To be seen and not heard: femininity ideology and adolescent girls' sexual health.
This study used a feminist developmental framework to test the hypothesis that internalizing conventional ideas about femininity in two domains--inauthenticity in relationships and body objectification--is associated with diminished sexual health among adolescent girls. In this study, sexual health was conceptualized as feelings of sexual self-efficacy (i.e., a girl's conviction that she can act upon her own sexual needs in a relationship) and protection behavior (i.e., from both STIs and unwanted pregnancy). A total of 116 girls (aged 16-19) completed measures of femininity ideology, sexual self-efficacy, sexual experiences, and protection behavior. Results revealed that inauthenticity in relationships and body objectification were associated with poorer sexual self-efficacy and sexual self-efficacy, in turn, predicted less sexual experience and less use of protection. Further, the two components of femininity ideology were associated with different forms of protection. The importance of a feminist developmental framework for identifying and understanding salient dimensions of sexual health for female adolescents is discussed.
Impett
Emily A
EA
Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California 94110, USA. eimpett@sfsu.edu
Schooler
Deborah
D
Tolman
Deborah L
DL
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D003075:Coitus / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D009511:New England; D011247:Pregnancy; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted / Q000523:psychology; D012650:Self Disclosure; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires