Om sättet att tillhopa gå, en kvalitativ studie om ungdomars tankar kring sex och relationer

Abstract

Young people of today have a much wider access to information on sex and relationships, and they receive this information from a variety of different sources. This information can sometimes paint a diverse and inconsistent picture. School constitutes one of these sources, and one of the few places were young people can discuss and reflect on these issues together with their peers as well as adults. The purpose of this essay is to gain insight on what adolescents between the age of 15 to 18 think about sex and relationships and their thoughts about sex education in school. It’s a qualitative study based on discussions with adolescents divided in four focus groups, two groups of girls and two groups of boys. This method yielded a body of empirical material that was later analyzed from a sociological starting point and gender perspective. We used John Gagnon and William Simon’s theories regarding sexual scripts, in which society’s views on sexuality and what kind of sexual behavior is accepted, is discussed. We also used Zygmunt Bauman’s theories on ”the liquid society”. Bauman discusses issues regarding the modern consumer society and sexuality, and states that even relationships are an article of consumption. The essay will show that the participants consider sex and relationships to be important and interesting matters, and believe that the amount of education in school regarding these issues isn’t enough. Past positive experiences in their contact with adults have given some a sense of confidence when talking openly about sex, but they were ambivalent in their views on relationships. Sex without love is relatively accepted but the final goal is still a lifelong, monogamous relationship. Also, the accepted sexual behavior is different for girls and boys. A majority of the results in our study are in accordance with previous research.