Open AccessDialectics of Gender and Reproductive Health
Author(s) -
Dipendra Bikram Sijapati
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
patan-pragya
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2594-3278
DOI - 10.3126/pragya.v6i1.34430
Subject(s) - dialectic , interdependence , normative , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , reproductive health , power (physics) , social psychology , psychology , sociology , gender studies , medicine , political science , demography , social science , epistemology , population , philosophy , physics , family medicine , quantum mechanics , law
The relationship between gender and health is a deeply interdependent one. Yet research in this area has focused primarily on how gender relations determine health behavior and health outcomes. This article advocates a more holistic approach that conceptualizes gender and health as fully intertwined and mutually constitutive. This interplay is explored through the case of HIV discordance in which one person in a relationship is HIV positive and the other HIV negative. Drawing on in-depth research with discordant couples in urban Uganda, this study indicates that living with discordance can both reinforce and challenge normative gender power dynamics in relationships. This study, therefore, illustrates how significant health problems can influence gender relations. As such, it reveals the dialectical relationship between gender and health and also provides important insights for HIV prevention in the new era of antiretroviral treatment as prevention.