Flirting with Danger: Young Women's Reflections on Sexuality and Domination

This very important book clearly demonstrates that the sexual double standard still exists, only now with added problems for young women. They are in a double bind with society telling them on the one hand they have individual sexual power and autonomy and on the other hand, men as a group still do not recognise or accept female sexual autonomy. Phillips has researched thoroughly and shows the complex messages young women of all ethnicities still receive concerning their sexuality. A must read for all feminists, women and men too if the sexual double standard is to be challenged.

I read this book to see if it would be appropriate for my Sociology of Gender course. I immediately ordered it. The book is readable (actually, it is more than that, it is masterfully written in clear and powerful language); it is fascinating (including accounts of young women's sexual subjectivities); it is conceptually and theoretically sophisticated and groundbreaking (without being jargony or heavy handed). I am impressed with how it demonstrates the importance of empirical research in illuminating issues confronting feminists. Finally, the author confronts the signficance of the empirical findings (in particcular, that young women's sexual subjectivites reflect the ambiguities, complexities and contradictions of our cultural discourses)for feminist projects of empowering women. She acknowledges the dangers in revealing the messy phenomenology of sex in a world in which both conservative and feminists deal in clear dichotomies of coercion/consent, etc. I eagerly anticipate teaching from this book because it embodies the best in both feminist politics and social science, without compromising either.

Lynn Phillips has written a marvelously important book! One of the most salient reasons why my young women students reject the label "feminist" is because they associate it with victimhood. The desire to not be a victim, but to be a powerful agent, is enormously strong among all of us -- but it is particularly pointed among today's college-age women.Phillips bases her book on a series of interviews with an ethnically, culturally, economically and sexually diverse group of female college students. Her book provides extended quotations from these young women on the subject of sexuality, desire, and victimhood. The overriding point is that these young women are forced to embrace some profound contradictions: to be both "good girls" (demure, pleasing to men and/or families) and "together women" (in control of their own sexualities, autonomous, and definitely NOT victims). These young women often report longing for emotional intimacy, physical pleasure, and connection -- but the sexual encounters they recount rarely provided that for which they were searching. Despite living in an age of liberation, a generation removed from the 1960s, these young women, according to Phillips, are profoundly ambivalent about their sexual freedom. The ambivalence is rooted in a couple of areas: first, a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" mentality; they are convinced that no matter what sexual choices they make, they will disappoint someone. Secondly, Phillips notes that these young women often report with pride their "mastery of the male body". But most are aware that there is a colossal distinction between developing a skill set that enables them to "soothe" men sexually, and actually enjoying sex with these young men for its own sake.A sure-fire discussion starter, this book is excellent for use in gender studies or sexuality courses.