Abstract:
This thesis examines how advocates and funders in the U.S. global health and
international development community conceptualize vaginal microbicides – or products
such as gels, films, rings and sponges that women could apply vaginally for HIV
prevention. An interdisciplinary approach was employed, combining anthropological and
feminist theoretical frameworks and research methods, such as semistructured interviews,
participant observation and a focus group discussion. This thesis finds that U.S.
microbicide advocates and supporters see these products as a tool to maintain prevailing
gender identities that assign men sexual decision-making authority and prestige. At the
same time, U.S. microbicide advocates resist gender identities that define men as
powerful and women as passive. In these situations, they view vaginal microbicides as a
tool that women can use to wrestle sexual decision-making powers from men. From
science and technology studies, this thesis employs the concept of non-human agency to argue that microbicide advocates assign to these products a noteworthy amount of power
and capacity. Also from science and technology studies, the theory of situated
knowledge helps analyze claims made by microbicide advocates, particularly the political
implications of claiming to speak from the position of African women. Politics and
power are also central themes when examining how vaginal microbicides are entangled
with broader U.S. health and development objectives in Africa, and this thesis argues that
the rhetoric circulating in the U.S. microbicide advocacy community echoes historical
paradigms about health and sexuality in Africa. This thesis also demonstrates that
vaginal microbicides do a significant amount of political work, as U.S. microbicide
advocates and supporters endow these vaginal products with a distinct level of power to
achieve broader U.S. international development goals, such as improving gender relations
and empowering women in Africa.
