Sex and consent in contemporary youth sexual culture: the ‘ideals’ and the ‘realities’

ABSTRACT

Sexual consent has increasingly become a central component of Relationships and Sex Education. This paper draws upon findings from qualitative research conducted with teenagers in England, which explored their perspectives on consent within their contemporary youth sexual cultures, including in digital (sexting) contexts. The findings suggest that young people’s definitions of consent often did not correspond to the socially- and contextually contingent realities of negotiating and establishing consensual sex(ting). While young people’s contemporary sexual cultures may look somewhat different, longstanding gender norms and sexual scripts shaped their attitudes towards consent. The implications of the findings for RSE are discussed, including the need for more collaborative dialogue and exchange between educators and learners that engages with the situated realities of contemporary youth sexual culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Sex
• sexting
• gender
• consent
• youth
• youth culture

Disclosure statement

A consultancy fee was received for the research conducted within a co-educational independent boarding school. The analysis was conducted independently and all conclusions drawn are the author’s own.

Notes

1. At the time of writing, RSE is due to commence in September 2020.

Additional information

Funding

A University of Surrey Arts and Social Sciences Studentship Award supported the conduct of the doctoral research on which part of this paper is based.