Particular Discourse Focused Around Gender.

¶ … particular discourse focused around gender. There are various discourses surrounding gender and the paper will look at one that has been in existed working according to certain assumptions in relation to gender. It will analyze the significance of gender in relation to a particular way speakers construct their relationships and identities through talk. It is worthy to note that if there is no strategy in discourse, there would also be no expression of dominance or submissiveness in the conversation.

There are many competing discourses around gender but I will particularly look at competing discourse around gender in regard to safe sex. Campaign on safe sex are everywhere from our schools, hospitals and even the media is playing a critical role on the issue. With the advent of HIV, sexual health campaigns and sex education have been instilled in schools to advocate for safe sex especially among the youth. However I wish to argue in this paper, that the concept on safer sex using condoms is a guise because it is mainly male focused and may not extrapolate well to young women who are at a greater risk of contracting the disease and pregnancy too.

There have been rigid societal gender norm that show that the female is not supposed to make any decisions related to sex and that is why they are not in position to advocate for safe sex from their partners. They know they ought to, but on the other hand they leave the decision for men to make. This is especially so in the developing countries where men are considered as the overall decision makers and are the ones who make all the decisions including that of the reproductive health of their female partners.

The health promotions in fact are based on assumptions that there will be rational thinking during sexual encounters yet sometime this is obscured during sexual arousal culminated with desire and also the unequal power that exists between men and women engaging in sex. A woman may want to demand for safe sex but many factors work against her-they are not empowered enough to demand for safe sex. Women have traditionally been made to look at sex as something that men have control over and so all is left upon the men to decide.

The effect of this tension is that many people, men and especially women are hesitant about using safe methods as condoms. And what are the reasons behind this? There is the problem of negotiation, accessibility factor to condoms, and the fact that it is not 100% a sure way for safe sex. When it comes to sex, women are constructed to be submissive and guided while men take all the control and these are certain assumptions about masculinity and femininity.

For the health promotion to be successful, they must look at the broad spectrum facing both men and women when they become sexually active and the context in which young people conduct their sexual lives should be analyzed. These limitations on both men and women work to limit the powers of the gender in relation to various situational areas. For instance, the methods advocated for safe sex are usually out of reach for many people maybe due to the cost or their availability.

'A woman is limited in making influential and important decisions and so is the man.' (Tannen, 1996) For instance, the man cannot sometime make a decision on how many children they will have especially if they both do not make the decision together. This particular discourse around gender is mainly in the developing countries where safe sex is still being introduced and efforts are at their peak to see that the two genders take up the initiative.

The importance of my study is to test the theoretical intersections among individuals on safe sex and understand how this facilitates to the success of the debate on safe sex campaigns. It is ideal to highlight on the need to empower women in a society that suppresses their needs and desires in the name of culture and traditions yet there at a greater risk. 'An attitudinal change is necessary especially because it is imbedded in culture and traditions that are highly honored.' (Shiach 1992)Findings of this study show it is useful in understanding negotiating skills of women on safe sex practices the similar areas and consequently plan and develop interventions.