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Exploring the production of marginalizing behaviours in women who have sex with women

University of British Columbia

Our sexual self is learned across our lifespan. We learn what behaviour is acceptable and what behaviour is not. The things that we learn about our sexual self are steeped in hegemonic ideologies. Without conscious awareness, we then act out our sexual interactions with scripted behaviour which allows for mutual understanding between two parties but also women. Specifically, I examine the intragroup violence that is perpetrated through relational aggression using a sample of women who have sex with women (WSW). Interviewing WSW recounting interactions with potential paramours, participants were asked to discuss whether objectification was present in their experiences. A qualitative thematic analysis was performed on the interview scripts. The analysis identified several nodes of objectification. Using a combination of sexual script theory and film analysis, this research identifies the enactment of intragroup relational aggression tactics through the objectification of WSW by WSW. Objectification is one method of dehumanizing individuals. Objectifying paramours in the WSW communities’ acts as enforcement to conform others to the hegemonic ideologies of the groups. Further interrogation of the hegemonic ideologies of WSW communities brings forth an understanding of how these interactions are learned. This thesis explores the construction and enactment of ideologies that occur in interactions between women who have sex with women.

Text

2021-04-28

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/78018

Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/