Women's Sexuality and Meaning Making

The purpose of the current study was to challenge depictions of traditionally oppressive female sexuality by explicitly exploring diverse women's positive experiences of sexuality and to capture the unique meanings women ascribe to their sexuality through the use of participant-generated metaphor. We interviewed 17 diverse women regarding the meaning of sexuality in their lives. Coding revealed that metaphors for sexuality provided a creative and integrative way for women to express the complexity of their sexuality. In addition, a sexual developmental trajectory emerged from the analysis, as did themes of fluidity and ideal sexuality. Implications for theory and therapy, as well as future directions for research, are offered.