(GAS8a) Sociology of Sexualities I

This panel features presentations of research on any topic in the sociology of sexualities, broadly defined. This panel is sponsored by the Gender and Sexuality Research Cluster. Tags: Sexualities

Organizer: Tina Fetner, McMaster University; Chair: Tina Fetner, McMaster University

Presentations

Alessandra Barbosa, University of British Columbia

Sex Education Status: A Sociological Study of Female Undergraduate Students at UBC

The most recent Sex Lives Report (Mohamed, October 2023), a nationally representative survey of young adults aged 18-24 years old, discovered that 2 out of 3 young Canadians report that sex education programs inadequately prepare them to engage in sexual activities. Notably, when asked to identify topics that are soliciting more questions than providing satisfactory answers, young adults comment that consent, fundamental female sexual anatomy and pleasure (notably orgasm) are neglected or completely ignored. The goal of this study is to discover what young adult women learned, identify the information sources that aided in navigating their sexual maturation and critically, how young adult women are inclined to behave as a result. If young adult women could not find answers and feel supported by those they trust, they likely sought out other sources to quench their curiosity. As this author has found, a young adult woman who attended Catholic elementary and secondary institutions with limited access to sex education, this can be overwhelming and confusing at best and detrimental to body, mind and spirit at worst (especially if sources contradict each other). Thus, there is a need to provide accessible, reliable and credible, education programs that normalize sex for all and notably, provide assistance to females navigating sexual maturation. a quantitative study in which young adult women (ages 18-24) at the University of British Columbia are surveyed regarding what they know about sex, how they came to know it and how they are inclined to behave as a result. The survey has been broken into four sections: demographic, elementary education, secondary education and current circumstances. Survey has been chosen as the data collection method so as to efficiently collect information to ensure minimal risk and harm. Data will be analyzed and interpreted using a regression analysis and descriptive statistics. Investing in education produces empowered and autonomous human beings. Yet, when education involves discussion of fundamental female anatomy and pleasure, information is withheld to the detriment of almost half of the world’s population. The aim of this study is to allow women to speak for themselves and reflect on the knowledge they gleaned at different points of their life so that institutions and policy makers can adequately assess what is effective and not. This study may also facilitate the creation of an easily accessible continuing education course for all women who would like to learn more about themselves and how to take care of themselves. Due to time restraints for all involved, it is not possible to conduct interviews and gain greater insight into each young woman’s lived experience. However, this survey could serve as the framework for pre-screening interviews in future research.  

Lillie Goodson, University of British Columbia

Out in the Outdoors: Negotiating One's LGBTQ+ Identity in Outdoor Communities

Due to the white, male dominated, and colonial history of the outdoors in Canada, outdoor activities and communities have historically lacked diversity. Recently, there has been a push to make these spaces more inclusive and to reframe this narrative around who is “welcome” in the outdoors. As a result, literature exists about peoples gender and racial identities and how they relate to the outdoors. Nonetheless, research about the experiences of LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, etc.) people in the outdoors is lacking. To fill this gap, this research project used qualitative interviews to explore how LGBTQ+ people negotiate their LGBTQ+ identities while participating in outdoor activities and communities. Twenty-two LGBTQ+ identifying people who reside in Canada and engage in outdoor activities were interviewed about their experiences in these spaces. Participant ages ranged from nineteen to late sixties, but most participants were in their twenties. Eight participants identified as either transgender, non-binary, and/or gender queer, eight participants identified as cisgender women, five participants identified as cisgender men, and one participant shared that they were still exploring their gender identity, but they knew they were “not completely cis[gender]”. Seven respondents identified as POC (people of colour). All participants identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, demisexual/asexual/aromantic, or queer. All participants shared experiences where they felt joy in the outdoors. For some, this was because it provided an opportunity for them to step away from their work and city lives to be present in nature, and for others, this was because it gave them an opportunity to be challenged mentally and physically. Many also shared that this joy was rooted in the community and friendships that they had built in their respective outdoor activities. Initial analyses show that most participants felt an elevated sense of connection, comfort, and safety when they participated in outdoor activities alongside other LGBTQ+ people. Many participants also described feeling less comfortable around (cisgender heterosexual) men in the outdoors. Some shared that this was because of experiences where they had been undermined or disrespected because of their female identity while outdoors, some shared that this was because of competitive and negative attitudes of men they had been around outdoors, and others shared that this was because they simply enjoyed spending time with other LGBTQ+ people more. Some participants accessed the outdoors through organized groups and group-facilitated trips, while others spent their time outdoors independently with friends and/or participating in solo activities. Most participants who reported participating in organized outdoor groups described at least one of these groups as being LGBTQ+ affiliated. Initial analyses also indicated that LGBTQ+ people were less likely to disclose their sexuality or gender identity when they were participating in outdoor activities with people who do not identify as LGBTQ+. Some respondents shared that this was because they felt as though it would jeopardize the trust between them, and thus, compromise the safety of all involved parties. The findings of this study could be used as a resource to inform outdoor groups and organizations of the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in the outdoors so that they can effectively implement programs, systems, and policies that contribute to the inclusion and support of LGBTQ+ people in these spaces.

