Gender and Sexuality in Ghanaian Societies explores cultural dynamics embedded in the interstices of agency, vulnerability, and power within patriarchal structures that seek to regulate the sexual lives of women in Ghana. Emphasizing the centrality of gender as a motive force for sexual expression, the book stresses that contemporary Ghanaian women's sexual expressions are caught at the intersection of traditional gender expectations of heteronormativity and women's perceptions of how heteronormativity should operate in their lives. The book's emphasis on women's agency is significant because it highlights a flaw in earlier, Western accounts of African women's lives under Africa's special brand of patriarchy that held women in total subjection to men. Gender and Sexuality debunks that trope and presents Ghanaian women's dynamism, resilience, and vulnerabilities embedded in the diverse cultures in which they live.

For a very long time gender issues have concentrated attention on women. Consequently, interventions have not been that successful in protecting women from diseases. Considering the given role of men in sexual intercourse, particularly in a patriarchal society as Ghana's, and given heterosexual contact as the primary route of HIV transmission to women, prevention efforts that undermineD the role of men is unlikely to achieve enduring success, if any. This book discusses the influence of condom use on men's sexual behavior. The book joins the debate on the gendered nature of HIV and AIDS prevention in Africa.