Paper short abstract:

This paper explores ‘coming of age’ in a South African township in the context of HIV chronicity. Against this backdrop we explore the experiences, opportunities and risks for young people, as well as the ways that these contribute to new understandings of generation, social status and responsibility.

Paper long abstract:

Since ART became available in the public sector over a decade ago, the meanings and experiences of the epidemic have changed significantly. Widespread access and adherence to treatment have transformed HIV into a chronic and presumably more 'manageable' condition. While many of the challenges associated with HIV persist, they persist in a context where the epidemic's immediate and pressing visibility has decreased. For young people 'coming of age' today in South Africa, HIV has come to hold very different meanings in their worlds and trajectories.

In Khayelitsha, where HIV's prevalence remains considerable while its visible traces recede, the ways that young people engage in relationships, of both sexual intimacy and of care, have shifted in comparison to earlier generations. Using ethnographic case studies from Town Two, Khayelitsha, I highlight some of the ways that living in this new context has informed the experiences, opportunities and risks for young people, as well as the ways that these contribute to new understandings of generation, social status and responsibility.