Elizabeth M. Morgan

Associations between Young Adults' Use of Sexually Explicit Materials and Their Sexual Preferences, Behaviors, and Satisfaction

This study examined how levels of sexually explicit material (SEM) use during adolescence and young adulthood were associated with sexual preferences, sexual behaviors, and sexual and relationship satisfaction. Participants included 782 heterosexual college students (326 men and 456 women; Mage = 19.9) who completed a questionnaire online. Results revealed high frequencies and multiple types and contexts of SEM use, with mens usage rates systematically higher than womens. Regression analyses revealed that both the frequency of SEM use and number of SEM types viewed were uniquely associated with more sexual experience (a higher number of overall and casual sexual intercourse partners, as well as a lower age at first intercourse). Higher frequencies of SEM use were associated with less sexual and relationship satisfaction. The frequency of SEM use and number of SEM types viewed were both associated with higher sexual preferences for the types of sexual practices typically presented in SEM. These findings suggest that SEM use can play a significant role in a variety of aspects of young adults’ sexual development processes.

Contemporary Issues in Sexual Orientation and Identity Development in Emerging Adulthood

Emerging adulthood presents a unique developmental milieu for sexual orientation and identity development. Over the past 10 years, a body of research has begun delineating contemporary emerging adults’ understandings of their sexual orientation and processes of sexual identity development. This scholarship has increasingly recognized the complexity and multidimensional nature of sexual identity development among both heterosexual and sexual-minority individuals. This review covers current conceptualizations of sexual orientation and identity, traditional and contemporary models of sexual identity development, and recent empirical literature assessing developmental trajectories, consistency between and within dimensions of sexual orientation and identity, stability of these dimensions, and issues of sexual identity labeling and categorization. This scholarship suggests that increased attention to diversity within and between sexual identity groups is warranted but also reveals notable patterns and categories that should be considered as the field moves forward.

Young Women's Sexual Experiences Within Same-Sex Friendships: Discovering and Defining Bisexual and Bi-Curious Identity

SUMMARY Though not frequently studied for their role in sexual orientation identity development, sexual experiences within same-sex friendships may offer an opportunity for bisexual and bi-curious women to explore and define their sexual orientation. This study examined sexual self-defining memories and narratives about sexual orientation development in bisexual and bi-curious young women. Participants were 48 female college students of various ethnic backgrounds. They were selected for the study based on their primary sexual orientation identification and because they included a sexual experience with a same-sex friend as their event narrative. The event narratives were classified based on age (childhood versus adolescence) and type of same-sex friend sexual experience (sexual attraction versus sexual behavior). Themes of discovery, closeness, conflict, and defining identity emerged. Findings suggest that sexual experiences with same-sex friends can serve an important role in the emergence and definition of bisexual and bi-curious identity.

Processes of Sexual Orientation Questioning among Heterosexual Women

Because very little is known about heterosexual identity development, this study assesses and describes sexual orientation questioning processes of heterosexual-identified women and offers a comparison of these processes with those employed by their sexual-minority counterparts. Participants included 333 female college students (ages 18–23; M = 19.2): 228 participants primarily identified as “exclusively straight/heterosexual,” and 105 participants indicated a sexual-minority identity. Sixty-seven percent of exclusively heterosexual respondents (n = 154) indicated having thought about or questioned their sexual orientation. The processes by which heterosexual participants described questioning their sexual orientation were coded for the presence of five emergent categories using an inductive thematic coding methodology. These five categories included unelaborated questioning (19%), other-sex experiences (16%), exposure to sexual minorities (26%), assessment of same-sex attraction (48%), and evaluations of same-sex behavior (26%). Several unifying and differentiating themes emerged between sexual orientation groups. Results from this study suggest that contemporary young womens heterosexuality is not necessarily an unexamined identity; indeed, the large majority of young women in this sample were deliberately identifying as heterosexual after contemplating alternative possibilities.

