“Ndiyindoda” [I am a man]: theorising Xhosa masculinity

Masculinity studies in South Africa depend on Western gender theories to frame research questions and fieldwork. This article argues that such theories offer a limited understanding of Xhosa constructions of masculinity. Xhosa notions of masculinity are embodied in the concept of indoda, meaning a traditionally circumcised person. This article explores the nuanced meanings of indoda and its relationship to other masculinities, like uncircumcised boys [inkwenkwe] and medically circumcised men. The discussion reveals that indoda is the most “honoured” form of masculinity. A traditionally circumcised individual is regarded as indoda, a real man, irrespective of his sexual orientation or class, and this affords him certain rights and privileges. Inkwenkwe and medically circumcised men embody “subordinate” forms of masculinity and are victims of stigma and discrimination by indoda. This requires us to revisit some Western theories of masculinity which place heterosexual men at the top of a masculine hierarchy and gay men at the bottom. It furthermore requires us to pay attention to the body when theorising Xhosa masculinity, since it is a principal way of “proving” and “defending” Xhosa manhood.IBS

Determinants of livestock keeper's primary animal health care practises: A partial proportional odds model

Paper removed at authors request 19-Nov-2019

Determinants of livestock keeper's primary animal health care practises: A partial proportional odds model

Paper removed at authors request 19-Nov-2019

School-based randomized controlled trial of an HIV/STD risk-reduction intervention for South African adolescents

The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of a school-based human HIV/STD risk reduction intervention for adolescents in South Africa. A cluster-randomized controlled design with assessments of self-reported sexual behaviour was collected before intervention and 3, 6 and 12 months after invention.

Cognitive-behavioural health-promotion intervention increases fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity among South African adolescents: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

Rates of chronic diseases are high among Black South Africans but few studies have tested cognitive-behavioural health-promotion interventions to reduce this problem. We tested the efficacy of such an intervention among adolescents in a cluster-randomised controlled trial. We randomly selected 9 of 17 matched pairs of schools and randomised one school in each pair to the cognitive-behavioural health-promotion intervention designed to encourage health-related behaviours and the other to a human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted disease (STD) risk-reduction intervention that served as the control. Interventions were based on social cognitive theory, the theory of planned behaviour and qualitative data from the target population. Data collectors, blind to participants' intervention, administered confidential assessments at baseline and 3, 6 and 12 months post-intervention. Primary outcomes were fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity. Participants were 1057 grade 6 learners (mean age=12.4 years), with 96.7% retained at 12-month follow-up. Generalised estimating equations revealed that averaged over the follow-ups, a greater percentage of health-promotion intervention participants than HIV/STD control participants met 5-a-Day fruit and vegetable and physical activity guidelines. The intervention also increased health-promotion knowledge, attitude and intention, but did not decrease substance use or substance-use attitude and intention. The findings suggest that theory based and contextually appropriate interventions may increase health behaviours among young adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.

HIV/STI risk-reduction intervention efficacy with South African adolescents over 54 months

Little research has tested HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk-reduction interventions' effects on early adolescents as they age into middle and late adolescence. This study tested whether intervention-induced reductions in unprotected intercourse during a 12-month period endured over a 54-month period and whether the intervention reduced the prevalence of STIs, which increase risk for HIV. Grade 6 learners (mean age = 12.4 years) participated in a 12-month trial in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, in which 9 matched pairs of schools were randomly selected and within pairs randomized to a theory-based HIV/STI risk-reduction intervention or an attention-control intervention. They completed 42- and 54-month post-intervention measures of unprotected intercourse (the primary outcome), other sexual behaviors, theoretical constructs, and, at 42- and 54-month follow-up only, biologically confirmed curable STIs (chlamydial infection, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis) and herpes simplex virus 2. Results: The HIV/STI risk-reduction intervention reduced unprotected intercourse averaged over the entire follow-up period, an effect not significantly reduced at 42- and 54-month follow-up compared with 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. The intervention caused positive changes on theoretical constructs averaged over the 5 follow-ups, although most effects weakened at long-term follow-up. Although the intervention's main effect on STIs was nonsignificant, an Intervention Condition X Time interaction revealed that it significantly reduced curable STIs at 42-month follow-up in adolescents who reported sexual experience. These results suggest that theory-based behavioral interventions with early adolescents can have long-lived effects in the context of a generalized severe HIV epidemic.

Coming to self-awareness – in search of an education for non-violence

This paper draws on intentionality systems theory to begin a discussion about the relationship between the act of violence and thinking. The context against which the paper is developed is the widespread incidence of violence amongst young male South Africans. With the objective of beginning a discussion about an education which responds to this violence, this paper looks at the experience of a young South African man in Cape Town who is convicted for murder. It uses this young man's experience to understand how individuals manage their subjectivities and come to take conscious control of their own lives. It looks at where thinking is taking place and what it consists of in contexts where violence is immanent.