski concludes, that the purpose of erotic spells in the shape of chanting or citing of a formula is to create a permanent attraction and dependency of a person, who may then succumb to one’s wishes (ibid.:540-50). As he notes, 266 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘What follows depends, as in sorcery, upon the effect of what has already beenaccomplished. If the loved one surrenders easily, perhaps one more formula will be recited, to attach her affection more securely.’ (Malinowski 2005:367) Other anthropologists have described how ‘love potions’ and ‘love medicines’ are used to attract and attach the opposite sex emotionally and in erotic terms (Lindholm 1981, Niehaus 2002, Graeber 1996, Greenlee 1944). In the literature, erotic magic is sometimes expressed in moral idioms articulating concerns over broader economic and political changes (Niehaus 2002) or serves as illustrations of the effect of historical changes on gender relations and political realities (Graeber 1996). However, because scholars treat women’s use of love magic as representations, symptoms or idioms for something else, these studies provide little discussion of the extent to which tricks and spells can themselves be seen as forms of power and agency in relation to men, or how they may challenge existing gender hierarchies. Lately, anthropologists have begun to address the erotic dimension of fieldwork (Newton 1993, Kulich & Wilson 1995) and a number of scholars have analysed eroticism as a homosexual or transgender practise (e.g. Junge 2002, Blackwood & Wieringa 1999, Bolton 1995, Elliston 1995). Ortner & Whitehead (1981) made us realize, how the erotic is intrinsically linked to broader economic, social and cultural forces. Yet, as Parker (1989:58) once noted, this effort did not bring us much closer to understanding the inherent powers of the erotic in its own right and as a culturally constituted system of meaning and practice. Looking into the complexity and vicissitudes of Brazil’s sexual landscape of men and women, Parker (2009) instead emphasizes the importance of perceiving the erotic as intimately linked to power and to subversions of power, 267 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. ‘(…) the workings of power must be understood through the cultural forms and meaningsof the erotic, and the symbolism of the erotic must be interpreted through thestructures of power and its capacity to transform them.’ (Parker 2009:152) In the scarce literature on female eroticism and erotic tricks in African societies, descriptions mostly originate in rural settings (Arnfred 2007, Tamale 2006, Niehaus 2002) and often come from descriptions of matrilineal societies (Arnfred 2007, Bagnol & Mariano 2008). Arnfred (2007) shows how sexual proficiency among the Makhuwa in Northern Mozambique is transmitted from older women to the young in tales of tricks, teaching women how to attract, ensnare and make love to men. The practice of ithuna (pulling of labia minora) is part of the erotic art of seduction and is seen as a necessary first step in the process of preparing the female body for giving and receiving sexual pleasure (Arnfred 2007:151). Other practices that serve the art of seduction in Northern Mozambique are frequent vaginal washing, trimming of pubic hair and mankwala ya kubvalira (insertion of substances in vagina) that increase female control of the vagina during the sexual act (Bagnol & Mariano 2008). Across Africa women’s erotic powers are often linked to female powers in other social domains. Arnfred (2007) juxtaposes erotic power and the powers gained from the domestic sphere of cooking and brewing beer, while other scholars have encountered specific notions for female powers in the domain of spirituality (Passador 2009, Cornwall 2005) and witchcraft (Niehaus 2002, Bastian 2001). Not long ago scholars began to notice a rise in female practice of eroticism in urban Africa (Tamale 2006, Prince 2006, Mustapha 2005). As Tamale (2006) shows among the Baganda in Kampala, Uganda the ssenga institution is gradually becoming a permanent feature of young women’s life in the city. While the purpose of the ssenga in rural areas is giving erotic instructions to prepare young women for marriage, in the urban setting the ssenga transforms into a general 268 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. source of power in sexual relationship, as it provides women with tricks in the art of seducing men and yielding pleasure to themselves and their partners (ibid). Such erotic institutions met resistance from colonial regimes in Mozambique and Uganda, where administrators and missionaries sought to diminish their influence on young women by either banning them as primitive and obscurant or by attempting to domesticate female bodies and introduce the Christian system of marriage and a nuclear family structure, where eroticism was superfluous or even seen as dangerous (Tamale 2006, Arnfred 2007). Mustapha (2005) eloquently describes how Senegalese women in the city of Dakar, even in the most destitute conditions, strive to cultivate an attractive bodily appearance of propriety or beauty. Beautification is an important aspect of women’s strategies to achieve recognition, both among men and other women. From being formerly seen as a private matter it is becoming increasingly acceptable for women in Dakar