Frigjord oskuld - Doria

lence since that which is expressed in words is part of the performativity.
Thus, the role of language in the depiction of sexuality – in terms of that
which is silenced and hidden from others within the story – is accentuated.
Especially the narrative voice provides a space for the characters’
self-reflexivity.
Sexuality is a complex category which does not only refer to sexual
activity. In this study, I explore various perspectives that affect the understanding
of depictions of sexuality in Swedish YAF. I have, however,
experienced the hierarchies that keep returning as highly elusive and,
therefore, have mixed feelings about the results of my study. I feel ambiguous
about the ways in which heterosexual representations of girls
and boys are constantly ranked in relation to other sexualities, within
heterosexual discourses and in relation to gender, class and age.
Therefore, I choose to focus on exploring what kinds of sexualities
can be constructed within YAF. Another central concern is to investigate
how the heterosexual developmental imperative is accomplished in
the novels studied, which, in turn, raises the question of how sexuality
is constructed if it constantly has to be related to several other issues.
Moreover, the construction of girls’ sexuality is not only affected by gender,
class and age, but also by self-reflexivity accentuated in the girls’ relations
to friends, mature men, parents and partners. Self-reflexivity is tangibly
present in the texts in the form of gazes, speech and mirroring. The
protagonists under study are constantly aware of how their own gender
and sexuality is constructed. They act in relation to others and, thereby,
acquire a sense of how sexuality can be staged as a negotiable concept.
Simultaneously, their actions show that the negotiability of sexuality is
repeatedly related to the ranking of sexualities, as well as to dichotomous
patterns and hierarchies.
Initially, I sought to problematize the construction of sexuality and
gender. However, the repressive mechanisms, which at times subordinate
girls to boys, reveal that dichotomies are not absolute. Through the
use of certain tactics, dichotomies can become flexible, thereby asserting
the paradoxical nature of binary systems. As a result, there is, within
the scope of credibility, room for transgressive agency. Girls’ sexuality is,
in other words, simultaneously represented as flexible and limited. This
raises the question of how transgressive actions affect the norm. Can rep-
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