Young women’s sexual agency, relationality, and vulnerability: The Israeli case study of “attacking”

Abstract

The sexual agency of young women is constructed within various discourses that articulate multiple and conflicting social imperatives, such that they need to account for their sexual and social vulnerability while expressing their sexuality. This paper uses a common Israeli heteronormative youth practice called “attacking” to analyze young women’s sexual agency. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 39 young women aged 18–23, it explores how young women express their sexual agency while managing their vulnerability. Analyzed using a theory of vulnerability, our findings point to unique forms of relational agency that support young women’s subjective sexual expressions. The findings highlight the duality and ambiguities that young women face in spaces of “attacking,” showing how their agency is supported relationally by emerging alliances based on joint vulnerability. Based on these findings, this paper challenges the dichotomy between social forces and agency and establishes a conceptualization of relational agency with regard to young women’s sexuality.