Feminist Approaches to Youth Sexualities

Anonymised transcript of an interview with Jodie, 17, who is at college. She has a twin sister and her parents are going through a divorce. She thinks her family life made her feel quite insecure and in need of attention, but she has since rebuilt her confidence by going out with friends and socialising with new people. She had been in a steady, heterosexual relationship, where she had her first sexual intercourse, but her partner cheated on her a lot, and she is now in the early stages of a relationship with someone else. Jodie has always felt guilt and regret around her sexual practices, especially when losing her virginity and any potential casual sexual encounters. She doesn't feel under any pressure and is confident in navigating sexual consent and boundaries. In terms of contraception use, she is adamant on using condoms, framed by fear of pregnancy and AIDS. Her parents are very open (her mum works in an abortion clinic), and she feels able to discuss sex, relationships and contraception with them. She did not receive any formal sex education at her private school and has relied on AIDS publicity and her parents for AIDS education. She doesn't consider herself as at risk as she uses condoms, but there was a time when she didn't use one, based on a perception of her sexual partner as 'health conscious' which she thought meant he would be free of STDs or infections. There are contradictions between her attitude toward safe-sex and her sexual practices.

Title	Interview with Jodie, 17, White British, middle class. Women, Risk and AIDS Project, Manchester, 1989. Anonymised version (Ref: AMD21)
Description	Anonymised transcript of an interview with Jodie, 17, who is at college. She has a twin sister and her parents are going through a divorce. She thinks her family life made her feel quite insecure and in need of attention, but she has since rebuilt her confidence by going out with friends and socialising with new people. She had been in a steady, heterosexual relationship, where she had her first sexual intercourse, but her partner cheated on her a lot, and she is now in the early stages of a relationship with someone else. Jodie has always felt guilt and regret around her sexual practices, especially when losing her virginity and any potential casual sexual encounters. She doesn't feel under any pressure and is confident in navigating sexual consent and boundaries. In terms of contraception use, she is adamant on using condoms, framed by fear of pregnancy and AIDS. Her parents are very open (her mum works in an abortion clinic), and she feels able to discuss sex, relationships and contraception with them. She did not receive any formal sex education at her private school and has relied on AIDS publicity and her parents for AIDS education. She doesn't consider herself as at risk as she uses condoms, but there was a time when she didn't use one, based on a perception of her sexual partner as 'health conscious' which she thought meant he would be free of STDs or infections. There are contradictions between her attitude toward safe-sex and her sexual practices.
Identifier	AMD21/O
Subject	Family life Relationships First sex Relationship break up Infidelity Regret Virginity Sexual reputation Consent Pill Condom use Condom failure Morning after pill Parent attitude Private school Sex Education Risk AIDS disease Contraceptive cap Safe sex Illegal drugs Students (college) White British Middle class No religion.
Date	05/09/1989
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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