To Be Seen and Not Heard: Femininity Ideology and Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Health

Abstract

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.

Sexual Victimization, Fear of Sexual Powerlessness, and Cognitive Emotion Dysregulation as Barriers to Sexual Assertiveness in College Women

“…As such, women's sexual assertiveness is contradictory to traditional sexual scripts (Impett & Peplau, 2003) and may be viewed as undermining heterosexual intimacy (Rudman & Fairchild, 2007), perceptions that cultivate an atmosphere that promotes women's sexual compliance. Feminist researchers have shown that young women often preserve the peace in relationships through suppression of their needs and aspirations (Burton, Halpern-Felsher, Rankin, Rehm, & Humphreys, 2011;Impett, Schooler, & Tolman, 2006;Phillips, 2000). Investment models have shown that when women are deeply invested in preserving relationships, they are more apt to tolerate abusive behaviors in the relationship (Rhatigan & Street, 2005).…”

On Objects and Actions: Situating Self-Objectification in a System Justification Context

“…The following is a list (not exhaustive) of other consequences empirically associated with self-objectification: lower intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy (Gapinski, Brownell, & LaFrance, 2003); lower self-esteem (Choma et al, 2010); less life satisfaction (Mercurio & Landry, 2008); diminished cognitive performance Gay & Castano, 2010;Quinn, Kallen, Twenge, & Fredrickson, 2006); diminished physical performance (Fredrickson & Harrison, 2005); more negative attitudes toward breastfeeding (JohnstonRobeldo, Fricker, & Pasek, 2007) and reproductive functioning (Johnston-Robledo, Sheffield, Voigt, & Wilcox-Constantine, 2007;Roberts, 2004); greater fear and perceived risk of rape (Fairchild & Rudman, 2007); greater hostility toward other women (Loya, Cowan, & Walters, 2006); more self-injury (Muehlenkamp, Swanson, & Brausch, 2005); more substance abuse (Carr & Szymanski, 2011;Harell, Fredrickson, Pomerleau, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006); decreased use of sexual protection (Impett, Schooler, & Tolman, 2006); more dysfunctional exercise (Strelan, Mehaffey, & Tiggemann, 2003); and more support for cosmetic surgery (Calogero, Pina, Park, & Rahemtulla, 2010;Calogero, Pina, & Sutton, 2013).…”

Why Us? Perceived Injustice is Associated with More Sexual and Psychological Distress in Couples Coping with Genito-Pelvic Pain

“…In line with this model, the deleterious effects of perceived injustice depend on two key components: identity relevance and helplessness to redress the injustice. Knowing that sexuality is a fundamental part of women's identity [33] and that women with PVD often feel a low sense of control or helplessness in modifying their condition [34,35], these two key components could be hypothesized to be elevated in a genitopelvic pain population and their partners. Perceiving injustice may be an important mechanism by which external injustice (e.g.…”