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Love, Money, and HIV

Becoming a Modern African Woman in the Age of AIDS
by Sanyu A. Mojola (Author)
Hardcover Paperback eBook
Price: $95.00 / £80.00
Publication Date: May 2014
Edition: 1st Edition
Title Details:
Rights: World
Pages: 288
ISBN: 9780520280939
Trim Size: 6 x 9
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About the Book

How do modern women in developing countries experience sexuality and love? Drawing on a rich array of interview ethnographic and survey data from her native country of Kenya Sanyu A. Mojola examines how young African women who suffer disproportionate rates of HIV infection compared to young African men navigate their relationships schooling employment and finances in the context of economic inequality and a devastating HIV epidemic. Writing from a unique outsider-insider perspective Mojola argues that the entanglement of love money and the transformation of girls into “consuming women” lies at the heart of women’s coming-of-age and health crises. At once engaging and compassionate this text is an incisive analysis of gender sexuality and health in Africa.

About the Author

Sanyu A. Mojola is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface

1. A Stubborn Disparity
2. Consuming Women Modernity and HIV Risk
3. Historical and Cultural Context
4. Love Money and HIV Prevention
5. School and the Production of Consuming Women
6. Gendered Economies and the Role of Ecology in HIV Risk
7. “To Stem HIV in Africa Prevent Transmission to Young Women”

Epilogue: The Magic Bullet

Notes
Appendix
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index

Reviews

“Love Money and HIV offers a compelling account of the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Mojola advances a fascinating sociological understanding of the transmission of this disease and makes a forceful case that to stem the epidemic public policy should focus on [young women] using a combination of biomedical behavioral social and ecological approaches. The work humanizes the victims of the AIDS epidemic and explains why the current intervention strategies have not been effective at stopping the disease.”
—Christine Williams Professor of Sociology University of Texas at Austin

“Mojola weaves an in-depth story of young Kenyan women caught between the desire to become beautiful modern women; the need for consumer goods to demonstrate their transformations; and gendered social structures that limit their own sources of income. This enlightening book is a necessary read for academics policymakers and anyone interested in uncovering the complexities of HIV/AIDS in Africa.”
—Nancy Luke Associate Professor of Sociology and Demography Pennsylvania State University

Awards

  • 2015 Finalist, Bethwell A. Ogot Prize for Best Book on East African Studies, African Studies Association
  • 2016 Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Book Award, American Sociological Assocation