'Neverending love' and 'blowing your load': The meanings of sex to rural youth

This article reports on qualitative and quantitative research, conducted with senior secondary school students in small rural Australian towns, which explored the meanings of sex and relationships. Through a survey, the researchers identified the many ways in which these young people construct meanings around sex and sexuality and, combined with their beliefs about relationships, what impact these meanings might have on their ability to negotiate safe sexual relationships. Single-sex focus discussion groups that explored aspects of developing sexuality within the context of small town culture were also held in each town. Not surprisingly, the research revealed that young people in rural areas (like many of their urban peers) assumed heterosexuality as the norm, and penis-vagina sexual intercourse as the pivotal activity in sex. Beyond this (although there was overlap), the young men and women tended to attach different meanings to sex around issues such as its place in a relationship, the pleasure it affords and the dangers it presents. There were significant gender differences in the perceived advantages and disadvantages of relationships with the expectation to have sex being seen as a deterrent for young women and an advantage for young men. We examine the common meanings of sex and the gender differences in meaning for the ways in which they might impact on young people's ability and motivation to practise safe sex, in particular, ways in which gender and power impact on sexual encounters. Finally, the article focuses on the role that sexuality education might play in helping young people critique their own understandings about sex. © 1999 SAGE Publications