‘You Can Spot Them A Mile Off’: Young Women’s Negotiations of Class and the Sexual Culture of Shame

Abstract

Do w nlo a d e d fro m: h t t

What the hell are you doing? A PRISMA systematic review of psychosocial precursors of slut-shaming in adolescents and young adults

“…Female gender norms determine which behaviours are acceptable or unacceptable for women; whenever a girl or a woman transgresses gender norms she may be called a slut as a warning about her sexual conduct (Papp et al, 2016). Gender norms reinforce the slut/virgin dichotomy, even among young people (Williams, 2021), and so a girl who carries a condom with her could be easily labelled as a slut since she is considered sexually available. Moreover, according to gender stereotypes, those who exercise control over their own sexual behaviour, for example by acquiring condoms, are identified as males, in contrast with female stereotypes which expect women to be uninterested in sex and ignorant of it (Kreager et al, 2016).…”

“…According to one sexual double standard, men and women have identical or similar sexual behaviours but are judged by different criteria, which results in women's sexuality being considered disgraceful, while men's sexuality is prejudicially appreciated. Having casual sex or having multiple sexual partners, for instance, is considered acceptable for men, but is considered inadmissible for women since women's sexuality is stereotypically passive and is condoned only within a loving and stable relationship (Vrangalova et al, 2013;Farvid, et al, 2016;Williams, 2021). Whenever a girl or a woman violates gender norms, she is judged pursuant to a sexual double standard and, therefore, criticised, rejected and exposed to slut-shaming.…”

“…Women who have been exposed to slut-shaming are systematically discouraged from speaking openly about their sexual experiences, and especially about casual sex, and sexual desires (Farvid, et al, 2016;Miller, 2016); furthermore, in order to safeguard their reputation and to avoid being exposed to slut-shaming, women are led to neglect their sexual desires (Payne, 2010;Farvid, et al, 2016;Williams, 2021;Miller, 2016;Pickel & Gentry, 2016;Hackman et al, 2017;Kamke, et al, 2021) or, at least, to express them solely with their partner. In this regard, slut-shaming has the social function of regulating public performance of gender (Armstrong et al, 2014).…”

“…Another issue involving a sexual double standard is the question of which sexual desires should be considered natural (Miller, 2016); according to gender stereotypes, men are by nature prone to engage in sexual activity, whereas women tend by definition to refuse sexual experiences. In other words, sexual desire is only assigned to men and represents an exclusive privilege for them (Williams, 2021;Mayeza et al, 2021). Female sexual desire is evaluated in terms of women's ability to control it (Fjaer, et al, 2015;Kreager et al, 2016;Mayeza et al, 2021).…”

“…Consequently, male individuals who are stereotypically judged as the opposite of a stud are usually discriminated against and called "fags", which is to say someone who lacks sexual attractiveness, has few partners and has a general lack of sexual activity (Pascoe, 2005). Female stereotypes, however, cause behaviours associated with being sexually available such as dressing or dancing provocatively, attractive makeup, flirting, posting pictures of themselves in revealing poses, having sex outside of a stable relationship or publicly expressing interest in having sex to be judged negatively with regard to girls and women (Payne, 2010;Bay-Cheng 2015;Miller, 2016;Willem, et al, 2019;Williams, 2021). Female individuals who behave like this are commonly insulted by being called a slut.…”