Heterosexual ‘situationships’ and HIV exposure for sexual and gender minority persons assigned female at birth in the Western Kenyan context

Bibliographic Data

ID15099567
AuthorsHeather M Tucker (0000-0003-2565-1996, University of Michigan, corresponding author), Don Catherine Awuor (Women Working for Women (3W)), Anita Mbanda (Women Empower and Mentor All), Rebecca Odhiambo (Women Empower and Mentor All), Saige Porter (School of Public Health, University of Michigan), Saige S Porter (University of Michigan), Emmy Kageha Igonya (0000-0001-7155-3786, African Population and Health Research Center), Emmy Igonya (African Population and Research Centre)
Year2025
Pages1-12
Publication date2025-06-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691058.2025.2515199
PMID40539992
OpenAlexW4411470664
LanguageEN
References cited39

Sexual and gender minority persons assigned female at birth (hereafter referred to as lesbian, bisexual, queer, transgender, intersex, gender non-conforming, non-binary and other sexual and gender minority persons, or LBQT+ persons) experience extreme vulnerabilities to negative sexual health outcomes due to intersectional stigma in the Western Kenyan context. To navigate the structural violence created by this intersectional stigma, many LBQT+ persons manoeuvre heterosexual 'situationships', or relationships with cis-gender men. While such relationships help them to navigate economic inequalities and gendered expectations, they create vulnerability to intimate partner violence, and negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes, as well as the risk of acquiring HIV. Reflecting on the findings from a three month long feminist ethnographic study in Kisumu, Kenya, this paper explores the lived realities of LBQT+ persons, including those within heterosexual 'situationships', and the need to navigate compulsory heterosexual norms. The paper aims to challenge any conception that members of this group may not be vulnerable to HIV, highlighting the need to include the group and its specific needs in HIV and sexual and reproductive health interventions, research and programming, and calling for greater attention to the structural stigma its members experience as a barrier to health

Context (archaeology · Developmental psychology · Family medicine · Geography · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Human sexuality · Intersectionality · Kenya · Lesbian · Political science · Population · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Reproductive health · Sexual minority · Social stigma · Sociology · Stigma (botany · Transgender · Vulnerability (computing · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Demography · Gender Studies · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Medicine · Psychology