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.
Sanyu A. Mojola is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
“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
288 pp.6 x 9
9780520280946$29.95|£25.00Paper
May 2014