ABSTRACT
Drawing on an example of AIDS prevention work in rural Tanzania, this chapter considers the way in which the epidemic has exposed and widened divisions between the generations. Focussing on interventions designed to protect young people from AIDS, it assesses the cross-cutting tensions between gender and generation in the context of discourse and action over safer sex, exploitation and power. Youth are not simply a ‘social category’ to be classified in terms of ‘indices’ of knowledge, rates of sexual activity, level of condom use etc. They must be seen in terms of their ambiguous place within the web of social relations. In this case, exploring the relations which older women and men (young and old) have with young women as the target for concern is crucial. Gender solidarity-even in the pursuit of HIV protection-cannot be assumed across the generations.
