“I Don’t Shag Dirty Girls”

Abstract

Understanding and addressing the sexual risk taking of young men remains a key research, policy, and practice concern in attempts to improve the emotional and physical sexual health of young men and their sexual partners. This article explores one of the ways in which young men attempt to mitigate sexual risk through the assigning of labels to particular young women and using these as a basis for their decisions in relation to sexual activity, contraception, and condom use. The article uses the lens of hegemonic masculinities theory to increase understanding of the role played by the construction and performance of marginalized masculinities and how these in turn are influenced by social exclusionary processes. The article draws on focus group and interview data from 46 young men aged 15 to 17 years living in the northwest of England, purposively selected on the basis of the prevailing policy definitions of social inclusion and exclusion. The article describes a form of marginalized masculinity pertaining to socially excluded young men, which as a result of limited access to other tenets of hegemonic masculinity, is disproportionately reliant on sexual expertise and voracity alongside overt demonstrations of their superiority over women. It is in this context that young women are assigned the labels of "dirty" or "clean" on the basis of a selection of arbitrary judgments relating to dress, demeanor, area of residence, and perceived sexual activities. The motivations of the young men, the impact on young women, and the policy and practice implications are all discussed.

STI Risk Perception in the British Population and How It Relates to Sexual Behaviour and STI Healthcare Use: Findings From a Cross-sectional Survey (Natsal-3)

“…Explanations for low levels of STI risk perception among those at risk have included lack of knowledge about STIs and their prevalence [15] , [31] , lack of symptoms [32] , and optimistic bias [32] , [33] . It has also been shown that people misjudge their sexual partners' risk [34] , and studies in several populations have described the use of inappropriate markers of partners' STI risk in deciding whether or not to use a condom, including partners' reputation, where they live, demeanour, physical attributes including clothing and personal hygiene, and lack of any visible STI symptoms [15] , [31] , [33] , [35] . Evidence that people generally overestimate the risk of ‘visible’ phenomena and underestimate the risk of less visible phenomena (‘availability bias’) [36] suggests that the often invisible and stigmatised nature of STIs may contribute to underestimation of risk.…”

Conformity to masculine norms predicts US men’s decision-making regarding a new male contraceptive

“…Once boys reach adolescence, pressure to engage in heterosexual interactions becomes a salient component of normative masculine behaviour (Reigeluth and Addis 2016). Norms dictate that men maintain a heterosexual self-presentation, engage with multiple romantic partners, and assert their right to have power over women to be traditionally masculine, and failing to meet standards can undermine their sense of masculinity (Closson et al 2019;Limmer 2016). Concern with displaying sexual voracity and skill (related to Heterosexual Self-Presentation norms) can lead to avoidance of contraceptives such as condoms (Limmer 2016), and endorsement of Power Over Women in marriage specifically predicted men's rejection of vasectomies (Hernández-Aguilera and Marván 2016).…”

“…Norms dictate that men maintain a heterosexual self-presentation, engage with multiple romantic partners, and assert their right to have power over women to be traditionally masculine, and failing to meet standards can undermine their sense of masculinity (Closson et al 2019;Limmer 2016). Concern with displaying sexual voracity and skill (related to Heterosexual Self-Presentation norms) can lead to avoidance of contraceptives such as condoms (Limmer 2016), and endorsement of Power Over Women in marriage specifically predicted men's rejection of vasectomies (Hernández-Aguilera and Marván 2016). Other masculine norms such as Self-Reliance and Emotional Control likely block men from seeking medical assistance in relation to their reproductive health (Yousaf, Grunfeld, and Hunter 2015).…”

New Male Contraceptive?

“…Once boys reach adolescence, pressure to engage in heterosexual interactions becomes a salient component of normative masculine behaviour (Reigeluth and Addis 2016). Norms dictate that men maintain a heterosexual self-presentation, engage with multiple romantic partners, and assert their right to have power over women to be traditionally masculine, and failing to meet standards can undermine their sense of masculinity (Closson et al 2019;Limmer 2016). Concern with displaying sexual voracity and skill (related to Heterosexual Self-Presentation norms) can lead to avoidance of contraceptives such as condoms (Limmer 2016), and endorsement of Power Over Women in marriage specifically predicted men's rejection of vasectomies (Hernández-Aguilera and Marván 2016).…”

“…Norms dictate that men maintain a heterosexual self-presentation, engage with multiple romantic partners, and assert their right to have power over women to be traditionally masculine, and failing to meet standards can undermine their sense of masculinity (Closson et al 2019;Limmer 2016). Concern with displaying sexual voracity and skill (related to Heterosexual Self-Presentation norms) can lead to avoidance of contraceptives such as condoms (Limmer 2016), and endorsement of Power Over Women in marriage specifically predicted men's rejection of vasectomies (Hernández-Aguilera and Marván 2016). Other masculine norms such as Self-Reliance and Emotional Control likely block men from seeking medical assistance in relation to their reproductive health (Yousaf, Grunfeld, and Hunter 2015).…”