1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910459919703321

Autore

Montemurro Beth <1972->

Titolo

Deserving desire : women's stories of sexual evolution / / Beth Montemurro

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Brunswick, New Jersey : , : Rutgers University Press, , [2014]

©2014

ISBN

0-8135-7024-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (244 p.)

Disciplina

306.7082

Soggetti

Women - Sexual behavior

Women - Psychology

Self-acceptance

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction -- Developing a stance : sowing the seeds of sexual subjectivity -- Learning through doing : early exploration and experience -- Validation, affirmation, and encouragement : sexual relationships of consequence -- Self-discovery through role and relationship changes : divorce -- Self-discovery through role and relationship changes : motherhood -- Self-discovery through embodied changes : the physical experience of motherhood -- Self-discovery through embodied changes : aging and menopause -- Self-acceptance.

Sommario/riassunto

Women experience considerable changes in their bodies, lives, and identity between the ages of twenty and seventy, including marriage, motherhood, the dissolution of relationships, and menopause, all of which often impact sexuality. In Deserving Desire, Beth Montemurro takes a wide-ranging look at the evolution of women's sexuality over time, with a specific focus on the development of sexual subjectivity-that is sexual confidence, agency, and a sense of entitlement to sexual desire. Detailed stories of the ninety-five women in this study explore how they become more comfortable with their bodies, when most begin to enjoy sex, feel confident and positive about engaging in it, and how



they become sexual subjects in control of their bodies. Deserving Desire explores the complex multi-stage process in which sexual subjectivity evolves over a woman's lifetime. As girls, they learn about sex and how those around them-parents, peers, religion and media-regard sex. Physical and emotional transitions such as having a baby or ending a relationship further affect women's sexual confidence and desire. Montemurro emphasizes that sexual subjectivity is about feeling in control of sexual decision making and acting purposefully and confidently.  Though adolescent sexuality has been a major focus of sociological research, few studies have examined, as Montemurro does here, the development of sexuality through women's lives and the events that change the way women feel about themselves, their bodies, and their relationships.