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Sikweyiya YM, Leon N, Lurie MN, Majola M, Colvin CJ. Soccer clubs as avenues for gender transformative socialization of adolescent boys in Cape Town and Mthatha, South Africa: A qualitative study. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0280932. [PMID: 36730276 PMCID: PMC9894412 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
In this paper, we explore the gender socialization of adolescent boys in soccer clubs, and ask whether there are opportunities for integrating gender transformative elements into that socialization. This qualitative study involved 11 in-depth interviews and informal conversations with male soccer coaches from Gugulethu township and Mthatha town in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, respectively. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. We found that the coaches felt that the adolescent boys in their soccer clubs faced serious social and emotional challenges, with the boys' poor socio-economic backgrounds and fragmented family structures being major contributors to these challenges. Most coaches also gave themselves the responsibility to try to address some of the challenges faced by their club members. To do this, they employed specific strategies, including creating an alliance with parents and professionals. In the process, the coaches engaged the boys on topics around respect, sexual and reproductive health, and avoiding alcohol, drugs, and involvement in criminal gangs. Some coaches also played a social fathering role to club members as a way of helping them to think differently about their lives, redirect risky practices, and reduce the chance for poor health outcomes. These findings highlight the role of soccer clubs and coaches as potential avenues for health- and equity-promoting gender socialization of adolescent boys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yandisa Msimelelo Sikweyiya
- Gender and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- * E-mail:
| | - Natalie Leon
- Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, United States of America
| | - Mark N. Lurie
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, United States of America
- Division of Social and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Mandla Majola
- Division of Social and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Christopher J. Colvin
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, United States of America
- Division of Social and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
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Carney A, Mulei T, Kurao D, Hagstrom C, Sommer M. “When I woke up I was so worried and ashamed, I thought it was a disease”: Adolescent boys’ transitions through puberty in Kenya. FRONTIERS IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH 2022; 4:956060. [PMID: 36419962 PMCID: PMC9677552 DOI: 10.3389/frph.2022.956060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence suggests a need for more focused attention on boys’ experiences of puberty in sub-Saharan Africa to assure healthy transitions into young adulthood. Existing research remains limited on the masculinity norms shaping boys’ maturation experiences in Kenya. To help fill this gap, we conducted a comparative case study using qualitative methodologies with 16–19-year-old male youth in rural and urban Kenya, and with adults interacting in boys’ daily lives. Findings suggest that Kenyan boys experience shame, confusion and silence around changes happening in their bodies; face pressures from new societal expectations as they become young men; and have adolescent lives shaped by minimal supervision, increased peer pressures and engagement in more risky health behaviors. Additional research and targeted interventions on boys transitioning through puberty and early adolescence are needed to better understand their vulnerabilities and prevent or reduce their engagement in unsafe behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Christine Hagstrom
- Department of Population and Family Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, United States
| | - Marni Sommer
- Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, United States
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