Most women end up regretting girl-on-girl action
University of Victoria researcher Lucinda Brown has found 71 per cent of the 451 women she surveyed feel young women are under pressure to engage in public sexual behaviour with other women. Brown spoke with National Post reporter Sarah Boesveld about mal
Q Why did the straight women in your study say they made out with other straight women?
A A male had requested they do it, they did it because they thought it would turn men on. Things like societal demand — ‘Oh, other women were doing it in the bar and the guys were catcalling and it’s kind of the trendy thing to do, so that’s why I decided to do it.’
Q Did some of the straight women report that after feeling some pressure, they ended up liking it?
A Most of the heterosexual women who had engaged in this behaviour in my study really described the outcome in negative terms. They made comments like they were embarrassed — they felt awkward and regretful. Some of them said ‘I felt really coerced in this situation.’ One of the participants said, ‘I was really confused because men asked us to do it and then called us sluts and nymphos after.’
Q Did you see any long-term impacts for these women?
A Heterosexual women who had performed this girl-on-girl behaviour had less healthy perceptions of their sexuality. They felt more discouraged or unhappy about their sex lives. … They were more likely to say their sexual behaviours were controlled by people more powerful than them. The heterosexual women between ages of 19-25 also described themselves as being more likely to take part in sexual acts in which they weren’t comfortable.
Q That’s obviously problematic. How do you connect it to the bigger conversations we’re having about consent, sexual assault, being a bystander?
A We do need some changes in the discussions we’re having with our children and young women and also in our sexual education curriculum.
Q What about guys? Everyone seems to behave like it’s totally natural for men to like and encourage this.
A Men need to realize that despite the fact that it’s a staple in pornography, their girlfriends, their mothers, their daughters may really not be enjoying this. It may not be something they want to engage in because it doesn’t feel good to them and it’s not authentic.