Ezelbahar Metin, McGill University

Popular culture meets pornography: Exploring aggression in sexually explicit fanfiction and readers' preferences

Fanfiction (literature by admirers of works of fiction which incorporates characters or settings from the original work) has gained growing popularity in recent decades with the advent of the Internet. Archive of Our Own (AO3), the leading website for fanfiction, hosts over 11 million works of fanfiction, including 2 million written in the past year. While many fanfiction stories contain sexually explicit elements of the original story, some are specifically written either partially or solely for pornographic purposes, largely akin to other erotic literature. Furthermore, like erotic literature, and unlike most mainstream visual pornography, fanfiction is mostly written and consumed by women, making it potentially more female-friendly and women-focused. However, despite its popularity and potential for producing an alternative form of pornography, sexually explicit fanfiction has garnered much less research attention than online mainstream pornography or erotic fiction. In this research, I answer the following questions: 1. What is the prevalence of sexual aggression in explicit fanfiction? 2. What are the sexual preferences of readers of explicit fanfiction? 3. How does aggression in explicit fanfiction vary based on gender dynamics, genres, and sexual orientation? To answer these questions, I utilized a mixed-methods approach. First, I followed in the footsteps of recent research on visual pornography and conducted a textual analysis of both the most popular fanfiction (n=525) and a random sample of fanfiction (n=360) from AO3. The popular fanfiction stories were selected based on the number of times each story had been read (“Hits”). The random fanfiction sample was selected through a random number generator. I analyzed these samples by coding the “tags” of each work, which are key words authors use to describe the contents of their story. I also conducted preliminary in-depth interviews with readers (n=19) of sexually explicit fanfiction published on AO3. Participants were recruited via online advertisement on pages dedicated to fanfiction (Facebook and Tumblr). I found that about half of my sample was marked with tags conveying aggression. More popular stories included a slightly higher rate of aggressive tags than randomly sampled stories (54% and 44%, respectively). A third of the works contained at least one act of BDSM, while acts of non-consensual aggression or rape were present in almost 20% of the sample. Humiliation was present in a quarter of the works, and incest and themes of incest and pedophilia appeared in about 10% and 3% of the stories, respectively. All 19 interviewees, consisting mostly of women of varying sexualities, reported that they enjoyed reading some form of aggression at least sometimes. Although some specified that it was not for their sexual enjoyment and had more to do with the characters or the narrative, none of the interviewees had a strong negative response to the presence of aggression. Moreover, many of the participants in the study enjoyed reading depictions of pleasure in response to aggression in same-sex pairings, which goes against the radical feminist criticism of aggressive pornography as a representation of male dominance over women (Dines, 2010; Dworkin and McKinnon, 1988). Additionally, a number of participants preferred to read about women receiving aggression from men in a sexual context, with the condition that they enjoy the act. In fact, many respondents said that the pain itself could be enjoyed sexually by the receiving character. Lastly, 13 respondents differentiated what they like to read in fanfiction from what they like to practice in their personal lives, with 10 respondents specifying that they read aggressive or non-consensual fanfiction without practicing them in real life. This study contributes to the sociology of sexuality in various ways. Much of the academic research on pornography has focused on the role of aggression in pornographic videos, while most of the literature on written erotica remains focused on sexual scripts and the attitudes of readers to the sexual material. Research into women’s pornography preferences, be it in video or written format, is only recently being explored as in-depth as men’s preferences. This is in part due to the strong feminist critique of pornography and dismissal of written erotica as a legitimate avenue of study. Studying fanfiction which has a reader demographic of mostly women is thus an important step in uncovering more about women’s sexuality and preferences.

Sonali Patel, University of British Columbia

Re-theorizing the Sexual Minority Closet: Evidence from Queer South Asian Women

Scholarship generally assumes the closet is a place of safety from the perceived risks associated with coming out. However, this overlooks its function as a source of violence, particularly for those belonging to multiple marginalized communities. This article investigates queer South Asian women’s (QSAW) experiences of the closet. Drawing on forty qualitative interviews with second and 1.5-generation QSAW in Canada, I offer a re-theorization of the closet as a dual site of safety and violence. My findings show that the convergence of sexual expectations of coming out with ethnic expectations of concealment exacerbates QSAW’s vulnerability to violence from family, the LGBTQ+ community, and intimate partners. Despite living a double life to reconcile these conflicting demands, QSAW experience micro-aggressive violence for being closeted and familial violence for not repressing their sexuality. Dating while closeted further jeopardizes QSAW’s safety. Ultimately, the results stress the dangers of pressuring QSAW to come out to their parents. The results are significant for understanding the intersectional complexities of sexual identity concealment, as well as culturally unique forms of it, such as privately engaging in queerness “behind closed doors.”