to dress up and show their erotic appeal in public, which sometimes occurs at the expense of living up to domestic expectations (Mustapha 2005). Female power in studies of transactional sex and HIV/AIDS In a number of studies, researchers have explained young women’s engagement in transactional sexual relationships as a consequence of growing inequality between social classes as well as between generations of men and women (Hunter 2007, Cole 2004). This inequality has, to different degrees, been produced by the economic reforms of structural adjustment policies and a concomitant rise in unemployment and impoverishment of young men and women. In contexts where identities and status is defined by access to and exhibition of consumer goods like mobile phones and fashionable clothes, the easiest way to climb the social ladder has been through the sexual economy where older men ‘shop down’ to get younger attractive lovers, and young women ‘shop up’ to increase their economic power (Nyamnjoy 2005, Cole 2004). In Mozambique, Bagnol & Chamo (2004) have argued, the existing sexual economy makes young women vulnerable to 269 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. exploitation and HIV, because men in intergenerational relationships have the money and power to control the situation. The result is that many young women have sex with adult men ‘out of simple economic interest’ and without feeling any affection or pleasure (Bagnol & Chamo 2004, see also Hawkins et al. 2009). My findings diverge in the sense that curtidoras rarely, if ever, engaged in affairs for pure financial reasons or with an unambiguous distinction between affection and economic strategy. My findings show, that sexual relationships were often at the same time shaped by economic ambition and emotional involvement, spiritual eroticism and strategic means for control. In curtidoras’ narratives, feelings were blended with monetary status, and sexual excitement was tied both to seduction, luxuries and interpersonal relations. From an outsider’s point of view these men may look as if they are in control, because of their economic status and older age. Yet, the young women themselves and the men they had sexual liaisons with often experienced the power relation the other way around. Thus, it was never obvious to me exactly how to conceptualize the exchanges, powers and processes involved in these relationships. Yet, it seems fair to question the concepts of ‘transactional’ and ‘intergenerational’ sexual relationships as referring to pure exchanges of money for sex, to male power versus subordinate womanhood or to gerontocratic control versus juvenile innocence. Scholars have begun to discuss whether in fact young women are subordinate men in these relationships and therefore asking to what extent they may have power to negotiate condom use. In their study of intergenerational relationships in Maputo, Hawkins et al. (2009) describe how younger women see themselves as being ‘in charge’ when seducing older men. This finds expression in concepts like sengue, meaning ‘to milk the cow’ (in the local language Changana), implicating that they, the young women, actively extract value from a man, a passive creature under their control (Hawkins et al. 2009). This imagined power creates a strong sense of agency, but the young women sometimes end up being less assertive when it comes to negotiating safe sex, which is opposed by the men (ibid.). In a similar vein, 270 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Silberschmidt & Rasch (2001) show how teenage girls end up in sexual relations with a buzi (sugardaddy) because of the prestige it gives among peers and because of the money and gifts they receive. Although these relationships are clearly unequal in terms of age and economic power, the fact that girls received money was not in itself seen as disempowering, since, as the authors emphasize, it is normal for women to expect financial or material compensation when being in a sexual or romantic relationship. In fact, as they add, ‘only women with no self-respect would give such services for free’ (Silberschmidt & Rasch 2001:1821). But while the girls in the study showed a good degree of agency and self-assertiveness, their lack of negotiating power made them vulnerable in terms of contraception, resulting in potentially life-threatening illegal abortions (ibid.:1822). The question of negotiating power was a slightly more complex one in my study. As noted, many curtidoras were not interested in contraception mainly because getting pregnant had a great many advantages, such as receiving ‘big money’ in exchange for an abortion or, if keeping the child, being able to receive child support from a patrocinador. Despite the potential psychological harm of having an abortion or even the costs of getting infected with HIV/AIDS, the benefits of receiving economic compensation by far outweighed the abstract risks of a deadly disease or of losing an unwanted child. Although some informants feared they would lose their lover if insisting on condom use, most of them did not think that asking a patrocinador to put on a condom was problematic. These (mostly) married men were often in favor of precautions to avoid pregnancy or getting a sexually transmitted disease, since both would be difficult to ‘explain at home’. Silberschmidt & Rasch (2001) also