Sexual Stories: Narratives of Sexual Identity, Gender, and Sexual Development

Abstract Sexuality and sexual expression are core aspects of most clients’ lives, yet most schools of social work fail to cover sexual development, leaving social workers uninformed about this essential area of human development. This is particularly the case when the sexual development of youths is concerned, as youth sexuality is often considered too controversial to explore. Considering a positive approach to youth sexuality that seeks to enhance youths’ sexual development and promote their achievement of full sexual and reproductive rights, this article seeks to provide social workers with a resource they can use to enhance their understanding of youth sexual development and its applicability to social work practice. The two main theoretical orientations used to understand sexual identity development are covered as well as the research support for each. Following the explanation of theory is a discussion of how the two theoretical orientations can be integrated to form a more expansive base for the understanding of sexual identity development. A final section provides guidance on how an advanced understanding of youthful sexual identity development can enhance social work practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

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Child and Adolescent Sexual Development and Sexual Identity Issues

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health ◽

10.1002/9781118704660.ch5 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 89-109

Author(s):

Tammi Damas ◽

Laura C. Hein ◽

Lois C. Powell ◽

Edith Emma Dundon

Keyword(s):

Sexual Identity ◽

Sexual Development ◽

Child And Adolescent

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Sexual Stories as Resistance Narratives in Women’s Sports: Reconceptualizing Identity Performance

Sociology of Sport Journal ◽

10.1123/ssj.19.4.347 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 347-369 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Joah G. Iannotta ◽

Mary Jo Kane

Keyword(s):

Sexual Identity ◽

Personal Narratives ◽

Women's Athletics ◽

The Body ◽

Identity Performance ◽

Theoretical Frameworks ◽

Women's Sport ◽

Body Of Knowledge ◽

Stage Of Development ◽

Sexual Stories

Previous research has relied on the personal narratives of female coaches and athletes to generate knowledge related to homophobia in women’s athletics. We suggest that the body of knowledge generated from these investigations has served to construct a meta story of victimization surrounding women’s sport experiences. We make this claim primarily around theoretical frameworks that link a final, liberating stage of development with being explicitly out as a lesbian. As a result, only a narrow range of sexual identity performances (e.g., linguistically naming oneself as lesbian) is recognized as being effective in creating climates of tolerance and, by extension, social change. Employing an analytical tool developed by Plummer (1995), we examined the “sexual stories” of intercollegiate coaches who did not identify themselves as “out” lesbians, but who nevertheless employed a multiplicity of strategies related to the performance of their sexual identity to actively resist social injustice. Based on these findings, we call for a reconceptualization of identity performance that recognizes the non-linear, fluid and contextualized nature of sexual identity.

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Ovotesticular disorder of sexual development due to gonosomal mosaicism

Problems of Endocrinology ◽

10.14341/probl201056242-46 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 56 (2) ◽

pp. 42-46

Author(s):

N Iu Raĭgorodskaia ◽

D A Morozov ◽

V B Chernykh ◽

N V Bolotova ◽

D A Zharkov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surgical Treatment ◽

Genetic Analysis ◽

Sexual Identity ◽

Rare Variant ◽

Sexual Development ◽

Sex Chromosome ◽

Sex Differentiation ◽

Marker Chromosome ◽

Disorder Of Sexual Development ◽

Comprehensive Examination

This paper describes diagnosis and surgical treatment of a 3.5 year-old child who presented with abnormal sex differentiation resulting in the development of gonads into ovotestes. This disorder was provoked by a rare variant of mosaicism involving sex chromosome and characterized by the presence of an irregular marker chromosome. Additional genetic analysis allowed its origin to be determined: it was identified as Yp chromosome. Comprehensive examination yielded criteria for the choice of sexual identity and provided a basis for the surgical treatment in conformity with the gender being sought.

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Parenting and Adolescents’ Sexual Development in Western Societies

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000031 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 21-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Hanneke de Graaf ◽

Ine Vanwesenbeeck ◽

Liesbeth Woertman ◽

Wim Meeus

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Parenting Styles ◽

Sexual Development ◽

Parental Support ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Sexual Practices ◽

Psychosexual Development ◽

First Sexual Intercourse ◽

Parenting Influences ◽

Reciprocal Associations

This review examines associations between parenting styles and the psychosexual development of adolescents. Methods and results of empirical studies of associations between parental support, control, and knowledge and the sexual behavior and sexual health of adolescents are described and evaluated. The results show that, in general, higher scores on support, control, and knowledge relate to a delay of first sexual intercourse, safer sexual practices, and higher sexual competence. Despite the vast amount of literature on this subject, the majority of these studies focus on single dimensions of parenting and unidirectional parenting influences. This review generates hypotheses regarding interactions of different parenting styles and reciprocal associations between parents and their children. There is a need for more dynamic, dialectical studies of parenting, and children’s sexual development.

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