A Phenomenological Study of how College Students Communicate about Anal Sex and its Implications for Health
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: This study explored how heterosexual anal sex (HAS) was discussed among college students.A qualitative method which utilized Moustakas" (1994) transcendental phenomenology was employed.The study followed four steps: epoche, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation and synthesis.Semi-structured indepth interviews and diary methods were used for data collection.Thirty self-identified heterosexual college students participated.Theoretically, Foucault"s (1990, 1977) notions of sexuality and power and Sandra Petronio"s (2002) Communication Privacy Management Theory (CPM) concepts of disclosure and privacy were used to examine talk about sexuality.At a macro level, participants" sexual choices were influenced by institutional socio-cultural values (sex education, religion and some family values) which were in tension with participants" personal values of sex.Participants resisted institutional socio-cultural values because they promoted an abstinence-only approach to sexuality.At the micro level, findings related to participant communication indicated that their communication was shaped by discomfort for anal sex.Participants used the Unmentionable IT to refer to anal sex in their descriptions of anal sex.They also acknowledged how sex and anal sex was concealed in euphemisms.
Author: Mumba Mumba
Institution: Ohio University
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W12768749