Reconciling Messages: The Process of Sexual Talk for Latinas

Abstract

Young Latinas’experiences and meanings of sexuality were explored through 31 interviews, with grounded theory used to provide theoretical understanding of sexual talk. The women’s level of comfort with sexual talk and their explicitness influenced the kind of sexual talk they engaged in with partners. The analysis of being in a romantic relationship revealed similar descriptions of processes within the accounts that led to the discovery of the core variable reconciling messages. This describes the Latinas’ process of accepting messages that fit their value system, rejecting messages that they feel misrepresent their beliefs, and altering messages to accept their own sexuality. The findings expand Communication Boundary Management theory and have implications for interventions aimed at assisting women with safer sex topics.