Dr Hannah Frith

Recent commentators have advocated the greater use of qualitative methods in sex research. Drawing on the growing body of sex-related focus group research (including the author's own research on sexual refusals), this article highlights some key benefits of the focus group method. In particular, the collective discussion and interaction between research participants enables the exploration of under-researched topics, insight into the language commonly used by respondents to describe sexual activities, and provides the conditions under which people feel comfortable discussing sexual experiences.

Encouraging young women to ‘just say no’ to sex has become central to education programmes designed to delay sexual initiation and/or to prevent date rape, but little is known about the ways in which young women currently understand and experience sexual refusals. This paper draws on data fromfocus groups with 58, white, heterosexual, school and university student volunteers to explore issues around refusing sex. The transcripts of the groups were reviewed for recurrent themes (illustrated by verbatim data extracts) and a number of barriers to refusing sex were identified, including: concerns about reputation, concerns about relationships, and concerns about the effectiveness of sexual refusals. The implications for programmes designed to prevent premature sexual activity and/or date rape are discussed.

Sexual script theorists present sexual encounters as learned interactions that follow predictable sequences or `scripts'. Feminist research on heterosexual negotiation uses self-report data to argue that these scripts are gendered such that it is difficult for women to refuse unwanted sex. In this paper, we suggest that, notwithstanding claims made for script theory as a form of social constructionism, it incorporates individualistic and cognitive assumptions that ignore the social context in which self-report data are produced. Illustrating our argument with our own data from young women in focus group discussions talking about refusing unwanted sex, we provide an alternative theoretical perspective on this kind of self-report data, drawn from Edwards' (1995, 1997) concept of `script formulations'. In particular, we show how the `scripted' quality of sexual interaction is actively produced as part of speakers' orientation to issues of accountability. We describe five devices used to construct sexual encounters as scripted: (i) references to predictable stages; (ii) references to common knowledge; (iii) the production of consensus through seamless turn-taking and collaborative talk; (iv) the use of hypothetical and general instances; (v) active voicing. Through the use of script formulations, young women present the difficulty of saying no to unwanted sex as normatively difficult-as a commonplace, ordinary problem-such that they cannot be held accountable for their own specific difficulties, nor can negative dispositional attributes be made on that basis. Finally, we consider the differing implications of `script' and `script formulation' theories in working with young women to prevent unwanted sex.

What is story completion? How come I've never heard of it? Can it be useful for me as a qualitative researcher? A relatively unknown method for qualitative data collection, story completion has a long history of use in psychotherapy practice and (quantitative) developmental psychology research. We believe it has untapped, exciting potential as a qualitative technique in and beyond psychology, offering something quite different to many of the popular methods (e.g., interviews, focus groups). In this article, an introduction to an exciting Special Issue that discusses and demonstrates the potential of story completion, we provide a brief history of the development of story completion as a qualitative technique and an overview of design, sampling, and data analysis in story completion research. We finish by highlighting potential pitfalls of story completion, alongside a discussion of the possibilities it offers, and briefly introduce the empirical papers in the Special Issue.

Hannah Frith is a critical social psychologist and is Associate Professor in Psychology and Research Director for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Surrey. Her work draws on interdisciplinary theory and research to examine the intersections of sexuality, gender and embodiment, using creative qualitative research methods. Hannah has published numerous research articles and texts, illustrating a wide range of topics and research methods, including her latest book A Feminist Companion to Research Methods in Psychology’, with Rose Capdevila. The interview was conducted by one of our editors (Deborah Bailey-Rodriguez) together with a Psychology PhD student (Tilbe Nur Aslan) and centred on Hannah’s journey and work as a critical social psychologist, using qualitative and creative qualitative research methods, as well as pointers on how to branch out both in research topic and method. The interview was a thoroughly enjoyable, lively and vibrant experience!

The dissertation is a highly valued form of teaching and learning in higher education, yet the practice of undergraduate supervision is understudied and under-theorised. Effective supervision is regarded as essential to student success – by students and supervisors alike, although training, resources and support for supervisors is limited. Drawing on data from qualitative questionnaires with eleven supervisors, this paper utilises the concept of teaching dilemmas to explore tensions and challenges within supervision. Three dilemmas were identified regarding ‘taking ownership’, ‘driving supervision’ and ‘challenging and encouraging’. Underpinning all of these was a tension between an ideal model of supervision (characterised by high levels of engagement from students and supervisors), and the need to flexibly adapt supervisory practice to suit students’ learning styles, needs and abilities. We suggest ways in which conceptualising supervision as a dilemmatic space could inform future research and training in supervisory practice.

Participation in sport can improve physical, mental, and psychological wellbeing, yet transgender and non-binary1 people are less likely to engage in sport compared to their cisgender peers. Drawing on interviews with 18 transgender and non-binary people,2 we examine two intersecting timelines shaping participants’ narratives: 1) the “classic” timeline of gender transition which evokes a linear “before-and-after,” and 2) timelines of sporting disruption and resolution, which is non-linear. We argue that transitioning (physical or social) opens up a liminal space/time where physical activity is disrupted or on hold, time is characterised by waiting, perhaps to access surgeries, or to be “approved” to play competitively, and gender binaries are challenged. Adopting a temporal lens, this chapter retrospectively explores the multiple narratives told by transgender and non-binary people about their experiences of participating in everyday sport and physical exercise. In conclusion, examining these intersecting narratives of time helps us to draw out experiences of inclusion and exclusion in sport for transgender and non-binary people.

This paper explores and develops the concept of 'emotion work' as used by young women talking about sexual negotiation. It suggests that 'emotion work' should be viewed not simply as an analyst resource of use to social scientists, but also as a participant resource used by ordinary social members. Existing research on emotion work generally treats self-report data as offering a 'transparent' window through which the behaviour 'behind the talk' can be (more or less adequately) assessed. This paper proposes instead that self-report data should be considered as talk-in-interaction. Using data from our own research on young women's experiences of refusing sex, we show how young women's talk about (what analysts call) 'emotion work' can be analysed as a participant resource through which young women construct consensual versions of men as emotional weaklings, and portray themselves as active agents who are knowledgeable about heterosexual relationships. The implications of this analytic shift are explored in relation to feminist approaches to sexual coercion, and with reference to qualitative data analysis more generally.

