This article is about a series of participatory theatre-based workshops that I
conducted with a group of male students from the University of Malawi between
February and June 2015. In Malawi, young men are at high risk of acquiring HIV
because of pressure to perform sexually risky behaviors (not using condoms and having
multiple sexual partners) in order to assert themselves as men. The failure to engage
men in challenging and changing dangerous constructions of masculinity will continue
to leave women vulnerable to infection and perpetuate the spread of HIV. Using
workshop and performance vignettes, I illustrate how theatre-based methodologies
facilitated the investigation of masculinity and HIV, and enabled young men to consider
solutions for change. I argue that this work impacted participants, and shows real
potential for wider use in communities similarly affected by both HIV and social
assumption about male sexual behavior. In order for real change to occur, however, this
work needs to be further developed and younger boys and girls need to be empowered
to openly discuss sexuality, gender identity, and HIV