ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses men’s construction of masculinities. It focuses on the local arena of Dakar in an attempt to address globalization and masculinity. Provocation is a term that both boys and girls in Dakar use to describe a certain type of behaviour in girls. It is used to explain why boys cannot abstain from sex: girls are constantly provoking them. The effect of provocative behaviour of girls is that boys feel challenged: they feel they have to show their virility. The conceptualization of provocation creates a picture in which men are not in control of sexuality: it is the provocation of girls that makes them want to have sex and seduce girls. Boys are supposed to initiate contacts with girls: they ask girls out. Boys also supposedly take the initiative for sex: they ask girls to sleep with them or they create situations in which ‘one thing leads to another’. Girls should not take the sexual initiative.
