This study explores the various ways in which young women construct their sexualities and negotiate the meanings of sexuality. It considers the social processes through which they are encouraged to conform to dominant norms of femininity and the impact of such normative influences on their sexual relationships with men. A total of 52 young women participated in the focus groups and in-depth interviews. Analyses of the young women’s accounts reveal a number of key themes of their sexual meanings and practices. The first, is their constructions of sex in relation to heterosexual and penetrative sex. The second relates to how they constructed sex as an expression of love and a means of sustaining a relationship. Finally, the study exposes how young women’s construction of sex as a transactional activity is underpinned or motivated by the notion that men need and enjoy sex.The study concludes that young women’s sexualities in Nigerian context are shaped by and embedded in local cultures of femininity and discourses that limit their sexual agency and safety
Keywords: Femininity, Hetero(Sexualities), Schoolers; Non-Schoolers, Sexual Practice, Young Women
