Att vara en bra flicka - en kvalitativ studie om bilden av mödomshinnan och dess betydelse för den sociala kontrollen av unga kvinnors sexualitet

Sammanfattning: Abstract Author: Emma Borgvall Title: To be a good girl – a qualitative study on the image of the hymen and its importance for the social control of young women's sexuality [translated title] Supervisor: Annika Capelán Köhler Assessor: Tove Harnett The aim of this study has been to explore how the social construction of the hymen is revealed in the social work with young girls and with their dilemma of virginity. Through semi-structural interviews with four social workers I have studied the hymen´s significance for young girls and how they see that the girls are affected by the mystique of the hymen. Furthermore I have analyzed how the interviewed respond to the girls’ concerns about the hymen and about the bleeding on the wedding night. The analysis of my empirical material has consistently been characterized by a social constructivist onset with focus on the significance of language and gender. During the interviews the concept of purity has been a recurrent theme. This has led to me apply Mary Douglas’ theory of purity and danger. The hymen plays a significant role in the patriarchal family as the woman´s virginity is linked to the family´s honor. A result of the study is that the myth of the hymen measures and controls women´s sexuality as well as their social purity. Through a constructivist perspective this implies that the preservation of the myth of the hymen helps creating the identity of a socially accepted and ”good girl”. Another finding is that professionals need more knowledge on this subject to be able to support girls in their urgent concerns about their virginity and the hymen. I have concluded that the controlling norms behind the image of a bloody sheet as a proof of an unbroken hymen and therefore of social purity must be processed on a structural level.