The aim of Critical Bodies has been to demonstrate an understanding of body weight and body management as always political and intertwined with a multiplicity of discourses including health, medicine and identity. Consequently, the meanings attached to weight are dynamic, fluid and context dependent. The authors in this book wanted to challenge conventional understandings about weight and body management as individual problems. The chapters in Critical Bodies showcase work that represents a range of critical, post-structuralist and social constructionist research to examine meaning making around body weight as a social, rather than a private, process.

Research suggests that cultural shifts in the ways men's bodies are represented lead men to feel increasingly dissatisfied with their appearance. Clothing is an ideal but underresearched mechanism for appearance management; however, little is known about men's presentation of their bodies through clothed displays. This article explores the ways in which men's subjective feelings about their bodies influence their clothing practices. Thematic analysis revealed 4 key themes: practicality of clothing choices, lack of concern about appearance, use of clothing to conceal or reveal the body, and use of clothing to fit cultural ideals. This article demonstrates the pervasive and mundane role of clothing in men's self-surveillance and self-presentation and the range and complexity of the processes involved in clothing the body.

This article examines the value of using the photo-elicitation method for generating health-related narratives. Drawing on research in which women kept a photographic record of their experiences of chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer, this research explored how this method (a) produced elaborate accounts of illness experiences through an exploration of the process of representing experiences and through an interrogation of the images themselves; (b) allowed an opportunity to capture experiences over time and a way of capturing the past, which can then be reexplored from the present; (c) enabled patients to retain control over their images of themselves and how they choose to represent their experiences; and (d) provided a window into the private, everyday experiences of patients away from a health care setting.

Chemotherapy treatment for cancer can have a profound impact on appearance, and is often experienced as distressing. Few qualitative studies explore experiences of chemotherapy, and seldom focus on the process of anticipation and preparation for an altered appearance. We report findings from an interview study of 19 women which explored their expectations of chemotherapy-induced hair loss, their anticipated reactions to hair loss and how women intend to prepare for an altered appearance. The results demonstrate that women are active in anticipating hair loss and adopt a range of different strategies to manage their alopecia—even before it has occurred. Four key themes were identified: (a) anticipating hair loss, (b) coming to terms with the inevitability of hair loss, (c) becoming ready, and (d) taking control. We argue that this can be seen as a form of anticipatory coping, which involves affective and behavioural rehearsal so that women can feel more in control of their experience of the side effects of chemotherapy treatment for cancer. We suggest seeing these activities as a form of anticipatory coping, and understanding the psychological reasons why women engage in these activities, may help nursing professionals to better support women through this often traumatic time. Chemotherapien können das äußere Erscheinungsbild von Krebspatienten erheblich verändern und werden auch aus diesem Grunde häufig als sehr belastend empfunden. Bislang existieren nur wenige qualitative Studien, in denen untersucht wurde, wie Krebspatienten ihre Chemotherapien wahrnehmen. Nur selten steht in diesen Studien der Prozess der Antizipation und der Vorbereitung auf ein verändertes Erscheinungsbild im Vordergrund. Wir berichten über die Ergebnisse einer Interviewstudie, in der die Erwartungen von 19 Frauen im Hinblick auf einen chemotherapiebedingten Haarverlust sowie die antizipatorischen Reaktionen dieser Probandinnen auf den Haarverlust untersucht wurden; ferner wurden die Probandinnen gefragt, wie sie sich auf die Veränderungen ihres körperlichen Erscheinungsbildes vorzubereiten gedachten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich die Frauen aktiv auf den erwarteten Haarverlust vorbereiten und eine Reihe unterschiedlicher Strategien ergreifen, um das Problem des Haarverlusts bereits vor Auftreten dieses Problems zu bewältigen. Dabei wurden vier Schwerpunkte identifiziert: (a) die Antizipation des Haarverlusts, (b) das Sich-Fügen in die Unabwendbarkeit des Haarverlusts, (c) die mentale Bereitschaft, (d) die Übernahme der Kontrolle. Wir vertreten den Standpunkt, dass dies eine Form des antizipatorischen Copings darstellt, bei dem es zu einem affektiven und behaviouralen „Rehearsal“kommt. Letzteres ermöglicht den Frauen, eine bessere Kontrolle über ihre Wahrnehmung der Nebenwirkungen der Chemotherapie zu erlangen. Wir betrachten derartige mentale Aktivitäten als Ausdruck eines antizipatorischen Copings. Die Kenntnis der Gründe, weshalb bei den betroffenen Patientinnen diese psychischen Prozesse ablaufen, kann dem Krankenpflegepersonal dabei helfen, die Patientinnen in dieser oft als traumatisch empfundenen Lebensphase besser zu begleiten.

The reification of body image leads to unarticulated ideological and conceptual assumptions that obscure the most dynamic and productive features of the construct. These assumptions are that body image: (1) ‘exists’; (2) is a socially mediated product of perception; (3) is ‘internal’ and ‘of the individual’; (4) can be treated and measured as if real; and (5) individuals’ respond to body image measures as if neutrally providing information about pre-existing images held in their heads. We argue that it is more useful to consider body imaging as a process, an activity rather than a product.

sj-gsheet-1-hpq-10.1177_13591053211024724 for Psychology’s medicalization of male baldness by Glen S Jankowski and Hannah Frith in Journal of Health Psychology

This study explores breast cancer patients' experiences of chemotherapy treatment, with a focus on the impact of an altered appearance during this time. We present two key themes from the thematic analysis of interviews with 19 women: anxiety that chemotherapy will render them identifiable as a 'person-with-cancer'; and problematic interactions with others. We discuss how changes in appearance can reveal disease status to others, demonstrate the personal impact of temporary changes to appearance, relate these findings to literature on psychosocial aspects of disfigurement and consider the provision of psychosocial care for women experiencing an altered appearance during chemotherapy.

