Convenções de gênero e sexualidade na vulnerabilidade às DSTs/AIDS de adolescentes femininas

Conventions of gender and sexuality in vulnerability to STD/AIDS among female adolescents

Abstract

Objective: The feminization of AIDS is most significant in adolescence, when the number of infected female adolescents is
higher than that of boys. The purpose of this study was to understand the aspects of sexuality and gender among female
adolescents living in working-class communities in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which increase their vulnerability to STD/AIDS.
Methods: The method applied was qualitative, through 10 focus groups, each of which was conducted in one commu
nity, with participation of 139 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years. The topics covered were gender, sexuality and STD/AIDS.
Results: The adolescents in working-class communities experience unfavorable socioeconomic contexts, with diminished
opportunities for acquiring better lifestyle concepts, which leads them into a process of sexual-affective devaluation. The
incorporation of concepts and expressions of gender tend to put that segment of the population at a low level of female
dignity, which leaves them exposed to STD/AIDS to the extent that they do not feel empowered to request condom use.
Conclusion: The female adolescents engage in sexual-affective relationships that are vulnerable to STD/AIDS, because of
gender issues that they experience within their social context.