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Young Women's Accounts of Sexual Activity and Sexual/ Reproductive Health

University of East London, UK

Harriette Marshall

University of Staffordshire, UK

Paul Stenner

Universtty of East London, UK

The accounts of sexual activity and sexual health from group discussions with young women living in a variety of ethnic communities in East London, UK, were examined. Thematic decomposition was employed to explicate a number of themes: sex as technical knowledge; sexual intercourse as intimacy; naturalizing sexual activity as part of adolescent development; constraints on being sexually active and relations with young men; and constructions of young women's sexual activity within the family. These themes are discussed in terms of the salience of various complex and sometimes contradictory meanings of sex for young women, the social and cultural contexts in which young women are sexually active and seek to negotiate 'safe sex' and the implications for sex and health education addressed to young people.

Key Words: adolescence • sex • sexual relations • young women

Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 3, 369-381 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/135910539800300306


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