Exploring Experiences of Relationality of Health and Partnership of Queer People Living with STIs (that are not HIV)

Msutu, Zena

Exploring Experiences of Relationality of Health and Partnership of Queer People Living with STIs (that are not HIV)

Thesis / Dissertation

2026

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

African Studies

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

This research takes a look at the experiences of relationality for queer people who are living with STIs (that are not HIV) – this includes their relation to their bodies and sexual health, relation to their partner(s), as well as relations with the world at large (including friends and family, and the healthcare system). The field of sexual and reproductive health is dominated by the (important and ground-breaking) work of HIV-research. This, however, has left a significant gap in research on how people live with STIs and their experiences of other STIs that are not HIV; there is also little focus the nexus between living with an STI and being queer. Using African Feminist and Decolonial Theories research hopes to illuminate on those experiences, shedding light onto how people discover, deal with, and live past the risk of getting an STI. By conducting one-on-one in-depth interviews with eight participants of different sexual and gender minority identities, this research addresses that nexus of queer and STI (that is not HIV), while looking at individuals' experiences encountering short-term and curable STIs, as well as their experiences of managing long-term and incurable STIs. Using thematic analysis, this research has unearthed experiences of (internal and external) shame and stigma, as well as the correlation between STI and violence. This research has also revealed stories of resilience, narratives of skilfully navigating spaces of safety (and vulnerability and discomfort) and participants' recognition that living with an STI is “not the end of the world”. It is clear that heteronormative sexual health messaging, stigma/shame, and not understanding STIs and their physical/emotional impact, affects queer individuals. My research addresses zones of sexual health knowledges and experiences which have been under-researched and makes a contribution to deepening out understanding of negotiating sexual health as practices of relationality.