Love for sale in SA's schools

12 November 2015 - 02:15 By Suthentira Govender

Teenage boys regard girls who forge multiple relationships with sugar-daddies for chocolates, airtime, money, car rides and a life of glamour as "gold diggers". And the boys feel growing resentment towards older men for stealing their potential girlfriends.These are some of the findings of a recent University of KwaZulu-Natal study, published in the Journal of Youth Studies, that unpacks sex, gender and money issues among black teenagers.Forty-four focus groups which included 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds from KwaZulu-Natal schools were canvassed by Professor Deevia Bhana from the university's School of Education.The study found that, while youngsters believe a life of "glamour" is largely elusive, it is possible "through multiple partnering and sugar-daddy relationships, which they observe is also evident in teacher and learner relationships".It added: "A teacher buying lunch for a teenage woman in poverty provides the foundation for sexual relations questioning the moral fibre of teachers in schools."Pupils were asked to share their views on various topics including "material conceptions of love".One pupil said: "Some of the girls, they just want boyfriends because this one is buying airtime, and this one is buying chocolates."Another said: "I think the older men, eh, they took our girlfriends, they convince them because they drive nice cars. The sugar daddy says to the girl: 'Hey baby let's go, leave this boy.' You do nothing, you just go home."Another said: "There are teachers who are sugar-daddies to the learners, they buy them lunch."According to the study, teenage boys face "sexual challenges as they cannot jockey for power when teenage women make choices based on economic power [that the boys] cannot offer, which creates resentment towards older men".The research also suggested that teenagers view relationships in emotional and romantic ways, debunking perceptions that black male teenagers "are sexual predators without feelings" and black girls "pitiful victims of sexuality".It found that, contrary to racist perceptions that blacks are promiscuous and driven by sexual desire, pupils who participated in the study spoke eloquently about love."Love is where you feel like you care for someone so much, and you want her to get everything - food everything, even live a proper life," said one pupil...

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