Volume 37 - Article 10 | Pages 251–294  

Physical attractiveness and women’s HIV risk in rural Malawi

By Margaret Frye, Sophia Chae

References

Agnew, C.R. and Thompson, V.D. (1994). Causal inferences and responsibility attributions concerning an HIV-positive target: The double-edged sword of physical attractiveness. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 9(1): 181‒190.

Download reference:

Agocha, V.B. and Cooper, M.L. (1999). Risk perceptions and safer-sex intentions: Does a partner’s physical attractiveness undermine the use of risk-relevant information? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 25(6): 751–765.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Anglewicz, P., adams, j., Obare, F., Kohler, H.-P., and Watkins, S. (2009). The Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project 2004–06: Data collection, data quality, and analysis of attrition. Demographic Research 20(21): 503–540.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Anglewicz, P. and Kohler, H.-P. (2009). Overestimating HIV infection: The construction and accuracy of subjective probabilities of HIV infection in rural Malawi. Demographic Research 20(6): 65–96.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Awusabo-Asare, K. and Annim, S.K. (2008). Wealth status and risky sexual behaviour in Ghana and Kenya. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy 6(1): 27–39.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Baranov, V., Bennett, D., and Kohler, H.-P. (2015). The indirect impact of antiretroviral therapy: Mortality Risk, mental health, and HIV-negative labor supply. Journal of Health Economics 44: 195–211.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Becker, G.S. (1978). The economic approach to human behavior. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Download reference:

Berhan, Y. and Berhan, A. (2013). Meta-analysis on risky sexual behaviour of men: Consistent findings from different parts of the world. AIDS Care 25(2): 151–159.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Buss, D.M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 12(1): 1–14.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Cammack, D. (2012). Malawi in crisis, 2011–12. Review of African Political Economy 39(132): 375–388.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Chiweshe, M.K. and Bhatasara, S. (2013). Ndezve Varume Izvi: Hegemonic masculinities and misogyny in popular music in Zimbabwe. Africa Media Review 21(1): 151–170.

Download reference:

Clark, S., Poulin, M., and Kohler, H.-P. (2009). Marital aspirations, sexual behaviors, and HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi. Journal of Marriage and Family 71(2): 396–416.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Coly, A.A. (2015). Un/Clothing African womanhood: Colonial statements and postcolonial discourses of the African female body. Journal of Contemporary African Studies 33(1).

Weblink:
Download reference:

Conroy, A.A. (2014). Gender, power, and intimate partner violence: A study on couples from rural Malawi. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 29(5): 866–888.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Deeks, J. (1998). When can odds ratios mislead? British Medical Journal 317(7166): 1155–1157.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Delavande, A. and Kohler, H.-P. (2009). Subjective expectations in the context of HIV/AIDS in Malawi. Demographic Research 20(31): 817–874.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Dijkstra, B. (1996). Evil sisters: The threat of female sexuality and the cult of manhood. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Dijkstra, P., Buunk, B.P., and Blanton, H. (2000). The effect of target’s physical attractiveness and dominance on STD-risk perceptions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 30(8): 1738–1755.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Farrer, J. (2010). A foreign adventurer’s paradise? Interracial sexuality and alien sexual capital in reform era Shanghai. Sexualities 13(1): 69–95.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Feingold, A. (1990). Gender differences in effects of physical attractiveness on romantic attraction: A comparison across five research paradigms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 59(5): 981‒993.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Fiaveh, D.Y., Izugbara, C.O., Okyerefo, M.P.K., Reysoo, F., and Fayorsey, C.K. (2015). Constructions of masculinity and femininity and sexual risk negotiation practices among women in urban Ghana. Culture, Health and Sexuality 17(5): 650–662.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Filmer, D. and Pritchett, L. (1999). The effect of household wealth on educational attainment: Evidence from 35 countries. Population and Development Review 25(1): 85–120.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Fisman, R. (2006). Gender differences in mate selection: Evidence from a speed dating experiment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 121(2): 673–697.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Frye, M. and Gheihman, N. (2015). Bees to a flower: Men’s activation of sexual culture in Malawi. Paper presented at the 7th African Population Conference, Johannesburg, 30 November‒4 December 2015.

Download reference:

Frye, M. and Trinitapoli, J. (2015). Ideals as anchors for relationship experiences. American Sociological Review 80(3): 496–525.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Gilman, L. (2011). The dance of politics: Gender, performance, and democratization in Malawi. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Download reference:

Goldenberg, J.L. and Roberts, T.-N. (2004). The beast within the beauty: An existential perspective on the objectification and condemnation of women. In: Greenberg, J., Koole, S.L., and Pyszczynski, T. (eds.). Handbook of experimental existential psychology. New York: Guilford Press: 71–85.

