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Exploring Gendered Sexuality Through American and Irish Women’s Book Clubs

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Abstract

This research examines the role of reading and book club attendance in the lives of Irish and American women who read fiction and actively participate in women’s book clubs. This research utilized mixed methodology, including ethnographic observation, participation in book club meetings, and in-depth narrative interviews. I examined how women developed gendered sexual identities through reading and participation in women’s book clubs. Clear differences emerged in the different cultural contexts of each country, particularly as related to the role of reading in romantic relationships, as women in the United States were influenced to increase their status in order to potentially secure or retain a high-status romantic partner. At the same time, important key themes relating to the construction of sexuality were similar and central to women in both cultural environments. This research adds to our understanding of the sexual field by exploring the way women used reading and book club meetings to construct their own sexuality, as well as to increase their erotic habitus outside of the sexual field for increased erotic capital within the sexual field.

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Notes

  1. See, for example, “Discreetly Digital, Erotic Novel Sets American Women Abuzz” The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/business/media/an-erotic-novel-50-shades-of-grey-goes-viral-with-women.html?_r=0 and “Books Women Read When No One Can See the Cover, The Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304450004577279622389208292.

  2. Pseudonyms are used for all book club and participant names.

  3. The role of the Catholic Church is incredibly important in understanding Irish ethnic identity and sexuality. A detailed examination of the Church falls beyond the scope of this paper, but should not be ignored. For further information about the role of Catholicism in Irish sexuality, see Ferriter (2009), Greene and Moane (2000), Hug (2001), Smith (2004), Williams (1999), Inglis (1997, 2005). To examine the role of the family in constructing and constraining gender and sexuality, see Conrad (2004), Hilliard (2003), Hoff and Coulter (1995), Meaney (1993), Radosh (2008), and Seward et al. (2005). For research about Irish college students and sexual identity, see Grey and Swain (1996), Stokes (2012). For further examination of the scandals in the Church, see Crowe (2008).

  4. http://gillian-flynn.com/gone-girl/discussion-questions/GoneGirl_Readers_Guide.pdf.

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  1. Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    Christy M. Craig

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  1. Christy M. Craig
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Correspondence to Christy M. Craig.

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Craig, C.M. Exploring Gendered Sexuality Through American and Irish Women’s Book Clubs. Sexuality & Culture 20, 316–335 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-015-9326-x

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