Thirty-eight young men and women from contrasting social locations were interviewed in depth about their sexual relationships, with a focus on gender roles and attitudes, romantic relationship expectations and sexual experiences. Analysis of young people's narratives revealed that these moved relatively easily between `normative' and `alternative' frameworks when situating and accounting for attitudes and heterosexual practices. Despite some evidence for the existence of `nonhegemonic' narratives, young people often reverted to more normative models of heterosexual experience and expectations. Gender and prior negative (childhood) experiences appeared to influence young people's ideas about and expressions of `alternative' identities and practices while, within the context of this small-scale study, the impact of socio-economic status seemed relatively insignificant.
Cornwall, A. and Lindisfarne, N. (1994) `Dislocating Masculinity: Gender, Power and Anthropology ', in A. Cornwall and N. Lindisfarne (eds) Dislocating Masculinity — Comparative Ethnographies, pp. 11—47. London: Routledge.
6.
Frosh, S., Phoenix, A. and Pattman, R. (2002) Young Masculinities — Understanding Boys in Contemporary Society. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
7.
Gilligan, C. (1995) `The Centrality of Relationship in Psychological Development: A Puzzle, Some Evidence, and a Theory', in M. Blair, J. Holland and S. Sheldon (eds) Identity and Diversity — Gender and the Experience of Education, pp. 194—208. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
8.
Harris, A., Aapola, S. and Gonick, M. (2000) `Doing it Differently: Young Women Managing Heterosexuality in Australia, Finland and Canada', Journal of Youth Studies3(4): 373—88.
9.
Hey, V. ( 1997) The Company She Keeps — An Ethnography of Girls' Friendship. Buckingham: Open University Press.
10.
Holland, J., Ramazanoglu, C., Sharpe, S. and Thomson, R. (1998) The Male in the Head — Young People, Heterosexuality and Power. London: the Tufnell Press .
11.
Hollway, W. and Jefferson, T. (2000) Doing Qualitative Research Differently — Free Association, Narrative and the Interview Method. London: Sage.
12.
Jackson, S.M. and Cram, F. (2003) `Disrupting the Sexual Double Standard: Young Women's Talk about Heterosexuality', British Journal of Social Psychology42(1): 113—27.
13.
Kehily, M.J. and Pattman, R. (2006) `Middle-Class Struggle? Identity-Work and Leisure among Sixth Formers in the United Kingdom', British Journal of Sociology of Education27(1): 37—52.
14.
Korobov, N. and Thorne, A. (2006) `Intimacy and Distancing: Young Men's Conversations about Romantic Relationships', Journal of Adolescent Research21(1): 27—55.
15.
Lees, S. (1986) Losing Out: Sexuality and Adolescent Girls. London: Hutchinson Education.
16.
London Feminist Salon Collective, The (2004 ) `The Problematization of Agency in Postmodern Theory: As Feminist Educational Researchers, Where do we Go from Here?', Gender and Education16(1): 25—33.
17.
Mac an Ghaill, M. (1994) The Making of Men: Masculinities, Sexualities and Schooling. Buckingham: Open University Press.
18.
Maxwell, C. (2006a) `Understanding Young Women's Sexual Relationship Experiences: The Nature and Role of Vulnerability', Journal of Youth Studies9(2): 141—58.
19.
Maxwell, C. (2006b) `Context and `Contextualisation' in Sex and Relationships Education', Health Education106(6): 437—49.
20.
Neuman, W.L. (2000) Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
21.
O'Donnell, M. and Sharpe, S. (2000) Uncertain Masculinities — Youth, Ethnicity and Class in Contemporary Britain. London: Routledge.
22.
Ortiz-Torres, B., Williams, S.P. and Ehrhardt, A.A. (2003) `Urban Women's Gender Scripts: Implications for HIV Prevention', Culture, Health and Sexuality5(1): 1—17.
23.
Ramazanoglu, C. and Holland, J. (2002) Feminist Methodology — Challenges and Choices . London: Sage.
24.
Redman, P. (2001) `The Discipline of Love', Men and Masculinities4(2): 186—200.
25.
Schippers, M. (2000) `The Social Organisation of Sexuality and Gender in Alternative Hard Rock: An Analysis of Intersectionality', Gender and Society14(6): 747—64.
26.
Seal, D.W. and Ehrhardt, A.A. (2003) `Masculinity and Urban Men: Perceived Scripts for Courtship, Romantic, and Sexual Interactions with Women, Culture, Health and Sexuality5(4): 293—319.
27.
Shefer, T. and Foster, D. (2001) `Discourses on Women's (Hetero)sexuality and Desire in a South African Local Context', Culture, Health and Sexuality3(4): 375—90.
28.
Stewart, F.J. (1999) `Femininities in Flux? Young Women, Heterosexuality and (Safe) Sex', Sexualities2(3): 275—90.
29.
Thomson, R. (2000) `Dream On: The Logic of Sexual Practice', Journal of Youth Studies3(4): 407—27.
30.
Tolman, D.L., Spencer, R., Harmon, T., Rosen-Reynoso, M. and Striepe, M. (2004) `Getting Close, Staying Cool: Early Adolescent Boys' Experiences with Romantic Relationships', in N. Way and J.Y. Chu (eds) Adolescent Boys: Explaining Diverse Cultures of Boyhood, pp. 235—55. New York: New York University Press.
31.
Walker, B.M. and Kushner, S. (1999) `The Building Site: An Educational Approach to Masculine Identity', Journal of Youth Studies2(1): 45—58.
32.
Walkerdine, V., Lucey, H. and Melody, J. (2001) Growing Up Girl: Psychosocial Explorations of Gender and Class. Basingstoke: Palgrave .
33.
Weekes, D. (2002) `Get Your Freak On: How Black Girls Sexualise Identity ', Sex Education2(3): 251—62.
34.
Wetherell, M. and Edley, N. (1999) `Negotiating Hegemonic Masculinity: Imaginary Positions and Psycho-Discursive Practices', Feminism and Psychology9(3): 335—56.
35.
Wight, D. (1999) `Cultural Factors in Young Heterosexual Men's Perception of HIV Risk', Sociology of Health and Illness21(6): 735—58.
36.
Wight, D. and West, P. (1999) `Poor Recall, Misunderstandings and Embarrassment: Interpreting Discrepancies in Young Men's Reported Heterosexual Behaviour ', Culture, Health and Sexuality1(1): 55—78.
37.
Wilkins, A.C. (2004) `“So Full of Myself as a Chick”: Goth Women, Sexual Independence, and Gender Egalitarianism', Gender and Society18(3): 328—49.
38.
Youdell, D. (2004) `Wounds and Reinscriptions: Schools, Sexualities and Performative Subjects', Discourses: Studies in the Cultural Politics ofEducation25(4): 477—93.
39.
Youdell, D. (2005) `Sex-Gender-Sexuality: How Sex, Gender and Sexuality Constellations are Constituted in Secondary Schools', Gender and Education17(3): 249—70.