Women's breasts are invested with social, cultural and political meanings which shape the ways in which we make sense of and experience our embodied selves. The breasted experience of women with large breasts is under-researched despite the fact that under the male gaze, the size of a woman's breast is seen as a measurement of her value and worth. This paper draws on in-depth interviews with eight large-breasted women in order to explore aspects of their embodiment. Two contradictory aspects of their breasted experience are discussed: their experience of their breasts as visible objects which are appropriated and consumed by others, and their experience of their breasts as feminine, attractive and 'sexy'. These two themes are discussed in relation to feminist theorising on appearance and the beauty system, and the role of women in actively presenting their bodies is emphasised. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Underpinned by the influential literature on gender differences in communication (e.g., Tannen, 1991), miscommunication theory claims that sexual violence is a problem that can be solved through better communication skills: this theory is used not only by social scientists, but also by young women talking about their experiences of sexual coercion. This paper draws on young women's accounts of miscommunication, not as supporting evidence for miscommunication theory, but to explore the functional utility of miscommunication theory as a participant resource. We argue that sexual miscommunication theory is useful for women attempting to sustain heterosexual relationships because it: (a) avoids blaming men; (b) gives women a sense of control; and (c) obscures institutionalised gender power relations. This paper raises questions about the uncritical validation of women's experiences and about the ways in which, both as analysts and as feminists, we theorise the experiences of the women we study. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Depression is the most common mental illness globally and is a leading cause of years lived with disability. The manifestation of depressive symptoms can vary among ethnic groups. Individuals in South Asian countries experience higher levels of somatic symptoms than those in other regions, but it is not known whether this pattern extends to the South Asian diaspora. To provide a qualitative synthesis of what is known regarding depression symptoms among the South Asian diaspora in English-speaking countries. A systematic scoping review was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews guidelines, based on a pre-registered protocol (doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/5E6ZK). The review included qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods primary research, reporting depression symptoms based on samples of adults of the South Asian diaspora in English-speaking countries with substantial South Asian populations. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify widely reported symptoms of depression among the South Asian diaspora. Commonly reported symptoms included physical pain, heart-related symptoms and repetitive negative thinking, none of which are included in ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for depressive disorders. Sleep-related disturbances are also widely reported in research into experiences of depression among the South Asian diaspora. Current diagnostic criteria for depression might not capture symptoms of some South Asian individuals, which may cause missed opportunities for intervention.

Purpose: Acquired brain injury (ABI) profoundly impacts the whole family. This studyexplores family identity using a relational, strengths-focused framework to understandhow families navigate ABI together.Materials and methods: Four adult family units, consisting of four survivors of ABI(1–18 years post-injury) and seven family members (aged 24–74), were interviewedtogether two/three times. Using Narrative Analysis an overall narrative (gestalt) of ABIas an ongoing family life transformation, encompassing both disconnecting andunifying narratives, was construct.Results: Six interconnected stories of family identity were identified: (1) Disjointednessin response to the trauma of ABI; (2) Closeness remedying disjointedness with continuityand growth; (3) Incomprehension and disablism in interactions with people; (4)Incomprehension and disablism may be mitigated through understanding, kindnessand inclusion; (5) Protectiveness from family members in tension with survivor’s wishfor independence; and (6) Humour to lighten the seriousness of ABI. Disconnectingnarratives spoke to the challenges of responding to the trauma of ABI. Unifyingnarratives could bring the family together and help manage the challenges of ABI.Conclusions: Integrating unifying and disconnecting narratives may help families tomake sense of ABI, and clinical services could embed relational and strengths-basedunderstandings into family support post-ABI.

South Asians are the largest ethnic minority in the UK, reflecting a migratory flow which began in earnest following the Partition of India in 1947 to fill a labour shortage in post-war Britain. Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities today represent 3.1, 2.7, and 1.1% of the British population, respectively. A further 1.6% of the population belong to other Asian heritages, capturing Sri Lankan and Nepali ethnicities, among others. The grouping of ‘South Asians’ privileges geographical commonality and conceals a myriad of individual identities incorporating language, gender, religion, caste and culture. As such, the term South Asian reflects an essentialist stance, which homogenises ethnicity and in so doing risks overlooking important social differences. This is particularly true when considering British South Asians, in which differences by migration, generation, location, financial deprivation, and perceived discrimination interweave to influence national identity and acculturation. Taking a granular lens to ethnicity can help inform our understanding of mental health outcomes. While an increased risk of serious mental illness has been shown for South Asians in the UK relative to White individuals, this broad-brush approach to defining ethnicity lacks nuance; for example, research has reported lower rates of psychosis among British Bangladeshi communities. Furthermore, among British South Asian populations differences in common mental disorders are documented, with older Indian and Pakistani women being particularly vulnerable relative to their White counterparts. Experiences of discrimination, behavioural and lifestyle factors, and broader beliefs about health and illness, are all likely to partly account for the differences observed between South Asian ethnic groups and their White counterparts. Variability in access and uptake of healthcare must also be recognised and may even impact the accuracy of existing prevalence estimates which often rely on first diagnosis data.

South Asian people represent the largest minority ethnic group in the UK, but prior research has suggested unequal access to primary care and differences in antidepressant prescribing practices for these patients. To understand the treatment of depression in South Asian patients, with specific reference to factors affecting appropriate prescribing. The secondary aim is to understand the intersection between ethnicity, age, and financial deprivation within this context. A mixed-methods approach will be adopted, including primary and secondary analyses, to understand the ways in which inequalities may arise along the pathway from patient experience of symptoms to clinician decision to treat with antidepressants in UK primary care. Two scoping reviews will inform our approach. Quantitative data analysis of UK Biobank will allow us to examine prevalence and heterogeneity in depressive symptoms, and antidepressant prescribing over time, stratified by ethnicity. Qualitative data will be generated through interviews and focus group discussions with patients and healthcare professionals to understand experiences of depression and document the depression management decision-making process. The PAPER study will produce clinically relevant findings to support the treatment and management of depression in primary care for South Asian patients. The dissemination plan will be informed by patient and public involvement (PPI) group members and engagement with stakeholders. Our main outputs will include a toolkit of resources for use in primary care as well as community-facing materials.

Previous research on shame has indicated that it is an important phenomenon that can benefit or hinder the therapeutic process, depending on how it is understood and managed by therapists. However, therapists’ conceptualisations of shame have not been explored adequately. This study utilised a novel method of data collection called story-completion to examine how therapists talk about shame, and the impact this can have on how they manage it. Forty-five therapists were asked to complete a story-stem describing a therapist working with a client’s shame via an online survey platform. Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) was used to critically analyse participants’ stories. Shame was constructed as a rather problematic emotion that hinders the therapeutic progress by preventing the clients from revealing their “true” self. In these narratives, the therapist’s task was to uncover what is hidden behind shame. Some participants constructed the therapist as an expert, holding the appropriate knowledge to manage it. A counter position was the therapist conceptualised as humane, where they were de-skilled and vulnerable in relation to shame. We invite practitioners to be mindful of the ways that their understanding of emotions, and their role in relation to them, can impact the direction of therapy.

