Using Role Play to (Re) Evaluate the Relationship between Masculinity And / Or Femininity and HIV and AIDS

The paper explores masculinity and / or femininity and their relationship to the prevalence of HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe. The paper implicates both masculinity and femininity as accomplices in spreading HIV and AIDS. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the growing concern that cultural practices contribute to the prevalence of HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe and beyond. The paper further argues that whereas the masculine (male or female) may impose themselves on the feminine (female or male), the latter also contributes to the prevalence of HIV and AIDS by willingly accepting the imposition as a societal ‘norm' or value to use Taylor's (2003) theory of scenarios. The unquestioned acceptance of the masculine's demands becomes the norm or scenario that should be viewed as ‘natural' by both the hegemonic masculine and the subaltern feminine in a relationship. To carry out the study, a case study design was adopted as the operational framework for data gathering. Data was collected from Mount Zion, Temeraire Baptist Church in Mashava, Masvingo province by engaging Practice As Research (PAR) and participant observation. The sample comprised 20 adolescents made up of 10 boys and 10 girls. The results gathered from the research confirmed that to a greater extent, societal norms and attitudes influence one's behaviour towards life in general and sex to be specific. These findings demonstrate the need for academics, government, families and other interested stakeholders to re-evaluate cultural practices and specifically, gender roles.