Becoming a Sexual Being: Overcoming Constraints on Female Sexuality

Abstract

Sexuality researchers have traced changes in intimacy across time. In this article, I outline the facets of what sexuality researchers note as 'modern' sexuality and 'postmodern' sexuality. I discuss how each type of sexuality carries a specific construction of intimacy. I present five autoethnographic stories developed from my field journals while studying the swinging 'lifestyle'. Using thematic analysis of narrative, I treat each story as data for analysis. By discussing my personal constructions of intimacy I create a relatable story that demonstrates the lasting elements of essentialist gender norms, consistent with modern sexuality, that are sometimes overlooked in postmodern sexuality research.