The impact of protestant church involvement on young women's sexual identities

• Main Author: Sharma, Sonya A. M.
• Published: Lancaster University 2007
• Subjects: 305.4
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.497767

This research considers the impact of young women's Protestant church involvement on their sexual identities. It focuses on the powerful message that Protestant church culture gives about sex and sexuality - sex is only for the context of heterosexual marriage - given that young women live amidst mainstream cultures that simultaneously normalise and encourage sexual exploration. It is around the ages of 18 to 25 that young women are developing their selves in a variety of ways. They are transitioning into adulthood and independence, entering into new living arrangements apart from their parents, into various modes of employment, higher education, travelling and acquiring new relationships that offer them opportunities to develop relationally and sexually. Young women are developing alongside their peers and church is one place that at provides an opportunity to build close-knit communities and relationships that impact on personal experience and identity formation.