Jovens Populares Urbanos e Gênero na Identificação de Demandas de Saúde Reprodutiva

Based on data from four focus-group sessions conducted in 2001 with young residents of the Ibura district of the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife, this paper compares women’s and men’s perspectives on various topics related to reproductive health. It deals with matters related to work, reproduction and sexuality as well as to socialization and parent-child relationships, each of which was discussed explicitly during the group sessions. There were two foci: first, to identify converging items among youth in order to understand the specificity of poor urban district residence; and, second, to identify differences in the ways young men and young women approach similar subjects, in order to highlight the specificities of gendered perceptions. The interpretation first emphasizes differences in the description of living and working environments, and then deals with the notion of violence and relations among neighbors. The next section deals with family life, sexuality and prevention, comparing the practices and discourses of young men and women, where their different frames of reference are discussed. It is clear that the fields of reference of the two sexes are different regarding notions of care and prevention, of neighborhood relations, as well as of differing involvements in the spheres of work and training. On the basis of these results, preliminary recommendations are made concerning gender in the area of reproductive health and concerning respect for the particular condition of poor young urban residents. Enviado para publicacao em 25/10/2002. RBEP_19_v2_08fev2003.p65 14/02/03, 16:29 228