The (Lack of) Pleasures of Girlhood: The Masturbating Queer Girl in Young Adult Literature
The (Lack of) Pleasures of Girlhood: The Masturbating Queer Girl in Young Adult Literature

Summary/Abstract: Who experiences pleasure? How does this reflect or reinforce societal views on sexuality? These are the questions I explore in this article, using masturbation in queer young adult literature as my case study. I argue that societal discomfort with masturbation, female sexuality in general, and lesbian sexuality in particular combine to make queer female solitary sex an invisible and possibly taboo subject in young adult literature. Since literature can reflect society and show readers possibilities for their lives and futures, it is especially concerning that while young males – both heterosexual and queer – are depicted in English-language young adult novels as enjoying a whole range of sexual practices, including onanism, there are few explicit portrayals of young queer females exploring and appreciating their own bodies and their sexual responses. I argue that this lack does young queer women a disservice, teaching them shame and secrecy rather than healthy and confident sexuality.

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