Memorable First Time Sexual Experiences: Gendered Patterns and Nuances

Abstract

This exploratory qualitative research study examined college students' memorable narratives regarding their first sexual experience, and how those encounters inform current sexual practices. Drawing from a large national data set, the study explores the narratives of 100 women and men who were attending college on one of three diverse U.S. campuses in 2012. Utilizing a qualitative content analytic methodological framework, we found that women and men frame their first sexual experiences, in terms of message valence (positive, negative, neutral), in similar ways. Yet, subsequent thematic analysis of these messages reveals that gendered patterns and nuances exist in terms of positively framed (great experience; thoughtful, good decision; a special experience; and positive communicative experience) and negatively framed (undesired consequences, rape=abuse, regrets, and unpleasurable to horrible experiences) themes. Following an explication of how these thematic insights are more aptly understood through a gendered lens, directions for future research and implications for research, theory, and practice are provided.

“No One Can Make that Choice for You:” Exploring Power in the Sexual Narratives of Black Collegians

“…In heterosexual or heteronormative contexts, men are constricted to roles of proactive power (seeking out women, initiating; Orbe, Johnson, Kauffman, & Cooke-Jackson, 2014) and women to reactive power (accepting or refusing; Grauerholz & Serpe, 1985). Stereotypically gendered sexual socialization is constrictive for men and women because it prevents them from having a full sexual experience (Fetterolf & Sanchez, 2014;Sanchez, Crocker, & Boike, 2005).…”

School and Parental Factors Associated with One-Night Stand, Condom Use at Sexual Debut and Multiple Sexual Partners

“…The general agreement in the research literature is that delayed sexual debut is preferable to early sexual debut [12] , because of the numerous risks associated with latter. One of these is the low probability of condom use [13] .…”

“It Was a Learning Experience”: Lessons Learned From Young African American Men and Women's Sexual Debut

“…For example, earlier sexual debut has been associated with lower condom use, having sex under the influence of drugs and alcohol, having older sexual partners, and having non-consensual sex at sexual debut (Heywood, Patrick, Smith, & Pitts, 2015; Kaestle, Morisky, & Wiley, 2002; Miles & Huberman, 1994; Sandfort, Orr, Hirsch, & Santelli, 2008). However, first sex is also an important learning context in which youth gain valuable insights and lessons beyond how sex is performed (Carpenter, 2005; Fortenberry, 2014; Norona, Roberson, & Welsh, 2015; Orbe, Johnson, Kauffman, & Cooke-Jackson, 2014; Ott, Ghania, McKenzie, Rosenberger, & Bell, 2012). These lessons inform motivations, expectations, and behaviors in subsequent sexual relationships (Michels, Kropp, Eyre, & Halpern-Felsher, 2005).…”