Sexuality & Culture

So from Here Where Do We Go? A Focus on the Sexuality of Women with Disabilities in Africa: A Narrative Review Abstract This article is a narrative review of literature pertaining to the sexuality of women with disabilities in Africa. The review was undertaken through searching electronic databases namely, CINAHL, African e-Journals, MEDLINE, JSTOR, PubMed, and Web of Science; a general internet search was also undertaken. Focus was mainly on literature written in English over the past three decades (1987–2018), and search words that were used to draw publications included disability, disabled women, women with disabilities, disabled sexuality, disability and womanhood, gender and disability, sexuality, sexual experiences, womanhood, female sexuality, sexuality of disabled women in Africa, spinal cord injury, sexual health, psychosocial impairment, deaf women, blind women, women with albinism and women with epilepsy. The findings of the review indicate a paucity of literature on the subject, albeit a developing interest on the topic, particularly over the past decade. Furthermore, there is evidence that the intersection of disability, gender and culture adds a layer of disadvantage to the sexual experiences of women on the continent. In addition, heterosexuality is generally assumed for women with disabilities at the expense of different sexual orientations. Research that facilitates the voice of women with disabilities of all sexual orientations in Africa is likely to empower the women, to both independently and jointly redefine and affirm their sexuality in ways that promote their health and well-being.

Sexualized Victims of Stranger Harassment and Victim Blaming: The Moderating Role of Right-Wing Authoritarianism Abstract A growing body of research documents the adverse effects of sexualized appearance on people's attitudes toward women victims of blatant forms of gender violence. However, the impact of sexualization of women victims of subtle forms of gender violence and the moderating role of people's conservativism on victim blaming remain under-investigated. In the current study, we examined the effects of sexualization on blame attribution to victims of a stranger harassment incident, considering the moderating role of participants' Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA). Two hundred and thirty-six participants (31.8% male; Mage = 30.52, SD = 12.70) completed an RWA scale and then read a fictitious Facebook's post where the victim herself described the stranger harassment episode that happened down the street (vs. at a house party). The post was presented with a sexualized (vs. non-sexualized) portrayal of the victim. Finally, participants rated the severity of the episode and expressed to what extent they blamed the victim. As predicted, harassment at the house party (vs. down the street) was perceived as less severe, and sexualized (vs. non-sexualized) victims were blamed to a greater extent. Our major results revealed that people's RWA synergizes with the victim's sexualization in shaping blame attribution. People with an average and a high level of RWA tend to blame to a greater extent the sexualized victim of stranger harassment, while blame attributions did not change according to victim's sexualization for people with a low level of RWA.

The Destruction of the Heterosexual Family? The Discourse of Opponents of the Gender Mainstreaming Educational Curriculum in Baden-Württemberg, Germany Abstract The implementation of gender mainstreaming principles in the educational curriculum of the German Federal state Baden-Württemberg has caused protests that have gained significant attention in media. Using discourse analysis this article investigates how the media discourse of opponents constructs risks and dangers of gender mainstreaming. It will be shown that opponents perceive gender mainstreaming as a governmental hidden agenda aimed at destroying the heterosexual families by questioning the assumed "natural order" of hetero-normativity and patriarchy as the ruling ideology in public schools. Implying that harmful knowledge about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer (LGBTTIQ) ways of life would disturb the binary gender identity of pupils and sexualize them prematurely, gender mainstreaming is understood as the core mechanism to accomplish this hidden agenda implemented through the disciplinary power of schools. Referring to biological and religious arguments the opponents' discourse is based on sexualizing non-heteronormative life by intermingling categories of gender and sexuality. Therefore, our findings imply that in order to support gender mainstreaming in society a greater public awareness for the difference between gender and sexuality is needed, so that bias of defining LGBTTIQ life through sexual practices becomes obvious to the audience of this discourse.

Vanilla and Kink: Power and Communication in Marriages with a BDSM-Identifying Partner Abstract This phenomenological study explored the marriages of 6 couples in which one partner identified with the BDSM culture and the other partner did not. Participants were individually interviewed regarding: the process of reconstructing their sexual relationship; the impact of the social discourse on the one partner's practice in BDSM; and the nature of power within the context of the marriage and its influence on the couple's negotiation process. Discussions are made to help therapists become aware of the power and voice within the marriage and facilitate a productive co-creation of the couple's shared meaning of sex.

Antenatal Care Utilization and Female Genital Mutilation in Kenya Abstract Despite female genital mutilation being a risk factor for obstetric complications, we know very little about antenatal care (ANC) utilization among circumcised women. Applying Goffman's stigma theory and drawing data from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, we compared the frequency of ANC visits and timing of first ANC visit between circumcised and uncircumcised women in Kenya. In the total sample of Kenyan women who made at least one ANC visit, only 55% made ANC visits at least four times, and only 19% made an ANC visit within the first trimester of their pregnancy. Moreover, 34% of women were circumcised. We also found that circumcised women were less likely to visit ANC at least four times (OR = 0.82, p < 0.01) and to make the first ANC visit within the first trimester (OR = 0.84, p < 0.05) than their uncircumcised counterparts, after controlling for theoretically relevant variables. Based on our findings, we provide two major recommendations for policymakers. For one, there may be the urgent need for health interventions to provide circumcised women with obstetric services such as defibulation. For another, to reduce internalized stigma and alienation from medical spaces, health practitioners should be trained to exhibit cultural sensitivity and empathy towards circumcised women who access health facilities.

