Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Correspondence should be addressed to Sarah L. Four individuals, including the author, developed codes to examine this wide range of responses to sexual expectations and prohibitions and independently and reliably coded the data. Guys like you based on how much you pleasure them. Guys are going to talk about things and joke about things with their guy friends. Emerging adulthood is a central time for young people to explore multiple cultural discourses outlining the norms of love, work, identity, and worldviews Arnett, How do young women in college negotiate these potentially conflicting sexual discourses?
What do friends communicate to emerging adult women about sex and relationships? Friends serve as advisers, referents, and informants, and they provide opportunities for young people to enact the sexual scripts that they learn.
Even when friends are not present to facilitate connections between potential partners, emerging adults report turning to them after the fact. For example, undergraduate women, on average, report many discussions about dating; occasional discussions about fertility, condoms, contraception, and sexual behaviors and feelings; and one-time discussions about abstinence Lefkowitz et al.
Similarly, Levin, Ward, and Neilson found that undergraduate women reported minimal discussions about abstinence and more frequent discussions regarding positive sexuality e. Discussions about sex and relationships with friends are not only diverse, but they can also be divergent.
For example, undergraduate women reported frequent discussions about the importance of romantic relationships and the acceptance of casual sex Fletcher et al. Survey research has typically overlooked or controlled for the gender of friends. Research on how female and male friends send different messages may highlight the ways in which women and men uniquely shape sexual socialization. The mix of sexual messages to women reflects the ongoing cultural evolution in sexual scripts.
