Language Use in the Portrayal of both Women and Men in HIV/AIDS Public Sensitization Texts in the Tanzanian Mass Media

Abstract

This research paper aimed at exploring how women and men are portrayed in HIV/AIDS public sensitization texts in the Tanzanian mass media. The research was carried out in Dodoma region, Dodoma municipality in central Tanzania. The data was collected in both print and electronic media. Since it is a qualitative research, I analyzed the concepts by describing the essential and core concepts; interpretation of data whereby the issue is studied and described within the broader context to add meaning to the data. In order to explore the social construction of gender roles in language use, I relied on the Feminism Theory (FT) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which contends that there is a close relationship between language and power and that language can lead to imbalance power relations.The study reveals that women and men are portrayed differently. Men are shown as active; they are the ones who matter, while women are shown as passive or second class human beings. In the anti-HIV/AIDS discourse, men are portrayed as the ones who are main users of condoms while women are depicted as passive objects. This means that, women have no power over the act of safe sex since they depend on men who decide on whether to use condoms or not.

Keywords: Language, gender stereotypes, critical discourse analysis, HIV/AIDS, mass media