Citation

Smith SK. Issues Ment. Health Nurs. 1997; 18(5): 395-416.

Affiliation

School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 54702-4004, USA. smithsk@uwec.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9362720

Abstract

Qualitative, interpretive research was conducted with ten adult women who felt that their experiences of learning about themselves as female and sexual had been harmful. The term "victimizing sexualization" was developed to identify this experience, and a thematic description of these women's experiences was derived. Components of their experiences were described within four major categories, including perceptions and descriptions directly related to abuse experiences, home and family environments, community and cultural characteristics, and longer term personal impacts. This article reports on two of the major thematic categories: perceptions and descriptions related to abuse experiences and home and family environment. Findings of this study establish "victimizing sexualization" as a meaningful women's health construct with important connections to feminist perspectives on women's lives.

Language: en