"She'll be right"? National identity explanations for poor sexual health statistics in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Bibliographic Data

ID4595273
AuthorsBraun (0000-0002-3435-091X, University of Auckland, corresponding author), Virginia Braun
Year2008
Volume67
Issue11
Pages1817-1825
Publication date2008-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science & Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0277-9536 • E-ISSN: 1873-5347
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.09.022
PMID18849099
OpenAlexW1993932839
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited44

The sexual health statistics around sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Aotearoa (New Zealand) suggest two things: many STIs are increasing, and the STI rates are high compared to other 'similar' countries. What sense do ordinary New Zealanders make of these figures? Focusing on heterosexual sex, this paper discusses lay accounts that sought to make sense of Aotearoa's STI statistics. In total, 58 participants (38 women, 20 men) aged 16-36 years (mean age 25) took part in 15 focus group discussions related to sexual health. Participants were mostly Pākehā (of European ancestry) and heterosexual. Data were analysed thematically. The predominant category of explanation was national 'identity' accounts. National 'identity' explanations invoked a particular New Zealand persona to explain the sexual health statistics. New Zealanders were characterised, sometimes contradictorily, as binge drinkers; poor communicators; self-sufficient and stoic; conservative yet highly and complacently sexual; and 'laid back', which was associated with a lack of personal concern about sexual health risk. The emphasis on national identity shifts responsibility for sexual health from the individual, and suggests agency lies beyond the individual, who is fully embedded in their culture and acts according to its dictates. In terms of sexual health, this suggests a need to consider whether, and if so how, national 'identity' might be meaningfully invoked and deployed in sexual health promotion initiatives

Agency (philosophy · Aotearoa · Human sexuality · Identity (music · National Survey of Family Growth · Population · Reproductive health · Sexual identity · Social science · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Demography · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Social Psychology

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