Testing Boundaries or Feeling Cautious

College Students' Gendered Perspectives on a Flirtatious Conversation

Bibliographic Data

ID2292141
AuthorsAnne Groggel (0000-0003-3321-6636, North Central College, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume94
Issue3
Pages690-709
Publication date2024-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Inquiry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0245 • E-ISSN: 1475-682X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/soin.12557
OpenAlexW4380681503
LanguageEN
References cited75

Role-taking is the process of mentally and affectively placing the self in the position of another. This study used a mixed-methods approach to highlight how a traditional sexual script often imposes gendered expectations of role-taking. To explore role-taking within flirtatious exchanges, a sample of college students read a Snapchat conversation and then inferred what each character was thinking and feeling. Hooking up was the most common qualitative theme among the undergraduate participants; however, this theme was more prominent when considering the perspective of the male character, and this expectation was strengthened by the presence of emoji. The male character was expected to be excited or aroused, more focused on social cues-such as their roommate not being present-and to have the female character over to study as a way to pressure her for physical intimacy. The participants were more likely to think that the female character just wanted to study, was anxious or nervous, and was more aware of the male character's perspective. These findings highlight the complex nature of conveying sexual interest, which often forefronts desire and agency from a male perspective

Agency (philosophy · Character (mathematics · Conversation · Feeling · Perspective (graphical · Social character · Social science · Sociology · Theme (computing · Communication · Digital Communication and Language · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Gender Studies in Language · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access