This report presents a study that analyses the language used by researchers in narrative CVs and examines how specific linguistic features influence reviewers' evaluations

People experiencing homelessness experience high levels of trauma and psychological distress, but rarely access or engage with formal mental health services. The National Framework for Inclusion Health highlights collaboration between the NHS and third sector organisations as essential for reducing health inequalities. Providing clinical placements in third sector organisations for clinical psychology trainees may offer a valuable route to addressing this gap, whilst providing a beneficial learning experience. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with clinical psychology trainees, staff in homeless settings and a clinical supervisor were used to explore perceptions of clinical placements and the benefits and challenges experienced by those involved in delivering these placements. Reflective thematic analysis was used to identify key themes in the perceptions of staff, supervisors and trainees. Three key themes were developed. (1) Bringing a psychological mindset reflected the value that homelessness organisations placed on being helped to think about their client work through a psychological lens and extending this lens to also consider staff well-being. (2) Breaking barriers and building bridges describes how trainees were positioned as brokers who could connect homelessness organisations to formal mental health systems and could advocate for homeless people within these systems in ways which may have long-term effects. (3) Working and learning differently captures how these placements required trainees to work differently by crafting new roles and by adopting different working practices, including navigating complex issues around risk. Clinical psychology placements within homelessness organisations may help meet the objectives of the NHS National Framework for Inclusion Health by helping create PIEs in homelessness organisations, navigating connections between statutory and third sector organisations, and creating a skilful workforce adept at managing cultural mistrust.

THE PROJECT We conducted semi-structured interviews to identify the obstacles for underrepresented researchers while preparing their application and emphasise the good practices that support them. These interviews were part of a UKRI/BA EDI Caucus-funded project titled Breaking Barriers in Research Funding Applications: Evaluating Narrative CVs and Co-Designing Solutions for Application Processes. PARTICIPANTS Twenty underrepresented researchers—scholars who are minorities in academia due to factors such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, socioeconomic background, migration status, language background, or intersecting characteristics. CONCEPT MAP & GLOSSARY The data informed the development of a concept map illustrating the barriers and facilitators to adopting Narrative CVs among underrepresented researchers, along with a glossary explaining each of these factors.

THE PROJECT We conducted semi-structured interviews to identify the obstacles for underrepresented researchers while preparing their application and emphasise the good practices that support them. These interviews were part of a UKRI/BA EDI Caucus-funded project titled Breaking Barriers in Research Funding Applications: Evaluating Narrative CVs and Co-Designing Solutions for Application Processes. PARTICIPANTS Twenty underrepresented researchers—scholars who are minorities in academia due to factors such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, socioeconomic background, migration status, language background, or intersecting characteristics. CONCEPT MAP & GLOSSARY The data informed the development of a concept map illustrating the barriers and facilitators when preparing grant applications among underrepresented researchers, along with a glossary explaining each of these factors. Although distinct, self-related and external barriers interacted to exacerbate the difficulties faced by researchers from marginalised groups.

Therapeutic relationships play a central role in maintaining a positive social climate in forensic settings. The interpersonal difficulties characteristic of Borderline Personality Disorder, alongside the secure environment of forensic wards, can make  developing  positive  therapeutic  relationships  with  this  patient  group  challenging. Qualitative interviews aimed to explore how ward staff understand and experience the interaction of interpersonal relationships and social climate when caring for patients with Borderline Personality Disorder on forensic wards. Interviews with 11 staff members working across UK forensic inpatient settings were analysed using Ref lexive Thematic Analysis and reported following COREQ guidelines. Six interrelated themes were generated; three describe relational cycles that occur between ward staff and patients with Borderline Personality Disorder and three describe systemic factors that inf luence the context in which ward staff operate. From these themes, an integrative model was developed to summarise how factors in the wider forensic system and the interpersonal relationships between staff and patients with Borderline Personality Disorder in forensic wards inf luence one another, affecting staff experiences of the social climate of forensic settings. The model illustrates how complex cycles within the therapeutic relationships with staff and patients with Borderline Personality Disorder can interact with systemic inf luences in the wider forensic context to inf luence staff experiences of forensic settings. Clinical implications of the model are discussed, offering recommendations for improving therapeutic relationships and the social climate on forensic wards caring for patients with Borderline Personality Disorder, to better support staff and patient wellbeing.

Participating in sport and physical exercise (SPE) can be challenging for transgender and non-binary people. Previous research has identified some of the barriers trans people face in schools, leisure spaces and competitive sports (e.g. gender segregation, gendered language, sports clothing, and transphobia), and the resultant poor rates of participating in everyday SPE compared to the cisgender population. Yet, despite the ways in which sport, the experience of being trans, and being trans in sport are often framed as intensely focused on the body, less attention has been paid to the embodied experience of trans people as they engage in SPE. This paper draws on selected data examples from a qualitative study examining trans adults’ experiences of engaging in everyday SPE and looks towards Wellard’s [(2012). Body-reflexive pleasures: Exploring bodily experiences within the context of sport and physical activity. Sport, Education and Society, 17(1), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2011.607910] concept of circuits of body-reflexive pleasure, to explore how participants’ make sense of their embodied selves. Sitting at the intersection of social, physiological and psychological experiences of sport, we explore how circuits of body-reflexive pleasure (and displeasures) in SPE can induce feelings of gender dysphoria as well as feelings of pleasure and gender euphoria.

Abstract Tensions between therapeutic and security needs on forensic wards can create a social climate which is challenging for both mental health nurses and patients. Social climate refers to the physical, social and emotional conditions of a forensic ward which influence how these environments are experienced. For patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), previous trauma means that the social climate of forensic settings may be experienced as retraumatising, negatively impacting the outcomes and wellbeing of both patients and mental health nurses. Trauma‐informed care (TIC) has been offered as a contemporary framework for mental health nursing in inpatient units which aims to create a therapeutic social climate. In this critical review, we drew widely on literatures examining the social climate in forensic settings, the relationships between patients with BPD and staff (including mental health nurses), and the experiences of patients with BPD in forensic and inpatient settings to draw out the implications of scrutinising these literatures through the lens of TIC. Attending to the physical, social and emotional conditions of social climate in secure settings highlights how forensic wards can mirror trauma experiences for patients with BPD. Implementing TIC in these contexts has the potential to evoke positive shifts in the social climate, thus reducing the risk of retraumatisation and leading to improved outcomes for patients and staff.

