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The sexual culture of marginalized youth in Cape Verde: pathways to the prostitution of poor young women

The paper provides insights into the behavior of marginalized youth in Cape Verde and integrates these insights into theories of masculinities. Exploring the pathways to prostitution among young poor urban women and their relationship to their peers, the poor young men they interact with, the paper focuses on how a change in sexual norms has led to a reversal of previous social arrangements, in which men were the 'skirt chasers' and the providers, to ones in which women seek partners based on desire and have the economic means to sustain such relationships. The paper uses data from some in-depth interviews, some focus group discussions, and participant observation to examine male perceptions of pathways to female prostitution.

prostitution; masculinities; sexual and reproductive culture


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