This study provides theoretical understanding of 31 young adult Latinas' (Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban) experiences and understandings of sexuality through in-depth interviews. The grounded theory analysis of defining sex and sexual relationships revealed similar descriptions of processes within Latinas' accounts. Women's responses included defining sex as intercourse, defining sex as virtually anything, and making distinctions between sex and making love. Women also offered definitions of safer sex and their ideal sexual relationships. Ideas about men's sexuality as uncontrollable led women to devise plans for avoiding players and avoiding being a flirt girl because of the desire to be seen as moral and culturally competent. Latinas made sense of their sexuality by accepting, altering, or rejecting cultural messages. The findings have implications for interventions aimed to assist women in dealing with safer sex topics.
Bogart, L. M., Cecil, H., Wagstaff, D. A., Pinkerton, S. D., & Abramson, P. R. (2000). Is it sex? College students' interpretations of social behavior terminology. Journal of Sex Research, 37, 108-116.
3.
Burgos, N. M., & Diaz-Perez, Y. I. (1986). An exploration of human sexuality in the Puerto Rican culture. In L. Lister (Ed.), Human sexuality, ethno-culture, and social work (pp. 135-150). New York: Haworth.
4.
Carpenter, L. M. (2001). The ambiguity of “having sex”: The subjective experience of virginity loss in the United States. Journal of Sex Research, 38, 127-139.
5.
Centers for Disease Control. (2000). HIV/AIDS among Hispanics in the Unites States. CDC National Center for HIV, STDS, and TB Prevention. Retrieved December 12, 2000, from www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/hispanic.htm
6.
Cunningham, I. (1998). An innovative HIV/AIDS research and education program in Puerto Rico. SIECUS Report, 26, 18-20.
7.
Daniluk, J. C. (1998). Challenging myths, creating meanings: Women's sexuality across the lifespan. New York: Guilford.
8.
Dunn, J. L. (1998). Defining women: Notes toward and understanding of structure and agency in the negotiation of sex. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 26, 479-510.
9.
Ehrhardt, A. A., Yingling, S., & Warne, P. A. (1991). Sexual behavior in the era of AIDS: What has changed in the United States? In J. Bancroft, C. M. Davis, & H. J. Ruppel Jr. (Eds.), Annual review of sex research (Vol. 2, pp. 25-47). Lake Mills, IA: Stoyles Graphic Services.
10.
Faulkner, S. L. (1999). Good girl or flirt girl: Understanding the process and implications of sexual talk for Latinas. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Pennsylvania State University.
11.
Faulkner, S. L., & Mansfield, P. K. (2002). Reconciling messages: The process and implications of Latinas' sexual talk. Qualitative Health Research, 12, 310-328.
12.
Fernandez, M. I. (1995). Latinas and AIDS: Challenges to HIV prevention. In A. O'Leary & L. S. Jemmott (Eds.), Women at risk: Issues in the primary prevention of AIDS (pp. 159-174). New York: Plenum.
13.
Fine, M. (1988). Sexuality, schooling, and adolescent females: The missing discourse of desire. Harvard Educational Review, 58, 29-53.
14.
Gagnon, J. H. (1990). The explicit and implicit use of the scripting perspective in sex research. In J. Bancroft (Ed.), Annual review of sex research (Vol. 1, pp. 1-43). Lake Mills, IA: Stoyles Graphic Services.
15.
Gagnon, J. H., & Simon, W. (1987). The sexual scripting of oral genital contacts. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 16, 1-25.
16.
Gibbons, J. L., Brusi-Figueroa, R., & Fisher, S. L. (1997). Gender-related ideals of Puerto Rican adolescents: Gender and school context. Journal of Early Adolescence, 17, 349-370.
17.
Gil, R. M., & Vazquez, C. I. (1996). The maria paradox: How Latinas can merge old world traditions with new world self-esteem. New York: Perigee.
18.
Glaser, B. G. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity: Advances in the methodology of grounded theory. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
19.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine.
20.
Gomez, C. A., & Marin, B. V. (1996). Gender, culture, and power: Barriers to HIV-prevention strategies for women. Journal of Sex Research, 33, 355-362.
21.
Gutmann, M. C. (1996). The meanings of macho: Being a man in Mexico City. Los Angeles: University of California.
Hines, A. M., & Caetano, R. (1998). Alcohol and AIDS-related sexual behavior among Hispanics: Acculturation and gender differences. AIDS Education and Prevention, 10, 533-547.
24.
Holland, J., Ramazanoglu, C., & Thomson, R. (1996). In the same boat? The gendered (in)experience of first heterosex. In D. Richardson (Ed.), Theorizing heterosexuality (pp. 143-160). Buckingham, England: Open University.