AbstractBackgroundYoung people are sharing their experiences of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the United Kingdom on TikTok. Little is known about the content of these videos and their influence on young people's attitudes towards seeking professional mental health support.MethodsThis study explored how CAMHS is represented in a sample of 100 #camhs TikTok videos using participatory inductive framework thematic analysis.ResultsFour themes were developed alongside young people as co-researchers: (a) CAMHS can be frustrating and unhelpful, but sometimes life-saving, (b) Young people can feel their distress is invalidated by CAMHS, (c) CAMHS makes young people feel responsible for their distress, and (d) Young people may not feel CAMHS professionals are trustworthy. Video content described dismissive responses to expressions of suicidal ideation, professional knowledge being privileged over lived experience, and breaches of confidentiality. Some shared positive experiences of CAMHS helping to keep them safe.ConclusionsTogether, the themes reflect a representation of CAMHS as a service where adults are powerful and young people occupy a subjugated position. This may influence young people's professional help-seeking behaviour. Recommendations for clinical practice and future research are presented.

AbstractObjectivesAppearance anxiety (AA) is a probable risk factor for body dysmorphic disorder and a prevalent and debilitating concern. Extant literature suggests that romantic partners’ commentary and accommodation behaviour may contribute to women's appearance concerns. The aim of this study is to explore how women experience and make sense of romantic partner feedback about their appearance.DesignQualitative semi-structured interview study.MethodsSemi-structured interviews with 13 cis-gender women explored how they make sense of appearance anxiety in the context of romantic relationships. Reflexive thematic analysis with a hybrid inductive-deductive coding approach was utilised, drawing on cognitive behavioural theory (CBT) as a theoretical lens to interpret the data.ResultsFour themes were created from the data: (1) ‘Then he said to me … you could probably tone up a bit’: Maintaining cycles; (2) ‘I think those comments down the line do eventually help’: breaking out of maintenance cycles, (3) ‘It's like they're talking in a foreign language’; beliefs as a filter and (4) ‘Cheering me on from the side-lines’; romantic partner a supportive coach. These themes highlight the perceived unhelpful (e.g. accommodation of behaviours) and helpful (e.g. affection) impact of romantic partners' behaviours and commentary on participants’ AA.ConclusionsRomantic partners are perceived by women to have a potent impact on their AA. Clinical practice implications include involving romantic partners in treatment, and clinicians using their formulation and CBT skills (e.g. Socratic questioning), to understand and target these possible maintenance processes within couples.

Pictures of our first day at school, a special birthday, holidays, weddings, friends, and new additions to the family; photograph albums capture particular moments in a life. In providing opportunities for storytelling, generating laughter over outdated fashions or changing hair-styles, and allowing the rehearsal and creation of family histories, photographs are also a site for constructing a sense of the past and creating a bridge between the past, present and future. Photograph albums offer a means for narrating the lives of ourselves and of others (Van House et al., 2004; Brookfield et al., 2008) and for charting biographical continuity. In contrast, an illness, such as cancer, can provoke a sense of ‘biographical disruption’ – a critical break between past (before the illness), present and future lives (Bury, 1982). The diagnosis of an illness, and in particular cancer, forces people to experience many changes in their lives, including the reality of an uncertain future, threats to identity and sense of self, and a re-evaluation of the person’s place in the world (Frank, 1995). As such, the stories that cancer patients tell about themselves as they negotiate their way through diagnoses, treatment regimens, changed bodies, and disrupted identities are not just a way of making sense of an illness, but also a life (Mathieson and Stam, 1995). Narratives and storytelling are a medium through which people can make sense of, organise and draw together fragments of their lives into a cohesive whole, and are characterised by a temporal ordering of events (Hydén, 1997). Narratives are considered an invaluable source of experiential knowledge, a resource for developing empathy and patient-centred care, and an important conduit for aiding coping among patients (Charmez, 1999; Frank, 1995; Greenhalgh and Hurwitz, 1999). Drawing on a photographic study of women’s experiences of chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer, I consider the ways in which asking women to visually represent their lives engages them in the task of creating memories and doing ‘biographical work’ to establish the place of their illness within their identities and life worlds. Asking women to mark out particular moments as significant, invites them to enact a bittersweet experience of creating memories that they might rather forget (a cancer diagnosis can be traumatic, and chemotherapy treatment unpleasant), while documenting a move towards recovery and a re-integration of the self into ‘normal’ activities (Radley and Taylor, 2003a). Re-viewing these images and using them to narrativise their experiences during an interview calls on women to remember past events and to confront images of past selves. Against this backdrop, this chapter explores the work that women do to re-image ‘missing’ photographs, and explores the role of absent images in creating boundaries around what selves are available to be remembered. In other words, I examine how the materiality of photographs is implicated in the biographical work done by women undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer as they narrate their experiences. But first, I will briefly describe the study from which the data are drawn.

Facilitating a ‘good’ death is a central goal for hospices and palliative care organisations. The key features of such a death include an acceptance of death, an open awareness of and communication about death, the settling of practical and interpersonal business, the reduction of suffering and pain, and the enhancement of autonomy, choice and control. Yet deaths are inherently neither good nor bad; they require cultural labour to be ‘made over’ as good. Drawing on media accounts of the controversial death of UK reality television star Jade Goody, and building on existing analyses of her death, we examine how cultural discourses actively work to construct deaths as good or bad and to position the dying and those witnessing their death as morally accountable. By constructing Goody as bravely breaking social taboos by openly acknowledging death, by contextualising her dying as occurring at the end of a life well lived and by emphasising biographical continuity and agency, newspaper accounts serve to position themselves as educative rather than exploitative, and readers as information‐seekers rather than ghoulishly voyeuristic. We argue that popular culture offers moral instruction in dying well which resonates with the messages from palliative care.

