University of SaskatchewanHARVEST
  • Login
  • Submit Your Research
  • About
    • About HARVEST
    • Guidelines
    • Browse
      • All of HARVEST
      • Communities & Collections
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
      • This Collection
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
    • My Account
      • Login
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
      View Item 
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item

      Unlocking desire : young women reflect on early experiences of sexual desire and the development of the sexual self

      Thumbnail
      View/Open
      ESPESETH-THESIS.pdf (1.455Mb)
      Date
      2013-10-03
      Author
      Espeseth, Nicole
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
      Show full item record
      Abstract
      The goal of this research was to explore how young women make meaning of early experiences of sexual desire, and how these experiences contribute to the development of their sexual selves. The development of the sexual self is one of the fundamental building blocks to adulthood for adolescents, but there are many strong and some diametrically opposing viewpoints on how the discussion around sexuality should be framed. Much of the literature has focused on the health risks and social consequences of sexual activity, such as unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (Brook, Brook, Rubenstone, Zhang & Rivera, 2010) with less examination of the positive aspects of this phenomenon (e.g. pleasure, respect, emotional connection). In 1988, Michelle Fine opened a dialogue with adolescent women about their experience of and opinions about sexual desire, attempting to shed light on the consequences of suppressing this discourse, including disconnection from their physical selves, possible victimization, and a denial of pleasure. In the last two decades, there has been interest in the concept of sexual desire and its role in the development of sexual subjectivity. Sexual subjectivity is particularly important in the lives of young women, who live, work and learn in a patriarchal society which objectifies their bodies and sexual identities (Levy, 2005; Tolman, 2002a). I interviewed 5 women (19-25 years old) about how they make meaning of their early experiences of sexual desire and how this contributes to the development of their sense of sexual selfhood. I recruited participants using posters placed across a university campus to facilitate interest. I used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) as developed by Smith, Flowers and Larkin (2012) to understand how participants perceive their experiences to have influenced their feelings and ideas about their sexual desires. My study design also addressed how they retrospectively view early experiences and understandings of sexual desire to have contributed to the development of their sexual identities. In my interviews I also employed the listening guide developed by Gilligan (1982) and Brown and Gilligan (1991). Analysis revealed an overarching theme of unlocking desire with trust and connection, as well as superordinate themes of exploring desire through fantasy and imagination, the power of desire, the spectrum of desire and reflections on lived experiences of female desire. The current research study will be discussed in relation to previous literature (e.g. commonalities, distinctions, its strengths and weaknesses). Finally, future directions for the research, as well as implications for counselling practice, will be elucidated.
      Degree
      Master of Education (M.Ed.)
      Department
      Educational Psychology and Special Education
      Program
      School and Counselling Psychology
      Supervisor
      Martin, Stephanie L.
      Committee
      Wilson, Alexandria M.; Lovrod, Marie
      Copyright Date
      September 2013
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2013-09-1229
      Subject
      sexuality
      sexual desire
      adolescent females
      sexuality development
      early experiences
      Collections
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations

      Related items

      Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

      • Sexual Health Knowledge and Attitudes of a Sample of Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Freshmen 

        Stauffer, (2015-02-05)
        The purpose of this study was to describe the sexual health knowledge and attitudes of a sample of Saskatchewan post secondary freshmen aged 17-19. Three primary questions guided this research: What do Saskatchewan freshmen ...
      • Judicious judgments? : judicial definitions of sexual violence : examining the impact of sexual assault legislation 

        Allison, Marni Dee (1989)
        In an attempt to eradicate biases in substantive law and evidentiary procedures, legislative changes were implemented for sexual offences in 1983. Historically, biases in rape law had resulted in high attrition of cases ...
      • Violence Risk Assessment with Youth Who Have Sexually Offended: A Psychometric Examination of the Violence Risk Scale: Youth Sexual Offender Version (VRS:YSO) 

        Rojas, Erika (2013-04-25)
        The present research was archival in nature. It was divided into three phases involving a comprehensive psychometric examination of a newly developed risk assessment measure designed to assess risk for sexual violence, ...
      University of Saskatchewan

      University Library

      © University of Saskatchewan
      Contact Us | Disclaimer | Privacy