Femininity and sexual agency among young unmarried women in Hanoi

Abstract

In contemporary Vietnam, young, unmarried, educated women are struggling to negotiate the contradictory expectations of femininity. Qualitative research conducted in Hanoi with 13 unmarried, educated women, aged from 25 to 34 years, explored women's sexual agency in a context of changing discourses on sexuality and gender roles. Interviews were conducted several times with each woman to enable in‐depth understanding of sexual experiences and meanings. Either implicitly or explicitly, women in the research were found to resist the power of public discourses on femininity and sexuality. Notions of femininity can be interpreted as a temporary means for women to gain control over sexual relationships. It is crucial to acknowledge the sexual agency of unmarried, educated women and its diverse forms in order to understand complex sexual behaviours and to promote their sexual rights and health.

Résumé

Dans le Vietnam contemporain, les jeunes femmes célibataires et éduquées s'efforcent de faire des compromis entre les notions contradictoires de la féminité. Une recherche qualitative menée à Hanoi avec 13 femmes célibataires et éduquées, âgées de 25 à 34 ans, a exploré la capacité d'agir des femmes, alors que les discours sur la sexualité et les rôles de genre sont en train de changer. Des entretiens ont été menés à plusieurs reprises avec chacune de ces femmes pour approfondir la compréhension des expériences et des significations sexuelles. Implicitement ou explicitement, les participantes ont révélé qu'elles résistent au pouvoir des discours publics sur la féminité et sur la sexualité. Certaines notions de féminité peuvent être interprétées comme un moyen temporaire pour les femmes de gagner le contrôle des relations sexuelles. Il est essentiel de reconnaître la capacité d'agir des femmes célibataires et éduquées, sous toutes ses formes, pour comprendre les comportements sexuels complexes et promouvoir les droits sexuels et la santé sexuelle de ces femmes.

Resumen

En el Vietnam contemporáneo, las jóvenes solteras y cultas se esfuerzan por negociar las expectativas contradictorias de la feminidad. En un estudio cualitativo llevado a cabo en Hanoi entre 13 mujeres solteras y cultas con edades comprendidas entre 25 y 34 años, se analizaron las acciones sexuales de estas mujeres en un contexto de los discursos de cambio sobre la sexualidad y los roles de los diferentes sexos. Se llevaron a cabo entrevistas, varias veces, con cada una de las mujeres para poder entender a fondo las experiencias sexuales y sus significados. Se observó que las mujeres en el estudio se resistían, implícita o explícitamente, al poder de los discursos públicos sobre la feminidad y la sexualidad. Las nociones sobre feminidad pueden interpretarse como medios temporales para las mujeres para hacerse con el control de las relaciones sexuales. Es de vital importancia reconocer las acciones sexuales de mujeres solteras y cultas y sus diversas formas para poder entender las conductas sexuales complejas y fomentar sus derechos y salud sexuales.

Keywords:

• Femininity
• sexual agency
• young women
• Vietnam

Acknowledgements

The research was made possible with funding from Ford Foundation. I would like to thank Hoang Tu Anh and Vu Song Ha from CIHP, Steve Koester from the University of Colorado and reviewers for their comments to the manuscripts of this paper. I am grateful to the unmarried women who were willing to spare time for interviews and to reveal their utmost sensitive experiences of sexuality. And also special thanks to Pimpawun Boonmongkon and Philip Guest from Mahidol University for their insightful guidance to my research.

Notes

1. Two key persons from my work friends were chosen to construct two chains of participants. One person was in her 30s and the other was in her late 20s. Both respondents had changed their jobs at least twice and had experienced different working environments—in the private sector, in non‐governmental organizations, in foreign representative's offices, in media and in the academy. These key persons in turn introduced me to their different ‘friend categories’—their friends from high school and from university, their friends from work and also from their neighbourhoods. This provided the opportunity to contact unmarried women from a wide range of social backgrounds.

2. False names are used for all participants.