ERIC Number: EJ910516
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Feb
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0192-513X
EISSN: N/A
More than Just a Punctuation Mark: How Boys and Young Men Learn about Menstruation
Allen, Katherine R.; Kaestle, Christine E.; Goldberg, Abbie E.
Journal of Family Issues, v32 n2 p129-156 Feb 2011
Parents, peers, schools, and the media are the primary contexts for educating young people about sexuality. Yet girls receive more sex education than boys, particularly in terms of menstruation. Lack of attention to how and what boys learn about menstruation has consequences for their private understanding about the biology of reproduction and also for social and cultural ideologies of gendered relationships. In this qualitative study, 23 written narratives from male undergraduates (aged 18-24 years) were analyzed using grounded theory methodology to explore how young men perceive their past and present learning about this uniquely female experience. Findings suggest that most boys first learned about menstruation in their families, primarily through their sisters' menarche; menstruation is experienced--in boyhood at least--as a gender wedge; and most men described a developmental process of moving from a childish attitude of menstruation as "gross" to seeing themselves as maturing through the experience of an intimate relationship.
Descriptors: Grounded Theory, Sex Education, Females, Ideology, Physiology, Sexuality, Personal Narratives, Males, Puberty, Access to Information, Gender Issues, Undergraduate Students, Attitude Measures, Family Influence, Developmental Stages, Cultural Influences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A