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'You can spot them a mile off' - Young women's negotiations of class and the sexual culture of shame

Williams, Helen (2021) 'You can spot them a mile off' - Young women's negotiations of class and the sexual culture of shame. Sexuality and Culture. ISSN 1095-5143

Item Type: Article

Abstract

In contemporary Western society, young women are caught between the competing discourses of the slut/virgin dichotomy and the more recent imperatives of a sexualised culture. Drawing on data from qualitative interviews with young people, I identify a relationship between social class and susceptibility to sexual stigma. The practice of slut-shaming works locally to bolster the social capital of some girls at the expense of others, often those of perceived lower status. I find that middle class women are afforded sexual liberty, particularly if they display agentic practice. In contrast, working class women occupy more precarious positions of sexual respectability which depend on narratives of relationships and love to ameliorate the potential for slut-shaming.

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More Information

Depositing User: Helen Williams

Identifiers

Item ID: 13298
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09824-x
ISSN: 1095-5143
URI: http://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/13298
Official URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-0...

Users with ORCIDS

ORCID for Helen Williams: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4980-0853

Catalogue record

Date Deposited: 22 Mar 2021 09:11
Last Modified: 22 Mar 2021 09:15

Contributors

Author: Helen Williams ORCID iD

University Divisions

Faculty of Education and Society > School of Social Sciences

Subjects

Social Sciences > Sociology
Social Sciences > Working with Young People

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