Feminist Approaches to Youth Sexualities

Anonymised transcript of an interview with Jessica, who is at college and working towards a career in the police force. She does not see this as a subversion of traditional gender roles, but would have done twenty years earlier. She received no formal Sex Education at her comprehensive, mixed-sex secondary school, and has relied on 'age-appropriate', largely biological information from her parents. She did not received any formal education on AIDS, and what she does know has been learnt from media campaigns and adverts, which she feels were informative. She originally thought AIDS was reserved for gay men, but has had her homophobia and stigma challenged through PSCE in college. She thinks those at highest risk of AIDS are those who are promiscuous and engage in one-night stands and casual sexual encounters. Jessica had not realised that condoms were an effective method of promoting and practicing safe-sex that protects from transmitting AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections or diseases. Her parents had told her about the pill as a form of contraception. Jessica would like to wait until she is married or in love before having sex, and does not feel she is ready yet, but does acknowledge her right to pleasure within a (hetero)- sexual relationship. She likes the idea of security that might come with marriage. She is in a fairly serious heterosexual relationship at the moment with a 22 year old from Scotland, who has not pressured her into having sex. She does not feel there is any pressure from her peers either, as many of them are still virgins, too, but doesn't think she would succumb to pressure either.

Title	Interview with Jessica, 18 - 19, White British, working class. Women, Risk and AIDS Project, Manchester, 1989. Anonymised version including fieldnotes (Ref: NMC03)
Description	Anonymised transcript of an interview with Jessica, who is at college and working towards a career in the police force. She does not see this as a subversion of traditional gender roles, but would have done twenty years earlier. She received no formal Sex Education at her comprehensive, mixed-sex secondary school, and has relied on 'age-appropriate', largely biological information from her parents. She did not received any formal education on AIDS, and what she does know has been learnt from media campaigns and adverts, which she feels were informative. She originally thought AIDS was reserved for gay men, but has had her homophobia and stigma challenged through PSCE in college. She thinks those at highest risk of AIDS are those who are promiscuous and engage in one-night stands and casual sexual encounters. Jessica had not realised that condoms were an effective method of promoting and practicing safe-sex that protects from transmitting AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections or diseases. Her parents had told her about the pill as a form of contraception. Jessica would like to wait until she is married or in love before having sex, and does not feel she is ready yet, but does acknowledge her right to pleasure within a (hetero)- sexual relationship. She likes the idea of security that might come with marriage. She is in a fairly serious heterosexual relationship at the moment with a 22 year old from Scotland, who has not pressured her into having sex. She does not feel there is any pressure from her peers either, as many of them are still virgins, too, but doesn't think she would succumb to pressure either.
Identifier	NMC03/O
Subject	Sex Education AIDS disease First sex Virginity Marriage Employment Women's employment Interpersonal relationships Family life Sexual behaviour Casual sex One night stand Prostitution Contraceptive devices Condom use Safe sex AIDS testing Public health Comprehensive schools Students (college) Love White British Working class.
Date	19/05/1989
Creator	Women, Risk and Aids Project (WRAP, 1989-90)
Publisher	The Reanimating Data Project
Type	Text
Temporal Coverage	1989
Spatial Coverage	Greater Manchester, UK
Rights	CC BY-NC 4.0

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