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The Gamesmanship of Sex: A Model Based on African American Adolescent Accounts
Author(s) -
Eyre Stephen L.,
Hoffman Valerie,
Millstein Susan G.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
medical anthropology quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.855
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1548-1387
pISSN - 0745-5194
DOI - 10.1525/maq.1998.12.4.467
Subject(s) - gossip , human sexuality , courtship , social psychology , context (archaeology) , psychology , reputation , romance , set (abstract data type) , prestige , developmental psychology , sociology , gender studies , paleontology , social science , linguistics , philosophy , computer science , psychoanalysis , biology , programming language
This article examines adolescent understanding of the social context of sexual behavior. Using grounded theory to interpret interviews with 39 African American male and female adolescents, the article builds a model of sex‐related behavior as a set of interrelated games. A courtship game involves communication of sexual or romantic interest and, over time, formation of a romantic relationship. A duplicity game draws on conventions of a courtship game to trick a partner into having sex. A disclosure game spreads stories about one's own and others' sex‐related activities to peers in a gossip network. Finally, a prestige game builds social reputation in the eyes of peers, typically based on gender‐specific standards. The article concludes by examining the meanings that sex‐related behavior may have for adolescents and the potential use of social know ledge for facilitating adolescent health, [adolescence, sexuality, African American, game theory, health promotion]