What's your attitude?: College male students' narratives about AIDS preventive care

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze 22 narratives of collegian young men, focusing on the meaning attributed to sexuality and AIDS prevention. The narratives, registered in 2009, are part of the research Masculine Sexuality and Health Care's collection, whicha was made in Rio de Janeiro.. The theoretical framework adopted is the concept of hegemonic masculinity and sexual script. The methodological design is the study of narratives. The starting point was the assumption that, beyond schooling, hegemonic masculinity marks influence the meanings attributed and the adherence to AIDS' prevention. The need of revising male sexual health care actions is highlighted, in order to include cultural aspects associated to the construction of subjects identity, as well as the need of health care and information services which favor a preventive attitude.