Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 6-7-2019 2:30 PM Narratives of Sexuality in the Lives of Young Women Readers Davin L. Helkenberg The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Paulette M. Rothbauer The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Library & Information Science A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Davin L. Helkenberg 2019 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Education Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, and the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation Helkenberg, Davin L., "Narratives of Sexuality in the Lives of Young Women Readers" (2019). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 6284. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6284 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Abstract In recent years, research on adolescent sexuality in Young Adult (YA) Literature has included a discussion of its potential role in sex education. Based on the extensive yet problematic presentation of sexuality within these texts, it has gained both support and opposition. However, very few empirical studies have been done on how readers say YA Literature has informed their sexual lives. This thesis investigates how narratives of sexuality found within YA Literature may inform the sexual lives of young women readers by examining both readers’ experiences and YA texts.