Youth Sexualities:

Practices and Emotions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors

Keywords:

sexuality, youth, gender, emotions, COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Sexuality has received relatively little attention in discussions about the COVID-19 pandemic social effects. The subjective construction of sexuality at this juncture is still a gap of inquiry. From a psychosocial and feminist perspective, this article explores the effects of this health
contingency on the young population sexual experience through emotions. To reach this goal 10 women and 9 men were contacted using snowball sampling and interviewed online. Grounded Theory suggested processes guided the information analysis. Results indicate that gender and youth conditions are interwoven in circumstances and emotions of discomfort linked to the inequality generated by these categories. Among those asymmetric experiences, there is a higher vulnerability and eroticism denial for women and little autonomy for young people. In the face of the pandemic, participants’ sexual emotionality was associated with alterations in desire, as well as linked to a decrease in partner interactions, intimate spaces, and sexual practices. In contrast, our analysis captured areas of erotic-affective negotiation, sexual experimentation, and
agency. These findings contribute to understand how sexuality and intimacy are experienced during risky social situations and conditions of generalized insecurity and give visibility to the power relations surrounding them.

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Author Biographies

Janet Gabriela Garcia Alcaraz, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

Mexican. Master in Cultural Studies from El Colegio de la Frontera Norte and doctoral candidate in Psychology from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Research interests: feminist movement, sexualities, social inequality and interaction with technology.

E-mail: janet.gaal@gmail.com

Maria de Fatima Flores Palacios, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

Mexican. D. in Psychology from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Research Professor at the Peninsular Center for Humanities and Social Sciences of the UNAM, Merida, Yucatan. Research interests: social representations, gender and health (hiv/aids/mental health), gender and vulnerability in situated contexts, social representations and community intervention with a gender perspective in coastal areas.

E-mail: fatimafpalacios@gmail.com

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Published

2022-09-14

How to Cite

Garcia Alcaraz, J. G., & Flores Palacios, M. de F. (2022). Youth Sexualities:: Practices and Emotions During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Géneroos, 29(31), 65–90. Retrieved from https://revistasacademicas.ucol.mx/index.php/generos/article/view/454

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 31 (2022): GénEroos - Impresa

Section

Research articles

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