Conflicts and compromises college women talk about sex and sexuality

In this thesis I examine the messages college women have received about sex and sexuality, and how the young women choose to act on those messages. The women in this study have been raised receiving messages regarding sexuality from their parents, their religions, their female and male friends, the media, and sexual education. When they reach college, certain sexual norms change, and it becomes more permissible for women to be more sexually open. This change in sexual norms creates a unique point in the sexual timeline of young women. In this thesis I examine interviews done with twenty-one college women to better understand how they deal with conflicting messages regarding sexuality. Their use of language and narrative are explored along with their techniques for reaching personal compromises in the face of multiple and conflicting messages.