Women’s constructions of heterosexual non-romantic sex and the implications for sexual health

Abstract

Qualitative interviews with 15 Australian women who engage in non-romantic sex demonstrate that women choose a variety of non-romantic sexual arrangements and activities. A discourse analysis examined the ways in which the women position themselves relative to dominant constructions of femininity and heterosexuality, themselves embedded in neoliberal, post-feminist assumptions of women’s unproblematic capacity for individual empowerment, choice and sexual freedom. Despite choosing non-normative sexual encounters, the women were frequently constrained by the gendered hetero-normative discourses of hetero monogamy and gender differences. The analysis demonstrates that the conventions of heterosex implicit in both of these discourses subordinate the legitimacy of women’s sexual agency, sexual desire and sexual entitlement. Although the women resisted these constructions with varying levels of success, we argue that they cannot be resisted outright because women have no discourse to draw upon which encapsulates an empowered female sexual agency. Thus, women who have non-romantic sex frequently internalise the discourses of hetero monogamy and gender differences, posing serious risks to their sexual health, both physically and emotionally. For women to ensure their sexual health, conventional constructions of female sexuality need to be challenged at a societal level.

Keywords:

• non-romantic sex
• discourse analysis
• resistance
• women’s sexual health
• qualitative analysis

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the women who generously participated in this study. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Claire Moran

Claire Moran is completing a PhD in the School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Australia.

Christina Lee

Christina Lee is Professor of Health Psychology in the same School.