African Sex is Dangerous!' Renegotiating 'Ritual Sex' in Contemporary Masaka District

Bibliographic Data

ID2620122
AuthorsNyanzi (0000-0002-6400-4014, corresponding author), Stella Nyanzi, Justine Nassimbwa, Vincent Kayizzi, Strivan Kabanda
Year2008
Volume78
Issue4
Pages518-539
Publication date2008-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAfrica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0001-9720 • E-ISSN: 1750-0184
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3366/e0001972008000429
OpenAlexW2154864660
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited34

The sexual culture of sub-Saharan African peoples is variously utilized as an explanation for the high incidence of HIV in Africa. Thus it has been the target of behaviour change campaigns championed by massive public health education. Based on ethnographic fieldwork (using participant observation, individual interviews, focus group discussions, and a survey) in Masaka District, this article contests a reified, homogeneous and ethnocentric sexualizing of Africans. It engages with how prescribed ritual sex practices are (re)negotiated, contested, affirmed, policed, revised and given meaning within the context of a society living with HIV/AIDS. Among Baganda, sex is customarily a vital component for 'completing' individual prosperity, kin-group equilibrium and social cohesion. Various forms of prescribed customary sexual activities range from penetrative sex interaction between penis and vagina, to symbolic performances such as (male) jumping over women's legs or (female) wearing of special belts. Unlike portrayals of customary sex activities in anti-HIV/AIDS discourse, the notion of 'dangerous sex' and the fear of contagion are not typical of all ritual sex practices in Masaka. Akin to Christianity, colonialism, colonial medicine and modernizing discourses, anti-HIV/AIDS campaigns are the contemporary social policemen for sex, sexuality and sexual behaviour. In this regard, public health discourse in Uganda is pathologizing the mundane aspects of customary practices. The HIV/AIDS metaphor is variously utilized by Baganda to negotiate whether or not to engage in specific ritual sex activities

Colonialism · Ethnography · Human sexuality · Participant observation · Political science · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Law · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Social Psychology