Sexual health care of two generations of men: continuities and volatilities of scripts and habitus

Abstract

To acquire in-depth understanding of meanings attributed by young men to sexual health care, the similarities and asymmetries present in a corpus of 60 reports of men from two different generations were analyzed regarding this type of care. A process of in-depth hermeneutics was undertaken under the theoretical sociological perspectives of sexual scripts, male habitus and generation. Fifteen analytical categories were grouped together into the three dimensions of sexual scripts (intra-psychic, interpersonal and cultural). Some findings indicate the presence of provisions which were not enduring and have not been transposed to the next generation. However, striking cultural similarities or habitus around male sexuality were also found in the two different socio-historical contexts, allowing for an interpretation on the as yet inconstant use of condoms among the young.