25.
Horowitz, R. (1983). Honor and the American dream: Culture and identity in a Chicano community. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University.
26.
Irvine, J. (1995). Sexuality education across cultures: Working with differences. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
27.
Kalichman, S. C., Hunter, T. L., & Kelly, J. A. (1992). Perceptions of AIDS susceptibility among minority and nonminority women at risk for HIV infection. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 725-732.
28.
Lear, D. (1995). Sexual communication in the age of AIDS: The construction of risk and trust among young adults. Social Science Medicinek, 41, 1311-1323.
29.
Marin, B. V., Gomez, C. A., & Hearst, N. (1993). Multiple heterosexual partners and condom use among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Family Planning Perspectives, 25, 170-174.
30.
Marin, B. V., & Marin, G. (1990). Effects of acculturation on knowledge of AIDS and HIV among Hispanics. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 12, 110-121.
31.
Marin, B. V., & Marin, G. (1991). Research with Hispanic populations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
32.
Marin, B. V., Tschann, J. M., Gomez, C. A., & Kegeles, S. M. (1993). Acculturation and gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors: Hispanic vs non-Hispanic white unmarried adults. American Journal of Public Health, 83, 1759-1761.
33.
Menendez, B. S., Drucker, E., Vermund, S. H., Castano, R. R., Perez-Agosto, R. R., Parga, F. J.et al. (1990). AIDS mortality among Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics in New York City, 1981-1987. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 3, 644-648.
34.
Morse, J. (1991). Analyzing unstructured, interactive interviews using the Macintosh computer. Qualitative Health Research, 1, 117-122.
35.
Morse, J. (1992). Qualitative health research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
36.
Peterman, J. P. (1996). Telling their stories: Puerto Rican women and abortion. Boulder, CO: Westview.
37.
Regan, P. C., & Berscheid, E. (1996). Beliefs about the state, goals, and objects of sexual desire. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 22, 110-120.
38.
Reiss, I. L. (1967). The social context of premarital sexual permissiveness. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
39.
Remez, L. (2000). Oral sex among adolescents: Is it sex or is it abstinence? Family Planning Perspectives, 32, 298-304.
40.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (1995). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
41.
Sabogal, F., Faigeles, B., & Cantania, J. (1993). Multiple sex partners among Hispanics in high-risk cities, II: Data from the National AIDS Behavioral Surveys. Family Planning Perspectives, 23, 257-262.
42.
Sanders, S. A., & Reinisch, J. M. (1999). Would you say you “had sex” if...? Journal of the American Medical Association, 281, 275-277.
43.
Santos-Ortiz, M. C., & Vazquez, M. M. (1989). An exploratory study of the expression of female sexuality: The experience of two groups of Puerto Rican Women from different social backgrounds. In C. T. Garcia Coll & M. L. Mattei (Eds.), The psychosocial development of Puerto Rican women (pp. 141-165). New York: Praeger.
44.
Seal, D. W., Wagner-Raphael, L. I., & Ehrhardt, A. (2000). Sex, intimacy, and HIV: An ethnographic study of a Puerto Rican social group in New York City. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 11(4), 51-92.
45.
Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (1986). Sexual scripts: Permanence and change. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15, 97-120.
46.
Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (1987). A sexual scripts approach. In J. H. Geer & W. T. O'Donohue (Eds.), Theories of human sexuality (pp. 363-383). New York: Plenum.
47.
Smith, D. K., & Moore, J. S. (1996). Epidemiology, manifestations, and treatment of HIV infection in women. In A. O'Leary & L. S. Jemmott (Eds.), Women and AIDS: Coping and care (pp. 1-24). New York: Plenum.
48.
Sobo, E. J. (1995). Choosing unsafe sex: AIDS denial among disadvantaged women. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.
49.
Sprecher, S., McKinney, K., & Orbuch, T. L. (1991). The effect of current sexual behavior on friendship, dating, and marriage desirability. Journal of Sex Research, 28, 387-408.
50.
Thompson, S. (1995). Going all the way: Teenage girls' tales of sex, romance, and pregnancy. New York: Hill and Wang.
51.
Warren, C. W., Santelli, J. S., Everett, S. A., & Kann, L. (1998). Sexual behavior among U.S. high school students, 1990-1995. Family Planning Perspectives, 30, 170-172.
52.
Wiederman, M. W., Maynard, C., & Fretz, A. (1996). Ethnicity in 25 years of published sexuality research: 1971-1995. Journal of Sex Research, 33, 339-342.