challenge the idea that economic interest is generally separable from love or emotional involvement in so-called sugar-daddy relationships. In concert with later studies (e.g. Mills & Sseweringa 2005, Leclerc-Madlala 2008) they demonstrate how many girls cannot distinguish between love and material elements of sex, particularly because the person they have sex with bring them luxuries which can affirm self-worth and promote their social goals 271 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. (Silberschmidt & Rasch 2001). If we accept that curtidoras’ use of erotic tricks denotes a degree of agency and female power, this does not imply that they are engaging in sexual relations with older men merely searching for momentary ‘fun’ or pleasure. As mentioned many curtidoras said that they felt an obligation to redistribute some of their money or gifts to their family members. This obligation or as they said, debt (dever) partly had to do with the fact that their families were poor and needed financial support, but giving presents or money to kin was often more a symbolic action of respect intended to prevented conflicts and interference of harmful ancestral spirits (see also Mauss 2000). Curtidoras felt particularly indebted to female family members, like aunts and sisters, who had provided advice about erotic tricks since they were girls and who continued to support them in their struggle to ‘put men in the bottle’. Furthermore, as Arnfred (2001) argues, power in post-colonial Africa is often gendered as well as tied to age and cosmologies of ancestral spirits. As she shows, among the matrilineal Makhuwa in Northern Mozambique, women have a central position in local cosmology, because the link between the dead, the living and the unborn members of the lineage is maintained by female powers, mainly possessed by female elders (Arnfred 2001:157). Thus, younger men and women who have less power in these gerontocratic communities try to become independent of families whose land is controlled by the lineage group by instead finding their own land to grow cash crops, without the interference of the family. This often entails following an entrepreneur strategy were their former power positions as women are abandoned and they have to ‘start from scratch on male terrain’ (ibid.:176). My findings are similar in the sense that female elders, whether aunts or older sisters, were seen as powerful superiors to whom any kind of success with a rich man could be ascribed. Therefore the willingness to ‘pay back’ was strong even if sometimes curtidoras said that their redistribution of money was more due to fear of retribution from ancestral spirits or kin than due to a wish to help poor family members. The redistribution of the wealth accumulated in relationships with patrocinadores included giving kin 272 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. everything from clothes, money and food, to medicine for the children or even land plots and building materials. Unlike the findings by Arnfred my data suggest that the young women maintained a close tie to female powers, erotic and spiritual, and the kin members possessing them, even when they found themselves separated from kin and deeply entrenched in the sexual economy of men and money. Hence, it would be inaccurate to see curtidoras as either individualistic agents who merely accumulate money for themselves, to spend in nightlife adventurers or to se them as helpless victims of patriarchal oppression. This can be elucidated by comparing with recent works on young female professionals (Spronk 2005) and single townswomen in East Africa (Haram 2004). Spronk (2005) shows how young professionals in Nairobi tend to pursue sexual pleasure as part of defining themselves as modern and independent women who can have sex, not as a marital duty or for financial gain but in the construction of themselves as sexual subjects. The constraints that these women experience in their sexual relationships are less tied to their financial situation than to moral codes of staying respectable by ‘playing hard to get’ or by not being erotically assertive in public. Due to accusations of witchcraft and greed, curtidoras were cautious to hide their use of erotic tricks, but in contrast with young professionals and middle class women they openly seduced men in public. Also, curtidoras sexual relationships with patrocinadores were more deeply embedded in a broader cosmology of lineage, female power and reciprocity. Whether this has to do with class position or different sexual moralities in the two contexts is hard to assess here. But indications that Christian churches have been less successful in controlling the sexual mores of the urban population in Mozambique than in for example Kenya may suggests that cosmology has been less affected by colonial and postcolonial moralities (Groes-Green, forthcoming). Haram (2004) depicts a group of single ‘modern’ women in Meru, Tanzania who prefer to engage in short term sexual relationships with men, rather than to convert them into formalized marital unions. The women are faced with the dilemma of choosing between submitting 273 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. to a husband in order to become socially respectable and economically stable, and the relative economic independence and personal autonomy of having