Cultural scripts surrounding young people’s sexual and romantic relationships in the Western Highlands of Guatemala

Bibliographic Data

ID15098274
AuthorsRoyce Singleton (0000-0001-9749-6687, Emory University), Robyn Singleton, Heidi Schroffel (0000-0002-5611-9727, Emory University), Trinity Findlay (Emory University), Kate Winskell (0000-0001-7772-3037, Emory University, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume18
Issue9
Pages1039-1053
Publication date2016-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691058.2016.1142611
PMID26986072
OpenAlexW2300219986
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited28

Guatemala has one of the world's highest teenage pregnancy rates and 92% of young people report not using contraception for first sex. We conducted narrative-based thematic analysis of a sample of narratives (n = 40; 15 male-authored, 25 female-authored) on HIV and sexuality, submitted to a 2013 scriptwriting competition by young people aged 15-19 years from Guatemala's Western Highlands. Our objective was to identify dominant cultural scripts and narratives that deviated positively from that norm with a view to informing the development of educational curricula and communication materials promoting youth sexual and reproductive health. The narratives are characterised by romantic themes and melodramatic plotlines: three in four had tragic endings. Rigid gender norms and ideologies of enduring love make female characters blind to the potential consequences of unprotected sex and vulnerable to betrayal and abandonment. Unprotected sex is the norm, with contraception and sexually transmitted infection protection mentioned rarely. In the four positively deviant narratives, female and male characters' interaction is based on mutual respect, dialogue and genuine affection. The narratives reveal opportunities for action to increase sexual health knowledge and access to services and to challenge harmful cultural scripts, potentially by leveraging the positive value attached to romantic love by authors of both sexes

Affection · Art · Human sexuality · Literature · Narrative · Population · Reproductive health · Romance · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Demography · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Media Influence and Health · Psychology · Social Psychology

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