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By Brian W. King a Thesis Submitted to Victoria University of Wellington In LINGUISTIC NEGOTIATIONS OF SEXUAL AGENCY IN SEXUALITY EDUCATION By Brian W. King A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics Victoria University of Wellington 2011 ii Abstract The investigative aim of this thesis is to explore the role of language in the construction of sexuality agency during a classroom-based sexuality education programme for adolescents. The thesis begins with an examination of the motivations behind the study of agency in relation to sexuality. Overlapping research gaps in the fields of language and gender/sexuality and sexuality education are identified. Scholars from both fields have pinpointed difficulties with the accessing of agentive sexual subject positions by young people (particularly young women) during conversation. Investigations into sexuality education in New Zealand have suggested that ‘Discourses’ of sexuality in classrooms and broader school communities position students as ‘sexual’ while simultaneously constructing them as innocent and child- like (and thus non-sexual). These ‘large-D’ Discourses have been identified as possible reasons for a lack of decline in the rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease amongst young people despite an overt focus on such topics in sexuality education. The theory is that because they have not developed a sense of agency in relation to sexuality, young people are ill-equipped to navigate the risks of sexual activity. A question which remains is exactly how sexual agency is negotiated through ‘small-d’ discourse (e.g. ‘talk’), by young people in classrooms. This study focuses on language usage during classroom discussions of sexuality in order to shed light on linguistic strategies that young people employ in order to position themselves (or not) as sexual agents during sexuality education, and how they respond to being similarly positioned, both by others and by their classroom resources. In order to gain an understanding of the working dynamics of the school and classroom, an ethnographic approach was employed. The researcher iii participated in classes for a period of time before the sexuality programme began in order to observe relations between the participants, including the distribution of power amongst teacher and students. These observations were essential to comprehending the understandings that participants bring to the processes and activities under study. This approach also permitted the tracing of the emergence of a community of practice in this classroom. Through close attention to language via poststructuralist discourse analysis, it has been possible to demonstrate how interactants performatively lay claim to (or avoid) sexual agency in this community of practice. By actively participating in discussions of sexuality, the students, both boys and girls, experience being placed in sexually agentive subject positions. They respond in various ways; sometimes aligning, sometimes resisting, other times resignifying those positions in complex interactions of masculinity, femininity, desire, and sexual identity. Finally, the findings of this thesis are assembled in order to consider implications for the study of language and sexuality as well as considering the importance of discursive positionings (by teachers and classroom resources) for future student possibilities in terms of sexual agency development. iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank Janet Holmes, my supervisor, for guiding me through the thesis process with such care and attention and instilling in me a sense of academic confidence which has served me well over the past few years. I would also like to acknowledge my second supervisor David Crabbe, for always being ready to assist. My gratitude also extends to Meredith Marra for her invaluable moral support and encouragement. I would like to acknowledge Victoria University of Wellington for supporting this research by way of a Victoria University PhD Scholarship. I would also like to thank the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences for three Faculty Research Grants. Without this financial support, the research would not have been possible. Acknowledgement is also due to Amanda Haronga and Libby Paterson, both of Victoria University of Wellington, whose ideas and support were of great assistance, particularly in the early stages of this project when it was still just a seed of an idea. For similar reasons, I would also like to extend my gratitude to Mani Mitchell for stimulating my early thinking in relation to this project and later becoming a core participant, demonstrating courage and integrity to a level that still astounds me. I also owe a debt of thanks to the staff and students of the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies for fostering an environment of collegiality and mutual encouragement. This is particularly applicable to my fellow thesis students in the LALS Thesis Group. Thank you for serving as a sounding board for my ideas and for asking challenging questions at the right times. v I would also like to extend appreciation to the staff and administration at the secondary school in which this research was conducted. Your active endorsement of my research was greatly appreciated. The greatest acknowledgement is of course owed to the teacher and students whose words form the focus of this study. To the teacher, thank you for showing enthusiasm for this project from the very beginning. To the students, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for your maturity and sincerity and for always welcoming me with a smile. Your generosity of spirit has been humbling to witness. Finally I wish to thank Leo, for coming across the globe with me to New Zealand and standing by me throughout this experience. Your sacrifices (and there have been many) have touched me deeply. . vi Table of Contents Abstract.................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements.................................................................................................. v List of figures and tables........................................................................................... xii Chapter 1 - Introduction: An investigation of sexual agency in language............... 1 1.1 Aims of this thesis............................................................................. 2 1.2 Academic study of sexuality education............................................ 3 1.2.1 This thesis and sexuality education.......................... 5 1.3 Thesis overview................................................................................ 5 Chapter 2 - Literature review .................................................................................. 7 2.1 Introduction..................................................................................... 7 2.2 Sexual agency and its role in sexuality education........................... 7 2.3 Discourse......................................................................................... 9 2.4 Sexuality, 'the sexual', and sexual agency....................................... 10 2.5 Gender, biological sex, and the connection with language............ 12 2.5.1 Masculinities and femininities................................. 13 2.5.2 Hegemonic masculinity........................................... 13 2.5.3 Women, hegemonic femininity, and the ‘slut’ stigma...................................................................... 14 2.5.4 Body dimorphism – a genealogy............................. 16 2.5.5 Gender and language.............................................. 18 2.6 Performativity theory – context...................................................... 19 2.6.1 How did Butler develop this theory?....................... 19 2.6.2 What is her focus?................................................... 20 2.7 Performativity theory – explanation............................................... 20 2.7.1 What assumptions arise from an anti-ontological position?................................................................... 22 2.7.2 Performativity and agency....................................... 23 2.7.3 Critiques of performative agency............................ 23 2.8 Language and agency....................................................................... 27 2.8.1 Introduction – Sexually agentive subject positions.. 27 2.8.2 Agency as performance............................................ 28 2.8.3 Collective agency performance................................ 30 2.9 Summary........................................................................................... 32 vii Chapter 3 - Research design and methodology ........................................................ 35 3.1 Introduction...................................................................................... 35 3.1.1 An ethnographic perspective.................................... 35 3.1.2 Aims of an ethnographic approach........................... 36 3.1.3 Strengths & weaknesses of an ethnographic approach................................................................... 37 3.1.4 Internal validity and reliability in qualitative research.................................................................... 39 3.1.5 Discourse analysis – a poststructuralist approach... 41 3.1.6 Discourse analysis – queer inquiry........................... 42 3.2 Research aim, purpose, and questions............................................. 44 3.3
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