Vaginismus and dyspareunia are common sexual difficulties; they often take a long time to be appropriately diagnosed, and their origins remain unclear. This paper examines the metaphors used by women to describe bodily experiences associated with vaginismus and dyspareunia, and highlights the contribution this form of analysis can make to the study of sexuality and sexual difficulties. A secondary analysis was conducted on primary data from biographic interviews exploring women's experiences of sexual pain and difficulties with sexual intercourse. Metaphor analysis was used to analyse a data subset of 28 interviews translated from German into English. Metaphorical concepts lying at the basis of the metaphors used were identified and grouped into three themes: characterisation of sexual difficulties; split body and 'self'; and sexual agency and objectification. Results are discussed with in the context of literature regarding the function of metaphors and the utility of metaphor analysis for research, and healthcare research and interventions more generally.

The adverse psychosocial impact of androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is often framed as an essential motivation for developing efficacious treatments to halt hair loss or promote regrowth, especially since AGA is common among men but does not result in physically harmful or life-limiting consequences. Yet, empirical evidence documenting the impact of AGA on men’s psychological wellbeing and quality of life is patchy and has not previously been subject to systematic review. This systemic review and meta-analyses aim to integrate and evaluate evidence regarding the psychosocial impact of AGA on men. A database and manual reference search identified English-language articles which reported: 1) empirical research; of ii) psychosocial distress (mental health, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, or quality of life); and iii) data separately for male AGA participants. Screening of 607 articles resulted in 37 (6%) for inclusion. PRISMA guidelines, the (modified) AXIS quality assessment tool, and independent extraction were deployed. Heterogeneity in measures and study aims, moderate study quality (M = 7.37, SD = 1.31), probable conflicts of interest (78%) and biased samples (68%) suggest that results should be treated cautiously. Meta-analyses revealed no impact on depression (pooled M = 8.8, 95% CI = 6.8–10.8) and moderate impact on quality of life (pooled m = 9.12, 95% CI = 6.14–12.10). Men with AGA were found to have average or better mental health compared to those without AGA. Overall, there was limited evidence of a severe impact on mental health and quality of life for men experiencing hair loss, with most studies evidencing (at best) a moderate impact. Good dermatological care includes accurately educating about the psychosocial impact of AGA on men, taking care not to overstate levels of distress, and screening for distress using validated measures which have clear clinical thresholds.

Abstract South Africa experiences high levels of violence and trauma in a context where formal mental healthcare is not widely accessible. Lay (non‐professional) trauma counselling services, staffed by volunteers, often fill this gap in provision. Extant research highlights the risk of secondary traumatic stress and burnout for volunteers, and although volunteering is often a collective activity, research typically focuses on the individual volunteer's characteristics, motivations and attitudes. Drawing on a case study with one organisation, this study explores lay counsellors' experiences of providing voluntary emotional support in a context of high trauma and low resources. Semi‐structured interviews with volunteers ( n = 12) explored the nature of the work, reasons for volunteering and perceptions of the organisation. Thematic analysis generated two overarching themes, each with three subthemes: ‘We serve our community’ (sub‐themes: ‘Giving back to our community’, ‘Need outstrips resources’ and ‘Being there is powerful’) and ‘We are family’ (sub‐themes: ‘Being there for each other’, ‘Working through the work’ and ‘Being put in a safety net’). Findings illustrate how organisations with few resources can mitigate the psychological risks of trauma‐focused work by fostering strong bonds, collective identity and an ethos of care.

Sexuality is a complex and multifaceted domain – encompassing bodily, contextual and subjective experiences that resist ready categorisation. To claim the sexual as a viable research object therefore raises a number of important methodological questions: what is it possible to know about experiences, practices and perceptions of sex and sexualities? What approaches might help or hinder our efforts to probe such experiences? This collection explores the creative, personal and contextual parameters involved in researching sexuality, cutting across disciplinary boundaries and drawing on case studies from a variety of countries and contexts. Combining a wide range of expertise, its contributors address such key areas as pornography, sex work, intersectionality and LGBT perspectives. The contributors also share their own experiences of researching sexuality within contrasting disciplines, as well as interrogating how the sexual identities of researchers themselves can relate to, and inform, their work. The result is a unique and diverse collection that combines practical insights on field work with novel theoretical reflections.

This qualitative research extends current theorizing on behavioural strategies for managing body distress by exploring how women manage body image through clothing practices. Eighty two women reported their subjective understanding of how body evaluation and clothing practices are interconnected in response to open-ended questionnaires. Thematic analysis of responses revealed that clothing practices are a mundane and agentic part of the adjustive and self-regulatory processes for managing distressing body image (cf. Cash, 2002b). Clothing is used strategically to manage bodily appearance and anxiety by hiding ‘problem areas’, accentuating ‘assets,’ and flattering the figure. Body image is actively negotiated and managed through everyday behaviours which fluctuate on ‘fat’ days and ‘thin’ days. These data illustrate the processes which underpin the active negotiation of body image and capture the fluidity of body evaluations and strategies for managing the appearance of the body. These findings raise a number of challenges for theorizing and research including the need to adopt methods which capture the dynamic interplay of body image processes, and the need to address body appreciation as well as distress.

Most academic work exploring the makeover genre has argued that TV “experts” draw on a narrative of humiliation to push the participant to adopt more appropriate forms of feminine appearance. However, shows like How to Look Good Naked, while sharing the problematic logics of the makeover, are qualitatively different in tone and style from more aggressive shows. We extend emerging analyses which argue that makeover shows can be read as reflecting struggles for recognition by demonstrating that TV “experts” can also interrupt processes of mis-recognition by offering alternative symbolic systems of interpretation of the body by which the body can be recognised, visible and valued. We argue that humiliation is not the only point of affective engagement for audiences of these shows, while wanting to avoid the seductive illusion that this makes the shows more empowering or less malevolent. We conclude that in failing to embrace the wide variety of affective mechanisms by which we might be able to appreciate the popular appeal of reality TV, we do a disservice to female audiences and women participants, as well as limiting our own theoretical insights.

