Sexual scripts on vaginismus: rewriting women’s sexual difficulties from their point of view

Download
2019
Turan Yunusoğlu, Yeliz
The purpose of the current study was to explore cultural, interpersonal, and intrapsychic sexual scripts framing vaginismus in Turkey and situate women’s personal experiences of vaginismus in the patriarchal discourse rather than putting them into health and illness domain. In order to better capture women’s subjective experiences of vaginismus, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 women who overcame vaginismus in the recent past in Turkey. In analyzing data, thematic analysis was used and feminist research practices were reflected upon research behavior. Six overarching sexual scripts at the cultural, interpersonal, and intrapsychic levels were identified from participants’ reports. These sexual scripts included (1) fear and (2) virginity at the cultural level; (3) sexual incompatibility and (4) sexual performance at the interpersonal level; (5) sexual inhibition and (6) social comparison at the intrapsychic level. The results suggested that sexual scripts at three different levels were highly infected with sexual double standards, which had detrimental impact on women’s sexual health and satisfaction. The results were discussed in terms of their implications for individual transformation and social change and they reflect the need for studying women’s sexual problems from an interdisciplinary framework whereby the myths and discourses on female sexuality can be revealed.

Suggestions

Sexual self-schemas: an exploration of their impact on frequency of masturbation and sexual activity, sexual satisfaction, and marital adjustment
Koçak, Gözde; Fışıloğlu, Hürol; Department of Psychology (2009)
This study aimed to assess whether differences among categories of sexual self-schemas of men and women existed for weekly frequency of masturbation and sexual activity, level of sexual satisfaction, and level of marital adjustment in the context of marital relationship. In order to evaluate this, the Sexual Self-Schema Scale (Hill, 2007) was translated into Turkish, and its psychometric quality was tested on undergraduate university students. In a sample of 204 married individuals, the interrelationship be...
Sexual harrassment among Turkish female athletes : the role of ambivalent sexism
Zengin, Ezgi; Sakallı Uğurlu, Nuray; Department of Psychology (2012)
The aim of the thesis was to focus on sexual harassment in sport in Turkey and the role of ambivalent sexism on attitudes toward sexual harassment. 170 female university students, playing in team sports participated to the study. Demographic Information Form, Coach Behaviors List (CBL), Responses to Sexual Harassment in Sport (RSHS) Scale, Attitudes toward Sexual Harassment (ASH) Scale, and Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) were used in the study. Mean and standard deviations of coach behaviors and response...
Oral poetry and weeping in the case of Dersimli women
Demir, Aylin; Erdemir, Aykan; Department of Gender and Women's Studies (2010)
This thesis analyzes the issue of performing self in the genres of oral poetry and weeping, which are performed by Dersimli women in the course of their everyday life practices. This study focuses on the case of Dersim (Tunceli) which is located in the east part of Turkey where Zazaki-speaking and Kurdish-speaking Alevi people constitute the majority of the population. I deal with these performances as repetitive actions, occurring in the course of everyday life. I focus on the narratives in the songs and i...
Immigrant domestic women workers in Ankara and Istanbul
Çelik, Nihal; Ecevit, Fatma Yıldız; Department of Sociology (2005)
This study focuses on the relationship between global economy and women̕s labor within a feminist standpoint by examining the personal and occupational experiences of immigrant women doing domestic work in Turkey. The main concern of this study is to investigate how working and living experiences of immigrant domestic women workers in Turkey are shaped by their illegal worker and immigrant status. The aim of this study is to listen to the personal experiences of immigrant domestic women workers from themsel...
Women’s writings under state feminism in Turkey: an analysis of “Kadın gazetesi” from 1947 to 1960 /
Güngör, Melike; Çırakman Deveci, Aslı; Department of Political Science and Public Administration (2016)
This thesis analyzes a woman’s journal called ‘Kadın Gazetesi’ in relation with the concept of state feminism. The study is based on an analysis of the issues of the journal published from 1947 to 1960. This thesis investigates how the journal described the images of women in relation to the prevailing hegemonic discourse on womanhood. Thus, the main intention of the study is to discuss the meanings of women’s portrayals in the journal with historical changes resulted to the dominant effect of state feminis...
Citation Formats
Y. Turan Yunusoğlu, “Sexual scripts on vaginismus: rewriting women’s sexual difficulties from their point of view,” Thesis (M.S.) -- Graduate School of Social Sciences. Gender and Women’s Studies., Middle East Technical University, 2019.