Comparing Sexual-Minority and Heterosexual Young Women’s Friends and Parents as Sources of Support for Sexual Issues

The present study provides a comparative analysis of sexual-minority and heterosexual emerging adult women’s experiences seeking support for sexual issues from parents and friends. Participants included 229 college women (88 sexual-minority women; 141 heterosexual women), ranging from 18 to 25 years of age, who provided written responses to an inquiry about a time they went to friends and parents for support for a issue related to their sexuality. Responses indicated that the majority of participants had sought support from either a parent or a friend and that mothers and female friends were more likely involved than fathers or male friends, respectively. Sexual issues that participants reported discussing with parents and friends were inductively grouped into five categories: dating and romantic relationships, sexual behavior, sexual health, identity negotiation, and discrimination and violence. Issues that were discussed differed based on sexual orientation identity and the source of support (parent or friend); they did not differ by age. Participants generally perceived parents and friends’ responses as helpful, though sexual-minority participants perceived both parents and friends’ responses as less helpful than did heterosexual participants. Overall, results suggest both similarities and differences between sexual-minority and heterosexual young women’s experiences seeking support for sexual issues from parents and friends.

Outcomes of sexual behaviors among sexual minority youth.

Very little is known about outcomes of sexual behavior for sexual minority youth. In this chapter, I review relevant literature and draw on findings from my own research to initiate an inquiry into this important topic. I begin with a brief overview of the range of sexual behaviors of sexual minority adolescents and young adults. Next, I describe what we know about positive and negative outcomes of sexual behavior among sexual minority youth. This discussion takes into account physical outcomes, psychological and emotional outcomes, and outcomes related to identity development. Lastly, I discuss the limitations of prior research and propose several goals for future research to expand our understanding of this topic.

Changes in Sexual Values and Their Sources Over the 1st Year of College

The present study identified emerging adults’ self-generated sexual values and sources of sexual values upon entering college and a year later to assess how these values and sources may have changed. Participants included 148 college students (86 women and 62 men) who were 17 to 19 years old at Time 1 (M = 18.1). Generative coding revealed seven thematic sexual values: casual versus relational criteria for sexual intercourse, respect, giving or obtaining consent, pleasure for self and partner, intimacy, trust, and physical safety. Regarding sources of values, participants reported interpersonal, intrapersonal, and societal sources. Analyses revealed few gender differences in sexual values. Valuing casual criteria for sexual intercourse increased in frequency from Time 1 to Time 2 and valuing relational criteria decreased. Peers and dating partners increased in frequency and parents decreased in frequency as sources of sexual values.

Heterosexual Marking and Binary Cultural Conceptions of Sexual Orientation

Abstract In this article, the authors focus on cultural conceptions of sexual orientation revealed through their examination of heterosexual marking. Heterosexual marking consists of behaviors believed to convey heterosexual status, regardless of intent and accuracy. Data is from 12 focus groups with 57 young adults. The authors found that a common motive for heterosexual marking is to fend off the possibility that one could be perceived as gay or lesbian, and that some behaviors used to mark heterosexuality involve direct conveyance that one is not gay or lesbian. The authors also describe various ways that the heterosexual marking system delineated by participants obscures the existence of bisexuality and other nonbinary sexual identities. The authors conclude that this system reflects and reinforces antonymous and dichotomous conceptions of sexual orientation. Lastly, the authors discuss these findings in relation to past research and highlight the significance of these findings for the identity practices of bisexuals and others.

Heterosexual Identity Management: How Social Context Affects Heterosexual Marking Practices

ABSTRACT It is well established that heterosexism shapes identity management practices of sexual minorities in the United States, but we know little about how such social forces shape heterosexual identity management. This exploratory research is focused on heterosexual marking, defined as behaviors interpreted as signifying a heterosexual identity. Using data from 12 focus groups with young adults, we provide an overview of heterosexual marking in a northeastern United States context and explain how three social forces—cultural assumptions of heterosexuality, sexual orientation ambiguity and suspicion, and heterosexism—are intertwined with these identity practices. Results indicated that this social context generates heterosexual marking that is sometimes intentional and conscious but at other times unintentional and unconscious, depending on levels of heteronormativity and heterosexism.

When Heterosexuality is Questioned: Stifling Suspicion Through Public Displays of Heterosexual Identity

ABSTRACT This study examined public heterosexual identity management practices of heterosexual-identified young adults in the United States. Analysis of 415 participants’ written narratives indicated that 41% (n = 169) described consciously engaging in public displays of their heterosexual status in relation to suspicion about their sexual orientation. This article describes our findings regarding five aspects of these narratives of suspicion: types of suspicion, causes of suspicion, reasons for concern about suspicion, the types of public displays of heterosexual status employed to quell suspicion, and intended audiences for these displays. Overall, the results indicated that heterosexual identity suspicion is multifaceted, this suspicion serves as a catalyst for public displays of heterosexual status, and the climate of suspicion described by our participants reflects and reinforces contemporary heterosexism.