temporary exchangeable unions. Like the ‘modern’ women in Meru, curtidoras are caught between the advantages of having a stable relationship with a steady income, and a more autonomous life where they choose between a number of men, which allows them to pursue nightlife excitement while getting money for luxuries and to support their families. One of the central challenge they face in the struggle to put ‘a man in the bottle’ is to avoid being found out and accused of witchcraft which put them at risk of punishment by or expulsion from their family and circle of friends. Female power beyond transactional sex Classic anthropological writings such as those of Radcliffe-Brown (1965) and Lévi-Strauss (1969) give the impression that across Africa the man is the active, controlling and powerful gender in the areas of sexuality and reproduction. While anthropological scholarship has begun to acknowledge women’s agency and reject ideas of an all encompassing patriarchy or hegemonic masculinity, Western popular imaginations have for centuries been dominated by pictures of omnipotent male predators and women portrayed as victims of men’s desires (Obbo 1976, Shefer et. al 2005, Silberschmidt 2005; Amadiume 1997; Oyewùmi 1997). This shift in perspective, obviously, must not distract us from prevalent practices of male dominance or abuse, powerfully elucidated in recent studies of sexual violence and rape (Wood et. al. 2007, 2008; Wojcicki 2002). Inspired by Lorde’s classic construction of the erotic as a site for women’s resistance against male oppression in the essay ‘The Erotic as Power’ (1984), feminists have argued that female sexuality has the potential to not only create a sense of shared sense of womanhood but can also serve as a tool for transforming female subjectivity and power vis-á-vis men (Tamale 2005, Mustapha 2005, Arnfred 2007). As Tamale (2005) points out, capitalist society has tended to 274 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. separate the public sphere, dominated by men in areas like politics and waged labor, from the private sphere inhabited by both genders, but characterized by undervalued domestic activities performed by women. The domestication of women has largely entailed reproductive obligations while remaining economically dependent on the husband or father. Therefore, regulating women’s sexuality has been key in the patriarchal and capitalist society’s efforts to maintain men’s privileged access to and control over resources (Tamale 2005:11). In this modern urban context the ssenga institution reinforces patriarchal power by promoting women as providers of men’s pleasure, but at the same time it subverts patriarchy by giving women a possibility to become sexually assertive outside the domestic sphere and to achieve economic independence of husbands (ibid.). Significantly, Tamale describes how young women reject the part of the ssenga core lesson that imposes motherhood as the self-identity of Baganda women, and instead of regarding sex as an instrument for procreation they explore its potential for pleasure and empowerment. For example, commercial ssenga instructors encourage young women to use erotic means to manipulate and control men from behind a facade of subservience, as in this excerpt from a teaching curriculum, ‘The best time to ask your man for anything is during sex. Men’s brains are weak when it comes to sex...this is the time to manipulate them.’ (Tamale 2005:24-25) As examples of ways to manipulate a man through sex Tamale mentions the use of erotic paraphernalia such as colorful waist beads and herbs which function as stimulants or aphrodisiacs. Also, ssengas teach lovemaking noises like hisses, gasps and forms of breathing and even take the woman or the couple through a guided performance in order to enhance their lovemaking techniques. As Tamale (2005:29) notes, in many African contexts, women’s relationship to their bodies is quite different from the disembodied, domesticated and victimized version of female 275 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. bodies rooted in legacies of colonialism. So although sexuality has for long been seen as a site for women’s subordination and for male self-assertion, scholars have observed tendencies pointing in the opposite direction. Arnfred (2007) argues, that if women’s practices are always molded in the encounter between Christian prescriptions of female sexual subordination and a ‘traditional’ world where sex is a female terrain of power and spirituality, being obedient to a man can be an excuse for maintaining erotic games among women, in which sexual fun and dancing are central elements. In his study of categories of young men and women in the highly commoditized and impoverished sexual economy of Dakar, Senegal, Nyamnjoh (2005) shows how a generalized promiscuity has evolved as part of the desperate search for commodities among people who are themselves commoditized. Gripped by the prospect of accumulating wealth with little effort in a context where work and income is lacking, consumption becomes an indicator of achievement and existence. In this consumer culture young women are ‘shopping up’ for consumer opportunities by engaging with sugar-daddies, and older men are ‘shopping down’ for the rarest and juiciest female bodies (Nyamnjoh 2005:296). While Nyamnjoh’s portrait of young women’s