I Feel Blacker : Applying a Black Feminist Paradigm to an Intervention Program for Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in the South Abstract Research on black men who have sex with men (BMSM) has tended to focus on HIV-related health disparities. Because the disease disproportionately affects BMSM, this emphasis is important. Yet it is also valuable to consider other dimensions of their lives. This study examines views about race and racial identity for ninety 18–24-year-old BMSM who participated in a culturally-based risk-reduction prevention program in the South. Moreover, based on its dual emphasis on oppression and resistance for marginalized groups, we consider whether and how their sentiments can be better understood using a black feminist lens. Quantitative results suggest tensions around the topic of race, but generally more affirming views about their racial identities and increased knowledge about racial issues. Qualitative findings reflect themes of identity and group affirmation and pragmatic strategies to reduce risk. The possible benefits of culturally-based interventions are discussed.

Sexual Self-Schemas of Croatian University Students: Gender Differences and Links with Sexual Activity Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate sexual self-schemas of Croatian university students in relation to their gender and recent sexual activity. The Sexual Self-Schema Scale was administered to 285 undergraduate students of both genders, and a single question on the presence of sexual partner in the past month was asked. Gender differences were found in all three dimensions of sexual self-schemas, reflecting traditional gender roles. Sexual activity was related to sexual self-schema dimensions of direct/outspoken and reserved/conservative, but not to the dimension of loving/warm, with relationships between recent sexual activity and sexual self-schemas being equal for females and males. The results supported theoretical notions on gender and sexual experience-related differences in sexual self-views, extended previous findings from Western countries and emphasized the importance of sociocultural context of human sexuality. They also contributed to better understanding of sexual self-schemas, especially among men whose sexual cognitions were less frequently investigated than those of women.

Correlates and Predictors of Virginity Among Heterosexual African American Young Adults Abstract Research documents that African American adolescents and young adults engage in more sexual activity than other racial/ethnic groups, yet little is known about individuals who remain virgins into adulthood. Using data from the Family and Community Health Study of 554 African American young adults, we examined the individual, familial, interpersonal, and community-level correlates and predictors associated with their virginity status. A total of 82 (14.8%) reported never having had sex. Hence, sexual activity among African American young adulthood is not a universal experience. Multivariable analysis showed that, for males, virginity was associated with BMI, physical attractiveness, educational attainment, anxiety, self-esteem, religious salience, residing in a two-parent household, and neighborhood social disorder. Lower odds of virginity were associated with being in a relationship, higher cognitive performance, and more antisocial friends. Among females, higher odds of virginity were associated with educational attainment and parental quality while lower odds were associated with higher cognitive performance and cigarette use. Results demonstrate that some characteristics associated with virginity were not necessarily the converse of previously identified factors linked to sexual activity. It is important to consider multiple correlates of virginity and their implications for sexuality development of African Americans across the life course.

'Other Girls': A Qualitative Exploration of Teenage Mothers' Views on Teen Pregnancy in Contemporaries Abstract Perspectives that consider teenage mothers as a 'social problem' are well described in the literature. However, the attitudes towards teenage mothers held by other teenage mothers are not well understood. Given the growing use of peer support in the reproductive health of teenagers, the attitudes of teenage mothers towards their contemporaries is worthy of exploration. We aimed to examine the discourse around teenage pregnancy in teenage mothers who have recently experienced teenage pregnancy and motherhood for themselves. Fourty mothers aged 16–19, who had recently given birth and used a homebased sexual health service took part in semi-structured interviews to explore their views on pregnancy in other teenagers. The analytical framework of 'othering' and resistance are used to examine their discourse around teenage pregnancy in teenage mothers. Findings indicate that teenage pregnancy and parenting in teenage mother contemporaries is not always viewed positively. Some teenage mothers in this study used strategies to distance themselves from perceived negativity. Two overarching themes emerged from the data: Constructions of moral judgement and Maintenance of positive self-representations. The negative portrayal of teenage pregnancy within wider society impacts the ongoing stigma attached to teenage pregnancy within the teenage population. Approaches such as peer education and peer support used in reproductive health should not be considered neutral, taken for granted processes, but may be complex and more nuanced. Health and social care professionals supporting young parents should be aware of the potential for stigma, discrimination, isolation and exclusion within teenage peer groups. Policy makers need to ensure young mothers have access to a broad range of support opportunities and this should include formal, professional support.

Sexual Morality and Shame Among Catholics Whose Lifestyle Does not Conform to Church Teaching Abstract The study explores whether and how Catholic morality still plays a role in the lives of Catholics in Malta who are in sexual relationships which do not conform to the moral guidelines of the Catholic Church—more specifically divorced or separated and cohabiting or remarried men and women, and how they experience the conflict that may arise from the incongruence between their beliefs and their lifestyle choices. The research suggests that while Catholics who are engaged in such relationships may experience some guilt because of living 'in sin', they are more tormented by shame rather than by guilt, as they experience a sense of judgement and exclusion from the religious community which draws its sexual morality from Catholic teaching. Non-conforming Catholics tend to redefine their notion of sin in a way which departs from official Church teaching. In reconstructing their sexual morality, they redeem themselves of any wrongdoing in the eyes of God. Yet, while they manage to neutralise their guilt, their perceived condemnation and rejection by the Church is a source of distress and conflict. Conflict with the Church is partly driven by their perceived loss of status, particularly in their parish community. The Church influences the morality of the social community and disturbs their previous embeddedness within a social network where they now feel stigmatised. At the same time they romanticise Church morality and would have preferred to have continued conforming to its expectations and to have remained part of its core.

Alexandros Sfakianakis
Anapafseos 5 . Agios Nikolaos
Crete.Greece.72100
2841026182

6948891480

alsfakia@gmail.com