Eyre SL, Hoffman V, Millstein SG. The gamesmanship of sex: a model based on African American adolescent accounts.
Med Anthropol Q 1998;
12:467-89. [PMID:
9884994 DOI:
10.1525/maq.1998.12.4.467]
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Abstract
This article examines adolescent understanding of the social context of sexual behavior. Using grounded theory to interpret interviews with 39 African American male and female adolescents, the article builds a model of sex-related behavior as a set of interrelated games. A courtship game involves communication of sexual or romantic interest and, over time, formation of a romantic relationship. A duplicity game draws on conventions of a courtship game to trick a partner into having sex. A disclosure game spreads stories about one's own and other's sex-related activities to peers in a gossip network. Finally, a prestige game builds social reputation in the eyes of peers, typically based on gender-specific standards. The article concludes by examining the meanings that sex-related behavior may have for adolescents and the potential use of social knowledge for facilitating adolescent health.
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