self-stylization and sexual strategies in Dakar’s hyper-commoditized landscape is one which resonates with that of urban Mozambique, there also seems to be remarkable differences. The fetishisms involved in disquettes’ (young female lovers) sex-for-success and mobile phones and the thiofs’ (richer men) economic exploitation of women are in this description solely financial. The potentially spiritual or erotic elements of female engagement in these sexual relationships are oddly absent or downplayed. If the disquettes of Dakar can be compared to the curtidoras of Maputo, the female power of the latter would appear to be solidly rooted in an eroticism empowered by curandeiros and female kin, while the former is almost completely driven by capitalist and patriarchal forces. With reference to the curtidoras, I believe there is a need to include and be open towards aspects of women’s sexual practice and culture that are not merely tools for patriarchal satisfaction and consumption. This, first 276 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. of all, requires that we stop taking for granted that women are always and everywhere subordinated to men and to the lures of masculinity, and that female power and eroticism get the attention they merit. One way to move forward could be acknowledging that sexual relationships between people of different classes, genders and generations are not merely vested in economic or sexual motives, but enmeshed in a complex power matrix composed of emotions, passions, goods, money, ancestral spirits, kin obligations, erotic power, which, as I showed, are highly entangled phenomena. The findings also suggest that we pay more attention to the female customs of sex education and passing on of advice from aunts and other female kin to young women, and to the way this educative process and autonomous transmission of knowledge within the female domain may be a source of empowerment for women, which stems from inherited structures that have prevailed despite centuries of patriarchal and capitalist expansion in colonial and postcolonial times. References Agadjanian, Victor (2005) ‘Men doing “women’s work”: Masculinity and gender relations among street vendors in Maputo, Mozambique, in L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (eds.) African Masculinities. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Arnfred, Signe (2007) Sex, Food and Female Power: Discussion of Data Material from Northern Mozambique. Sexualities 10(2):141-158. Arnfred, Signe (2001) Ancestral spirits, land and food: Gendered power and land tenure in Ribáué, Nampula Province, in R. Waterhouse and C. Vijfhuizen (eds) Strategic women, Gainful men. Gender, Land and Natural Ressources in different rural contexts in Mozambique. Maputo: Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. Badoe, Y. (2005) ‘What makes a woman a witch?’, Feminist Africa 5:37-52. Bagnol and Mariano (2008) ‘Vaginal Practices: Eroticism and Implications for Women’s Health 277 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. and Condom Use in Mozambique’, Culture, Health & Sexuality 10(6):573-85. Bagnol, B. and E. Chamo (2004) ‘Intergenerational relationships in Mozambique: What is driving young women and older men?’, Sexual Health Exchange 3/4:1-4. Blackwood and Wieringa (1999) Female Desires: Same Sex Relations and Transgender Practices across Cultures. New York: Columbia University Press. Bloch, M. (1989) ‘The Symbolism of Money in Imerina’, in J. Perry and M. Bloch (eds) Money and the Morality of Exchange. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bock, P.K. (1967) ‘Love Magic, Menstrual Taboos, and the Facts of Geography’, American Anthropologist 69(2):213-217. Bolton, R. (1995) ‘Tricks, Friends and Lovers: Erotic Encounters in the Field’, in D. Kulick and M. Wilson (eds) Taboo: Sex, Identity and Erotic Subjectivity in Anthropological Fieldwork. London: Routledge. Chapman, C.C. (2004) ‘A Nova Vida: The Commoditization of Reproduction in Central Mozambique’, Medical Anthropology 23(3):229-261. Cole, J. (2009) ‘Money, Love and Economies of Intimacy in Tamatave, Madagascar’, in J. Cole & L. M. Thomas (eds) Love in Africa. Chocago: The University of Chicago Press. Cole, Jennifer (2004) Fresh contact in Tamatave, Madagascar: Sex, money, and intergenerational transformation. American Ethnologist 31(4), pp. 573-588. Cornwall, A. (2002) ‘Spending Power: Love, Money, and the Reconfiguration of Gender Relations in Ado-Odo, Southwestern Nigeria’, American Ethnologist 29(4):963-980. Dunckle, K.L., R. Jewkes, M. Nduna, N. Jama, J. Levin, Y. Sikweyiya and M.P. Koss (2007) ‘Transactional Sex with Casual and Main Partners among Young South African men in Rural Eastern Cape: Prevalence, Predictors, and Associations with Gender-Based Violence’, Social Science and Medicine 65(6):1235-1248. 