‘Where are all the men?’ A post-structural feminist analysis of a university's sexual health seminar

Abstract

Set against the background of efforts to promote sexuality education and sexual health in a university setting, this paper focuses on a sexual health seminar offered at a midwestern US university. Using a post-structural feminist framework, we analysed discourses from qualitative surveys, newspaper coverage and participant observation. We argue that the framing of the seminar posed an obstacle to receiving health care, altercasted women in disempowering roles and failed to acknowledge men's voices. It is important to address entrenched gender biases, power imbalances and assumptions that undermine students' engagement with sexual health education and access to services. Based on this analysis, we developed recommendations for sexuality education of university students informed by feminist understandings of health.