Gender Uncoupled: Asexual People's Narratives of High School Sex Talk

• In Event: 2242 - Let's Talk About Sex

Abstract

Educational research consistently shows that high school is a highly (hetero-)sexualized place that marginalizes sexual minorities. However, rarely do scholars examine asexual people in the educational environment. Drawing upon 23 retrospective interviews, I explore how asexual people experience high school. I find that only about half of my respondents experienced dating and/or sexual pressure. Contextual factors help to account for such divergence. My findings are consistent with the idea that social networks are not necessarily protective. The content of networks and its relationship to the institutional culture also matter. My findings also support the call for transcending the risk-based paradigm toward one that situates sexual minority youth in social and relational contexts.

Author

• Yuchen Yang, University of Chicago