278 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Elliston, D. A. (1995) ‘Erotic Anthropology: ’Ritualized Homosexuality’ in Melanesia and Beyond’, American Ethnologist 22(4):848-867. Geshiere, P. (1997) The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. Greaber, D. (1996) ‘Love Magic and Political Morality in Central Madagascar 1875-1990’, Gender & History 8(3):416-439. Groes-Green, C. (2009a). Health discourse, sexual slang and ideological contradictions among Mozambican youth: Implications for method. Culture, Health & Sexuality 11(6):655668. Groes-Green, C. (2009b) ‘Hegemonic and Subordinated Masculinities: Class, Violence and Sexual Performance among Mozambican Men’, Nordic Journal of African Studies 18(4):286304. Groes-Green, C. (forthcoming) The Bling scandal: Sexual defacement and transforming young femininities in Mozambique. Forthcoming in Young: Nordic Journal of Youth Research. Haram L. (2004) ‘Prostitutes’ or Modern Women? Negotiating Respectability in Northern Tanzania, in S. Arnfred (ed) Re-thinking Sexualities in Africa. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Hawkins, K., N Price & F. 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Mbwambo (2007) ‘Skinning the Goat and Pulling the Load: Transactional Sex among Youth in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’, AIDS Care 19(8):974-981. Nyamnjoh, F. (2005) Fishing in troubled waters: Disquettes and Thoifs in Dakar. Africa 75(3):295324. Karlyn, A. (2005) ‘Intimacy revealed: Sexual Experimentation and the Construction of Risk among Young People in Mozambique’, Culture, Health & Sexuality 7(3): 279-292. Kulich, D. & M. Wilson (eds) (1995) Taboo: Sex, Identity and Erotic Subjectivity in Anthropological Fieldwork. London: Routledge. Leclerc-Madlala, S. (2003) ‘Transactional Sex and the Pursuit of Modernity’, Social Dynamics 29(2):213-233. Lindholm, C. (1981) ‘Leatherworkers and love potions’, American Ethnologist 8(3):12-25. Loforte, A.M. (2000) Género e poder entre os Tsonga de Moçambique. Maputo: Promédia. Lopes, A.J. (2001) Language revitalisation and reversal in Mozambique: The case of Xironga in Maputo. Current Issues in Language Planning 2: 259–67. Luke, N. 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Unsafe sexual behaviour among schoolgirls in Mozambique: a matter of gender and class. Reproductive Health Matters 9(17):82-90. MISAU (2010) Prevalencia de HIV/SIDA em Moçambique. Maputo: MISAU. Newton, E. (1993) ‘My Best Informant’s Dress: The Erotic Equation in Fieldwork’, Cultural Anthropology 8(1):3-23. Niehaus, I. (2002) ‘Perversion of Power: Witchcraft and the Sexuality of Evil in the South African Lowveld’, Journal of Religion in Africa 32(3):269-99. Ortner, S. & H. Whitehead (1981) ‘Introduction: Accounting for Sexual Meanings’, in Ortner, S. & H. Whitehead (eds) Sexual Meanings: The Cultural Construction of Gender and Sexuality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Parker, R. (2009) Bodies, Pleasure and Passions: Sexual Culture in Contemporary Brazil. Nashville, Ten: Vanderbilt University Press. Parker, R. (1989) ‘Bodies and Pleasure: On the Construction of Erotic Meanings in Contemporary Brazil’, Anthropology & Humanism Quarterly 14(2):58-64. 281 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Passador, L.H. (forthcoming) Women are Evil: Personhood, Gender, Sexuality and Disease in Southern Mozambique, in C. Izugbara & C. Groes-Green (eds) Sexuality, Politics and the Occult in Africa. New York: Nova. Perry, J. and M. Bloch (1989) ‘Introduction: Money and the Morality of Exchange’, in J. Perry and M. Bloch (eds) Money and the Morality of Exchange. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sanders, T. (2001) Save out Skins: Structural Adjustment, Morality and the Occult in Tanzania’, in H.L. Moore and T. Sanders (eds) Magical Interpretations, Material Realities: Modernity, Witchcraft and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa. London: Routledge. Pp. 160-184. Sheldon, K. (2003) ‘Markets and Gardens: Placing Women in the History of Urban Mozambique’, Canadian Journal of African Studies 37(2/3):358-395. Silberschmidt, M. (2005) ‘Poverty, Male Disempowerment, and Male Sexuality: Rethinking Men and Masculinities in Rural and Urban East Africa’, in L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (eds.) African masculinities, pp. 189-203. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Silberschmidt, M. & V. Rasch (2001). Adolescent girls, illegal abortions and “sugar-daddies” in Dar es Salaam: vulnerable victims and active social agents. Social Science & Medicine 52. Spronk, Rachel (2006) Ambiguous Pleasures: Sexuality and new self-definitions in Nairobi. Ph.D. Thesis. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam. Tamale, S. (2006) Eroticism, sensuality and ‘women’s secrets’ among the Baganda. IDS Bulletin 37(5):89-97. Taylor, C. (1990) ‘Condoms and Cosmology: The ‘Fractal’ Person and Sexual Risk in Rwanda’, 282 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Social Science and Medicine 31(9):1023-1028. Wood, K., H. Lambert and R. Jewkes (2008) ‘Injuries are Beyond Love’: Physical Violence in Young South Africans’ Sexual Relationships’, Medical Anthropology 27(1):43-69. 283 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. Endnotes 1 The structure and content of the introduction follows official instructions regading a PhD Dissertation from the Faculty of Health Sciences. Thus, it includes a brief presentation of the results achieved with an assessment of the methods applied and a critical review of the conclusions that can be drawn from the results, a general presentation of the research hypotheses presented in the included articles and a comparison with and assessment of other researchers' published results to the extent that this is relevant to the presentation of the author's contribution to the analysis (Guidelines for the PhD Programme, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen). 