The aim of this article is to analyze social representations of male adolescents about the meaning of being a boy and the implications for their sexual interactions. To that purpose we examine data from a qualitative research among male adolescents from two socioeconomic strata: low and middle-low residents from the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA). The data show that the conception about a male desire greater than the female desire is in great part justified by essentialist arguments (biological reasons). However, this conception is also justified by social arguments or a mix of social and essentialist arguments. A social determinism, as well as a mix between social and biological arguments, might guide to a naturalization of sexual relations that could obstruct individual and social change.
masculinity; sexuality; adolescents
