Gender matters: Constructing a model of adolescent sexual health

TLDR

Existing sexual health models largely omit gender, yet research shows gender is a critical factor. The article aims to construct a new adolescent sexual health model that explicitly incorporates gender, particularly through a gender complementarity framework. The authors build the model by applying feminist theory and a web of theories to girls, then expand it to boys, ultimately shifting from gender‑specific to an integrated gendered model that introduces gender complementarity.

Abstract

This article illustrates the construction of a new model of adolescent sexual health, one that addresses the complex relationships between gender and adolescent sexuality. A review of sexual health models highlights the absence of gender; in contrast, research illuminates the significance of gender. This article describes the process of building a model of sexual health explicitly for girls, guided by feminist research on adolescent girls' sexuality and a "web of theories." It also describes the unanticipated challenges of making a companion model for boys and the ensuing shift from a gender‐specific approach to an integrated gendered model of adolescent sexual health. Gender complementarity is defined and forwarded as a way to incorporate gender into a model of adolescent sexual health.