2 By ‘safe sex’ I refer to condom use as well as sexual practices that do not involve risks of contracting HIV/AIDS (see AIDS InfoNet 2010). 3 The PhD project was funded by the Danish Council for Development Research (FFU/DANIDA). The relevance of the project was further underlined by its exploration of the peer sex education program Geração Biz, which has been supported by DANIDA and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 4 The short fieldwork in 2010 was carried out on a part time basis since I was at the same time working as a consultant for the Mozambican Ministry of Health. 5 Four field assistants assisted with the survey which was carried out during the first two months of fieldwork. 6 The FGDs had 90 informants all together; 6 FGDs with 5 to 8 male participants, 6 FGDs with 5 to 8 female participants and 3 mixed FGDs with 5 to 8 young women and men. In order to compare the effects of socio-economic background 3 male and 3 female FGDs consisted of young people from suburban schools whereas 2 male and 2 female FGDs had participants from urban ‘middle class’ schools while participants in the remaining FGDs were young people from both social strata. In this final phase of fieldwork the number of informants with whom I had regular contact fluctuated between ten and thirty depending on the social segments that I concentrated on and the opportunities I had to do participant observation. 7 8 Structural adjustment programs imposed by IMF to liberalize markets and designed to address the debt in Africa sought to spur economic growth in the private sector by opening up for foreign investment, diminishing local economies such as state owned enterprises. Reaching this goal involved limited spending by local governments, an end to state food subsidies, reduction of public services, include privatizing of industry and state run services such as electricity, transport and water supply (Hanlon 1996). Costly services in education and the health sector have been cut and the unemployment rate in Maputo has risen from around 30% to 40% in the last decade (Instituto National de Estatística). 9 Changana is from the Bantu language family, other scholars refer to it as Changaan or Xichangana. 10 In this paper, the middle-class or urban youth refer to young people attending schools and living in urban parts of the city called Maputo cimento (concrete Maputo) characterised by a great number of concrete houses, a modern infrastructure, asphalt roads, electricity networks, water supplies and a number of hospitals and health clinics. Most families in concrete Maputo have a high and steady income and usually one or both parents have completed a higher education. Poor or suburban youth refer to young people living in and attending schools on the outskirts of the city in what is called Maputo caniço (reed Maputo) where a majority of houses are made of reed and other cheap building materials and where electricity and water supplies are scarce and where there are few health services. Families in this area suffer from unemployment, an unsteady income, malnutrition and rarely have family members completed any formal education. 11 The most famous Mozambican musicians making pop songs where they blend Portuguese and changana are Ziqo, Liza James, MC Roger, Dama do Bling, Denny OG and Maya Cool. 12 FRELIMO stands for Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Front for the Liberation of Mozambique) and was originally a liberation army founded in Tanzania in 1962 and later winning the armed struggle against the Portuguese in 1975. The official ideology of FRELIMO was Marxist-Leninist, guided by ideals of scientific socialism with its emphasis on progress, education and enlightenment of the population. Customary practices, riruals and ‘ignorance’ shouls disappear and regional ethnic disputes and linguistic diversity shouls be dissolved in favour of a common Mozambican identity and language (Sumich 284 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. 2008). However, FRELIMO has gradually aborted the Marxist-Leninist doctrines in favour of a formally democratic political system (ibid.). 13 The urban secondary schools with peer sex education were Escola Comercial de Maputo and Escola Secundaria Estrela Vermelha; urban schools without peer education were Escola Secundaria de Polana and Escola Secundaria Josina Machel. Suburban schools with peer sex education were Escola Secundaria de Llangane and Escola Secundaria Zedequias Maghalene; suburban schools without peer sex education were Escola Secundaria Quisse Mavota and Escola Secundaria de Malhazine. 14 This article is limited to analysing data on the male cohort. 15 All names are pseudonyms to ensure anonymity of interlocutors. 16 Changana also called Xichangana or Changaan is a Bantu language spoken by the majority of people living in Maputo (Lopes 2001). 17 FRELIMO stands for Frente de Libertação de Moçambique and was founded in 1962. FRELIMO’s liberation army fought the Portuguese colonizers. In 1975 it negotiated independence after the overthrow of the Portuguese Estado Novo. 18 The incident occurred March 22, 2007. 19 RENAMO stands for Resistência National Moçambicana (Mozambican National Resistance) and is today the biggest opposition party in Mozambique. 