Download reference:

Goodreau, S.M., Cassels, S., Kasprzyk, D., Montaño, D.E., Greek, A., and Morris, M. (2012). Concurrent partnerships, acute infection and HIV epidemic dynamics among young adults in Zimbabwe. AIDS and Behavior 16(2): 312–322.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Green, A.I. (ed.) (2013). Sexual fields: Toward a sociology of collective sexual life. Chicago : University of Press.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Hakim, C. (2010). Erotic capital. European Sociological Review 26(5): 499–518.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Hanmer, M.J. and Kalkan, K.O. (2013). Behind the curve: Clarifying the best approach to calculating predicted probabilities and marginal effects from limited dependent variable models. American Journal of Political Science 57(1): 263–277.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Hansen, K.T. (2000). Salaula: The world of secondhand clothing and Zambia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Download reference:

Hunter, M. (2010). Love in the time of AIDS: Inequality, gender, and rights in South Africa. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

Download reference:

Jaeger, M.M. (2011). ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’? Returns to physical attractiveness over the life course. Social Forces 89(3): 983–1003.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Jankowiak, W. and Ramsey, A. (2000). Femme fatale and status fatale: A cross-cultural perspective. Cross-Cultural Research 34(1): 57–69.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Joffe, H. and Dockrell, J.E. (1995). Safer sex: Lessons from the male sex industry. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology 5(5): 333–346.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Judge, T.A., Hurst, C., and Simon, L.S. (2009). Does it pay to be smart, attractive, or confident (or all three)? Relationships among general mental ability, physical attractiveness, core self-evaluations, and income. Journal of Applied Psychology 94(3): 742‒755.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Kaler, A. (2006). ‘When they see money, they think it’s life’: Money, modernity and morality in two sites in rural Malawi. Journal of Southern African Studies 32(2): 335–349.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Kaler, A. (2004). AIDS-talk in everyday life: The presence of HIV/AIDS in men’s informal conversation in southern Malawi. Social Science and Medicine 59(2): 285–297.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Kaler, A., Angotti, N., and Ramaiya, A. (2016). ‘They are looking just the same’: Antiretroviral treatment as social danger in rural Malawi. Social Science and Medicine 167: 71–78.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Kaler, A., Watkins, S.C., and Angotti, N. (2015). Making meaning in the time of AIDS: Longitudinal narratives from the Malawi Journals Project. African Journal of AIDS Research 14(4): 303–314.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Kelaher, M., Ross, M.W., Rohrsheim, R., Drury, M., and Clarkson, A. (1994). Dominant situational determinants of sexual risk behaviour in gay men. AIDS 8(1): 101–106.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Kelley, J. (1978). Sexual permissiveness: Evidence for a theory. Journal of Marriage and the Family 40(3): 455–468.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Kohler, H.-P. and Thornton, R.L. (2012). Conditional cash transfers and HIV/AIDS prevention: Unconditionally promising? The World Bank Economic Review 26(2): 165–190.

Download reference:

Kohler, H.-P., Watkins, S.C., Behrman, J.R., Anglewicz, P., Kohler, I.V., Thornton, R.L., Mkandawire, J., Honde, H., Hawara, A., Chilima, B., Bandawe, C., and Mwapasa, V. (2015). Cohort profile: The Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH). International Journal of Epidemiology 44(2): 394–404.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Kruse, M.I. and Fromme, K. (2005). Influence of physical attractiveness and alcohol on men’s perceptions of potential sexual partners and sexual behavior intentions. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology 13(2): 146‒156.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Langlois, J.H., Kalakanis, L., Rubenstein, A.J., Larson, A., Hallam, M., and Smoot, M. (2000). Maxims or myths of beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin 126(3): 390‒423.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Laumann, E.O., Ellingson, S., Mahay, J., Paik, A., and Youm, Y. (2005). The sexual organization of the city. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Download reference:

Li, N.P., Ballety, J.M., Kenrick, D.Z., and Linsenmeier, J.A. (2002). The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: Testing the tradeoffs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 82(6): 947–955.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Long, S.J. and Freese, J. (2006). Regression models for categorical dependent variables using Stata. College Station: StataCorp LP.

Download reference:

Luo, S. and Zhang, G. (2009). What leads to romantic attraction: Similarity, reciprocity, or beauty? Evidence from a speed-dating study. Journal of Personality 77(4): 933–964.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Martin, J.L. and George, M. (2006). Theories of sexual stratification: Toward an analytics of the sexual field and a theory of sexual capital. Sociological Theory 24(2): 107–132.

Weblink:
Download reference:

McClintock, E.A. (2014). Beauty and status: The illusion of exchange in partner selection? American Sociological Review 79(4): 575‒604.

