Frigjord oskuld - Doria

esentations of sexuality be interpreted as negotiable if constantly limited
to heteronormativity? The tactics used in the novels under study are
incidental, but when they do occur they subvert and interrogate hierarchies.
Performativity depends on how the various tactics are brought together
within the suggested categories and on how acts of resistance are
perceived and carried through. A girl’s gaze, for example, can subvert the
notion of how girls are regarded. Assuming the role of a spectator she can
make herself visible and, regardless of whether she is subordinate or not,
she can resist objectification and turn her own gaze upon the observer.
Yet, the question remains whether heterosexuality can be interpreted
as a flexible phenomenon if the variations are limited. In this study, I
argue that representations of girls’ sexuality in Swedish YAF are occasionally
flexible when certain tactics are involved. The texts under study
do not, however, give evidence of any major structural changes in the
depiction of girls’ sexuality. Flexibility is, first and foremost, visible on
an individual level. The odd girl cannot revolutionise the entire genre,
but she is shown to be well aware of the heterosexual developmental imperative
and of the fact that patterns of sexuality construction can be
changed without her acting too queer. Girls’ desire can, in other words,
be depicted as multi-layered and inclusive, rather than exclusive. The paradoxical
nature of the heterosexual ideal suggests that girls’ sexuality can
be depicted, not only as empowered or innocent, but also as empowered
innocence.
Translated by Maria Lassén-Seger
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