20 ‘Middle class’ refers in the neo-Marxian tradition to a social class which is formed ideologically in opposition to the socially marginalized working class and vice versa (Weis, 1990). In this understanding the social classes do not necessarily define themselves through work or through their place in the apparatus of capitalist production, but define themselves through the forms of capital available to them and according to their place in the social and economic field as a whole (Bourdieu, 1987). 21 FRELIMO was originally a Marxist-Leninist party which officially opposed foreign influence from market forces and intended to nationalize and collectivize all forms of production. Since the mid-eighties FRELIMO has gradually changed both politics and rhetoric (Sumich, 2008). 22 Maputo caniço (reed Maputo) refers to suburban areas were houses are made of reed and other fragile building materials. In Maputo caniço fieldwork was primarily conducted in two suburban areas, Malhazine and Zona Verde. 23 It has been suggested that we shift attention from looking at hegemony in gender research as an ideology or a structure to critically engaging in studies of the hegemony of actual men in powerful social positions (Hearn, 2004; Beasley, 2008). 24 Linguists also refer to Changana as Changaan or Xichangana. Changana is of the Bantu language family. 25 The high number of young working class men who confessed to me that they were violent towards their partners reflects official reports that use of violence and sexual violence against young women in Maputo is on the rise (Arthur & Mejia, 2006). 26 In Maputo an ‘interesseira’ designates a woman who is ‘interested in the money’ or who is seen as ‘a prostitute’. 27 This difference consists not only in the fact that dominance is based on sheer force, but is also illustrated by historical moments where dominance enters as a political necessity because hegemony and established hierarchies are challenged to the extent that people mobilize against it (Kurtz, 1996). 28 Changana, also called Xichangana or Changaan, is a Bantu language spoken by the majority of people living in Maputo (Lopes 2001). 285 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only. 29 Secondary school is formally free to all Mozambican youth, but recently introduced fees on enrollment, exams and tuition in some municipalities have decreased the ability of some youth to get an education. 30 The HIV/ AIDS epidemic is ravaging Mozambique with a national HIV prevalence rate of 16 per cent; the highest prevalence rates are found in the country’s capital Maputo with 23 per cent and in the second biggest city Beira also with 23 per cent infected (CNCS 2009). Young people in Mozambique are extremely vulnerable in terms of contracting HIV which is underlined by the fact that youth (age 15-24) account for 60% of new HIV infections (UNAIDS 2009). 31 During Portuguese rule in Mozambique it gradually became men’s responsibility to do income generating work outside the homesteads and households where both women and men worked on small land plots and had been more or less self-sufficient. Colonial administrators played a central role towards installing the male provider role through the prazo system under which Portuguese settlers induced or forced Mozambican men to work in the fields in return for a low salary (Arnfred 2004). 32 The fieldwork also included interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation among male informants, the result of which has been presented elsewhere (e.g. Groes-Green, 2009). 33 All informants’ names are pseudonyms. 34 All songs are translated from Portuguese. 35 Names in this article are pseudonyms. All informants have accepted that I use their quotes in my work. 36 Although I also gathered extensive data among young men this article is dedicated to my findings among young women. Although a minor segment of the curtidoras I met were below the age of 18 and that even homeless and orphaned girls down to the age of 13 are said to be entering the sex trade (Sheldon 2003:371) I have for ethical and practical reasons chosen to focus on young women from 18 years and up. 37 Changana, also called Xichangana or Changaan, is a Bantu language spoken by the majority of people living in Maputo (Lopes 2001). 38 The trick of ‘palm pressure’ is notorious among curtidoras and is believed to an effective move in the final stage of seduction, called the o momento de pular (the moment of catching/scoring) or the khomala (Changana: the grab). 39 Just as anthropologist in other contexts have found it hard to distinguish between the qualities of sorcerers and witchdoctors (Fisiy & Geschiere 1991) is not easy to make this distinction among curtidoras. A feitiçeiro was defined as both an expert in magic, in making powerful substances, in inflicting death and illness and in advise on ways to control others but he/she was always seen as the opposite of a curandeiro (healer) who performs good magic and treats illnesses. 40 The nòyi (spirit with evil power) is believed to cause death when its name is called to many times. 41 Malinowski (2002:100-2) and other anthropologists have dealt with love potions and love medicine at length (e.g. Lindholm 1981, Bock 1967). 42 The HIV prevalence rate in Maputo was 22% in 2010 and young women between 16 and 24 years were reported to be the most vulnerable group (MISAU 2010). 286