Weblink:
Download reference:

McClintock, E.A. (2011). Handsome wants as handsome does: Physical attractiveness and gender differences in revealed sexual preferences. Biodemography and Social Biology 57(2): 221–257.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Mensch, B.S., Hewett, P.C., and Erulkar, A.S. (2003). The reporting of sensitive behavior by adolescents: A methodological experiment in Kenya. Demography 40(2): 247–268.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Mojola, S.A. (2014). Love, money, and HIV: Becoming a modern African woman in the age of AIDS. Oakland: University of California Press.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Moolman, B. (2004). The reproduction of an ‘ideal’ masculinity through gang rape on the Cape Flats: Understanding some issues and challenges for effective redress. Agenda 18(60): 109–124.

Download reference:

Mulford, M., Orbell, J., Shatto, C., and Stockard, J. (1998). Physical attractiveness, opportunity, and success in everyday exchange. American Journal of Sociology 103(6): 1565–1592.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Nedelec, J.L. and Beaver, K.M. (2011). Beauty is in the sex of the beholder: An examination of the effects of interviewer characteristics on assessments of respondent attractiveness. Personality and Individual Differences 51(8): 930–934.

Weblink:
Download reference:

NSO-Macro (2017). Malawi Demographic and Health Surveys: 1992, 2000, 2004, 2010, and 2016. Zomba and Calverton: ORC Macro.

Download reference:

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2007). Body images, beauty culture and language in the Nigeria, African context. African Regional Sexuality Resource Centre (ARSRC), Understanding Human Sexuality Seminar Series.

Download reference:

Poulin, M. (2007). Sex, money, and premarital partnerships in southern Malawi. Social Science and Medicine 65(11): 2383–2393.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Poulin, M., Dovel, K., and Watkins, S.C. (2016). Men with money and the ‘vulnerable women’ client category in an AIDS epidemic. World Development 85: 16–30.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Santow, G., Bracher, M., and Watkins, S. (2008). Implications for behavioural change in rural Malawi of popular understandings of the epidemiology of AIDS. Paper presented at the IUSSP Seminar on Potential and Actual Contributions of Behavioral Change to Curbing the Spread of HIV, Entebbe, Uganda, 18–20 February 2008.

Download reference:

Schatz, E. (2005). ‘Take your mat and go!’: Rural Malawian women’s strategies in the HIV/AIDS era. Culture, Health and Sexuality 7(5): 479–492.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Smith, K.P. and Watkins, S.C. (2005). Perceptions of risk and strategies for prevention: Responses to HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi. Social Science and Medicine 60(3): 649–660.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Stadler, J.J. (2003). The young, the rich, and the beautiful: Secrecy, suspicion and discourses of AIDS in the South African Lowveld. African Journal of AIDS Research 2(2): 127–139.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Tamale, S. (2016). ‘Keep your eyes off my thighs’: A feminist analysis of Uganda’s ‘miniskirt law’. Feminist Africa 21: 83–90.

Download reference:

UNAIDS and World Health Organization (2006). AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2006. Geneva: UNAIDS.

Download reference:

Verheijen, J. (2013). Balancing men, morals and money: Women’s agency between HIV and security in a Malawi village. Leiden: African Studies Centre, African Studies Collection (53).

Weblink:
Download reference:

Waller, W. (1937). The rating and dating complex. American Sociological Review 2(5): 727–734.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Wamoyi, J. (2010). Transactional sex amongst young people in rural northern Tanzania: An ethnography of young women’s motivations and negotiation. Reproductive Health 7(1): 2–24.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Ware, J.E., Kosinski, M., and Keller, S.D. (1996). A 12-item short-form health survey: Construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Medical Care 34(3): 220–233.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Watkins, S.C. (2004). Navigating the AIDS epidemic in rural Malawi. Population and Development Review 30(4): 673–705.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Watkins, S.C. and Swidler, A. (2013). Working misunderstandings: Donors, brokers, and villagers in Africa’s AIDS industry. Population and Development Review 38(1): 197–218.

Weblink:
Download reference:

World Health Organization (2017). UNAIDS/WHO Global HIV/AIDS Online Database [electronic resource].

Download reference:

World Health Organization (2009). World Health Statistics 2009. Geneva: World Health Organization.

Download reference:

Zaba, B. (2004). Age at first sex: Understanding recent trends in African demographic surveys. Sexually Transmitted Infections 80(suppl. 2): ii28‒ii35.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Zablotska, I.B., Imrie, J., Prestage, G., Crawford, J., Rawstorne, P., Grulich, A., Jin, F., and Kippax, S. (2009). Gay men’s current practice of HIV seroconcordant unprotected anal intercourse: Serosorting or seroguessing? AIDS Care 21(4): 501–510.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Zaikman, Y., Vogel, E.A., Vicary, A.M., and Marks, M.J. (2016). The influence of physical appearance and personality on the exhibition of the sexual double standard. Sexuality and Culture 20(3): 255–276.

Weblink:
Download reference:

Back to the article