Digital technologies are deeply embedded in everyday life with opportunities for information access and perpetual social contact now mediating most of our activities and relationships. This book expands the lens of Cyberpsychology to consider how digital experiences play out across the various stages of people’s lives. Most psychological research has focused on whether human-technology interactions are a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ thing for humanity. This book offers a distinctive approach to the emergent area of Cyberpsychology, moving beyond these binary dilemmas and considering how popular technologies have come to frame human experience and relationships. In particular the authors explore the role of significant life stages in defining the evolving purpose of digital technologies. They discuss how people’s symbiotic relationship with digital technologies has started to redefine our childhoods, how we experience ourselves, how we make friends, our experience of being alone, how we have sex and form romantic relationships, our capacity for being antisocial as well as the experience of growing older and dying. This interdisciplinary book will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners across psychology, digital technology and media studies as well as anyone interested in how technology influences our behaviour.

This article explores a number of examples of how appearance and the reading about it operate to produce class-based divisions and the different emotional registers which are used to do so. First it examines how the brief description of a woman called Teresa Bystram's appearance in Britain's largest circulation daily tabloid newspaper, The Sun positions her as a ‘chav’ — a figure which circulates through popular cultural representations and has become a pervasive term of abuse for the white poor, evoking mockery and disgust. Second, it examines how mockery, disgust, and humiliation are the emotional registers through which makeover television shows engage in symbolic violence against the working classes, before moving on to consider the implications of makeover shows which adopt a different emotional register.

In the context of a purported shift from humiliation to the benign exemplified by the marked contrast between How to Look Good Naked and What Not to Wear, this article examines the cultural work performed by the ‘space of the benign’. We identify three main mechanisms — body appreciation, synthetic friendship and suspended sexuality — which manipulate existing constructions of female friendship and homosexuality to produce the host as the ‘gay best friend’. As such, the host sidesteps the heterosexual scopic economy while seeking to re-place women within it, and avoids the censure frequently directed at female presenters. At the same time, by coaxing women towards an acceptance of their body as is, How to Look Good Naked provides a ‘feel-good’ sense of empowerment while preserving individualistic framings of body problems and solutions. We conclude that the show rehabilitates women within the heteronormative scopic economy, and reinscribes them as neo-liberal consumers.

Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke, Hannah Frith, Nikki Hayfield, Helen Malson, Naomi Moller, and Iduna Shah-Beckley came together at the University of the West of England (UWE) in July 2017 to discuss and share their enthusiasm for the story completion method. Virginia nominally “led” the discussion to keep us on track. This is a transcript of the discussion, edited by the Special Issue editors, principally Hannah Frith, which we have all read and commented on. The discussion begins with the contributors introducing themselves and their experience of the story completion method. It then identifies a series of “knotty issues” about story completion which we explored: 1) what can stories tell us?; 2) research practicalities, comparative design, and sample size; 3) what happens when story completion doesn’t go to plan?; and 4) getting published. The conversation ends by considering “future possibilities for story completion research.” Our aim was not to reach consensus of definitive “answers” but to debate and gain perspective on an open issue. Hence, we reach no “conclusion” for any of these issues.

Visual representations of orgasm – whether in the flesh or mediated through a screen – are produced in a context of intense uncertainty about whether what is being seen represents an authentically experienced bodily event. Despite detailed scientific scrutiny and close attention to bodily signs, the authenticity of women's orgasm remains a site of cultural anxiety and contested gender politics. This uncertainty is exacerbated by the construction of female orgasm as inherently invisible or un-see-able, and ‘faking’ orgasm as a prevalent social practice. Drawing on existing literature from psychology, sociology and porn studies, this theoretical paper explores the problem of visually representing orgasm in the context of these uncertainties, and examines how the distinction between the ‘real’ and the ‘fake’ is structured by discourses of authenticity. Pornography and everyday sexual interactions provide ideal contexts for exploring the practices of producing and consuming visual representations of embodied experience because both necessitate a see-able orgasm which consumers/lovers can read as ‘real’. This paper demonstrates that considerable interpretative work is necessary to read the female body as authentically orgasmic in the context of cultural uncertainty, and that distinctions between the ‘real’ and the ‘fake’ are continually reworked. Drawing on the contrast between ‘surface’ and ‘deep’ acting (Hochschild, 1983), I argue that the distinction between the ‘real’ and the ‘fake’ cannot be established by recourse to unmediated bodily experience, and instead, researchers should consider how and when this distinction has traction in the world and the implications of this for gendered power relations, subjectivities and practices.

Male baldness is physically benign though it is increasingly described as a “disease” based on claims that it is profoundly distressing. The medicalization of baldness was assessed using data extracted from a review of 37 male baldness psychosocial impact studies. Findings revealed most studies likely had commercial influences (78%), represented baldness as a disease (77%), were conducted on biased samples (68%), and advocated for baldness products/services (60%), omitting their limitations (68%). Health psychologists should challenge baldness medicalization so that men can make informed choices about what, if anything, they do with their baldness.

Drawing on insights from conversation analysis, this article explores a discussion about orgasm on an internet forum. Critical of sex education for failing to address young women as sexual subjects with embodied desires, some feminists believe the internet offers alternative spaces for young women to discuss pleasure. I argue that the micro-political work done by offering ‘congratulations’ on one such site serves to mark young women’s orgasms as both ‘newsworthy’ and ‘good news’ in ways which simultaneously disrupt the idea that sexuality is inappropriate for young women while paradoxically reaffirming conventional ideas about the centrality of orgasm to sexuality.

Orgasmic Bodies explores how bodily experiences of orgasm are worked up as present/absent, complicated/straightforward, too slow/too fast, fake or real, in the doing of masculinities and femininities. Engaging with both science and popular culture it examines the meanings given to orgasmic bodies in contemporary heterosex.

Class is often overlooked in sociological studies of death, just as studies of class overlook death. The controversial media coverage of the death of Jade Goody provides a useful focus for exploring contemporary class-making. Recent sociological analyses of class representations in popular culture have demonstrated how denigration and humiliation serve as mechanisms which position sections of the white, working class (chavs) as repositories of bad taste. We argue that these are not the only (or even the most prevalent) affective mechanisms for class-making. In this article, we explore how cultural imperatives for ‘dying well’ intersect with what could be perceived as more positive or even affectionate representations of Jade to produce ‘good taste’ as naturalised properties of the middle class. As such, we demonstrate that the circulation of inequalities through precarious and dynamic cultural representations involves more complex affective mechanisms in class boundary work than is often recognised.

