Narratives of Sexuality in the Lives of Young Women Readers

In recent years, research on adolescent sexuality in Young Adult (YA) Literature has included a discussion of its potential role in sex education. Based on the extensive yet problematic presentation of sexuality within these texts, it has gained both support and opposition. However, very few empirical studies have been done on how readers say YA Literature has informed their sexual lives. This thesis investigates how narratives of sexuality found within YA Literature may inform the sexual lives of young women readers by examining both readers’ experiences and YA texts. First, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 female participants (aged 18 to 24) on their experiences reading sexually-themed YA Literature. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and report themes found within the interview data. Second, a sample of YA texts of different genres and formats was closely read for presentations of adolescent sexuality. Textual analysis was used to analyse themes within four texts that were thematically significant in relation to readers’ experiences. This study found that YA Literature has the potential to give a more nuanced portrayal of sexuality than traditional sex education, but it also lacks content that appeals to some readers’ sexual curiosities and information needs. The readers reported that YA Literature informed them on many aspects of sexuality, including the biological, social, emotional, pleasurable, and painful aspects of sexual relationships. However, in many cases, these readers also “read up” or turned to online fiction to read more complex, erotic, or diverse stories. Along with these responses, the author uses YA texts to demonstrate how themes, tropes, and codes about sexuality may inform the sexual lives of young readers, sometimes in ways that were unexpected or have yet to be examined. The findings both support and refute previous studies on sexuality in YA Literature, revealing that although there are many positive qualities of YA Literature when informing young readers on sexuality, improvements need to be made in the areas of female character development, descriptive sex scenes, and positive representation of LGBTQ relationships. The author also makes recommendations for how librarians can help to improve access to sexually-themed materials for young people