THE CONSTRUCTION OF SPACES FOR POSITIVE SEXUAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT DURING HIGH SCHOOL AMONG HETEROSEXUAL AND NON-HETEROSEXUAL YOUNG WOMEN

摘要

In this qualitative study I investigated the ways in which young women create positive, safe spaces for their own sexual identity development during high school. Few topics are as emotionally charged as discussions about any aspect of sexuality, sexual identity, and sexual intercourse. Few adults even wish to acknowledge the desire much less the sexual practices of teens and young adults. My focus was on the strategies employed by self-identified straight, lesbian, bisexual and queer female students during their senior year of high school to create positive, safe spaces for sexual identities to emerge. This sample is a heterogeneous group of young women of similar ages and who were enrolled in a college or university at the time of their interview. Using a reflective interview method, I asked the young women of this study to do a retrospective recounting of their high school experiences. The resulting accounts provide an accurate, coherent view of the dilemmas faced by these young women. With the very public arena of high school as the backdrop, young women shared their stories of the ways in which they: made friends and negotiated status and peer cliques; managed reputations; made decisions about engaging in sexual activities; learned to acknowledge and to recognize their sexual desire; and came to know their sexual identity. This dissertation provides an analysis of dilemmas and strategies faced by these young women as they carefully waded through the institutional structures that may have been only minimally supportive in the process of their sexual identity development. I elaborate on key concepts of the creation of positive, safe spaces, girls' sexual desire, silencing of girls' talk of sexuality, and building communities of support. This dissertation informs a broader audience of parents, high school teachers, counselors and administrators, and college counselors and student life personnel, including residence hall directors and staff.