Positioned as the ‘peak’ of sexual experience, orgasm is packed with sociocultural meaning. Exploring the construction of orgasm in Cosmopolitan magazine in the context of the shift towards a postfeminist sexuality and the neoliberal shift towards the rational management of sex as work, this article argues that magazines offer a ‘pedagogy of the body’ by teaching women to: (1) become aware of how to touch their body; (2) strengthen muscles and master bodily responses; (3) position the body and understand how male and female bodies fit together, and (4) instruct men in how to interact with female bodies. Postfeminist, neoliberal and pedagogical discourses merge to offer explicit instruction in how to develop a ‘technology of sexiness’ by training the body to ensure orgasmic success

"This book provides conceptual and practical insights into temporal aspects of qualitative inquiry. A significant portion of qualitative research, if not its raison d'être, is to better understand human experience and the human condition. However, the explicit and/ or collective challenges of time and temporal considerations in qualitative research, as yet remain relatively undocumented. Suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in qualitative inquiry, and in disciplines such as education, health research, sociology and communication studies"--

Using combined qualitative data from multiple case study interviews and an online survey, this study explored the impact of appearance change on 22 adolescents receiving cancer treatment aged 13 to 18 years and six of their parents. Data were analyzed using template analysis. Appearance changes were a major concern. Adolescents typically struggled to adapt to new experiences and concerns related to this highly sensitive issue. Many felt anxious and self-conscious and were reluctant to reveal appearance changes in public. These feelings were compounded by the negative reactions of others (e.g., staring, teasing, and inappropriate questioning), which sometimes lead to avoidance of social activity and threats of noncompliance. Parents of these children felt ill-prepared to manage appearance-related anxieties. Adolescents wanted support to develop the practical and social skills necessary to maintain a “normal” appearance and manage the negative responses of others. However, some adolescents showed resilience and, with support from friends and family, developed strategies to manage their altered appearance and its social consequences. These strategies are explored, which can inform interventions to support adolescents and parents.

When orgasms are positioned by biomedical discourse as the pinnacle of healthy sexual expression, and when popular culture urges individuals to work on their sexual technique to get bigger, better, and more intense orgasmic pleasure, how do people account for the absence of orgasm? This question was explored in a qualitative study using the story completion method where participants complete the end of a story in which a male or female partner does not have an orgasm during sex. Story completion was originally developed as a projective measure within psychoanalytic traditions, designed to access people’s inner thoughts, feelings, and motivations. This case study describes the benefits of using the story completion method as a social constructionist approach to examining the sensitive topic of sexuality. Considered in this discussion is the use of ambiguous stimuli; the benefits of writing about others rather than the self; the creative method of responding; and its merits as a relative quick, cheap, and effective method of data collection. The research demonstrates how discursive imperatives including (1) placing orgasm as central to demarcating problematic from unproblematic sex, (2) emphasizing sexual skill and working technique in pleasuring one’s partner, and (3) making open communication and reciprocity pivotal to successful relationships coalesce in accounts of orgasmic absence to produce different entitlements and obligations for men and women in heterosex.

Orgasms are central to academic and lay debates about sexual ‘normality’ and ‘dysfunction’ and are culturally constructed as the peak of heterosexual sex (Potts, 2000). Conversely, sexual interaction without orgasm is positioned as ‘only foreplay’, a failure or dysfunctional. Examining how people account for orgasmic absence during heterosex using a story completion method, this article addresses three key themes: (1) ‘reciprocity, blame and the orgasmic imperative’, which places obligations on both men and women to elicit or deliver an orgasm to another; (2) ‘sex work, technique and the orgasmic imperative’, which indicates the growth of a ‘performance imperative’ in which both men and women must work to improve their sexual skills and (3) ‘honesty and dishonesty in sexual communication’ in which open communication is positioned as difficult but key to solving sexual difficulties. Collectively, these themes demonstrate how gendered discourses of sexuality coalesce to produce an orgasmic imperative that provides different entitlements and obligations for both men and women.

The construction of sexual violence between heterosexual partners as a problem of communication (a misunderstanding in which consent or non-consent is poorly communicated or inaccurately understood) has been at the heart of debates about the nature of sexual negotiation, what 'counts' as rape, and how to eradicate sexual violence. But womens' refusals are often not heard, ignored or overruled, and establishing women's right to refuse sexual activities (of any kind, with any one and under any circumstances) and to have these refusals recognized has been central to campaigns asserting that 'No Means No'. This chapter explores the 'problem' of sexual negotiation and communication—often simplistically characterized as saying 'yes' or 'no'—as represented in both academic and lay discourse. In lay discourse, women often report that they fail to say 'no' clearly or effectively, or that their behavior is misperceived as indicating sexual interest, while men report difficulty understanding women's communications about sex. The 'problem' of communication also underpins two of the most popular explanations for rape (especially acquaintance rape) in academic discourse—sexual script theory and miscommunication theory. Script theory asserts that culturally prescribed 'scripts' for sexual interactions ascribe the role of sexual initiator and pursuer to men and sexual gatekeeper to women. So, women are responsible for limiting and saying 'no' during sexual interactions which follow cultural patterns of activities in a preset order. Miscommunication theory suggests that 'acquaintance rape' results from poor communication between men and women, in which women fail to say no clearly and effectively while men fail to understand or act upon women's refusals. This chapter explores the interplay between lay explanations for difficulties in sexual negotiations and these academic theories. Drawing on discursive psychology and conversation analysis, the chapter highlights some of the limitations of sexual script and sexual miscommunication theories for understanding rape and sexual aggression, but also seeks to account for their prevalence in young heterosexuals' everyday talk about sexual interactions

Women's orgasms have long been subject to vociferous scientific debate, but over the last 10–15 years a small but growing body of largely feminist qualitative research has begun to explore how the sociocultural construction of orgasm finds contemporary articulation in popular culture and in lay accounts of heterosex. This work is explicitly concerned with gendered power relations and how these operate. This paper provides a critical review and synthesis of this work by exploring three discursive imperatives: (1) orgasm and the coital imperative (2) efficient orgasms and hard work (3) and the ethic of reciprocity. Drawing on these insights, this paper outlines how a focus on embodiment, on situated meaning-making and on everyday sexual practices would further extend our understanding of the social construction of orgasm. Finally, the paper argues for the importance of locating these processes of meaning-making in relation to socially structured material realities.