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“Dude, Come On, Like, Let’s Just Do the Thing”: Men’s and Women’s Navigations of Sexual Communication and Sexual Consent in Australia

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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“Dude, Come On, Like, Let’s Just Do the Thing”: Men’s and Women’s Navigations of Sexual Communication and Sexual Consent in Australia. / Waling, Andrea; James, Alexandra; Moor, Lily.
In: Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Vol. 22, 01.03.2025, p. 522-538.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Waling, A, James, A & Moor, L 2025, '“Dude, Come On, Like, Let’s Just Do the Thing”: Men’s and Women’s Navigations of Sexual Communication and Sexual Consent in Australia', Sexuality Research and Social Policy, vol. 22, pp. 522-538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-024-00973-w

APA

Waling, A., James, A., & Moor, L. (2025). “Dude, Come On, Like, Let’s Just Do the Thing”: Men’s and Women’s Navigations of Sexual Communication and Sexual Consent in Australia. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 22, 522-538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-024-00973-w

Vancouver

Waling A, James A, Moor L. “Dude, Come On, Like, Let’s Just Do the Thing”: Men’s and Women’s Navigations of Sexual Communication and Sexual Consent in Australia. Sexuality Research and Social Policy. 2025 Mar 1;22:522-538. Epub 2024 Apr 18. doi: 10.1007/s13178-024-00973-w

Author

Waling, Andrea ; James, Alexandra ; Moor, Lily. / “Dude, Come On, Like, Let’s Just Do the Thing” : Men’s and Women’s Navigations of Sexual Communication and Sexual Consent in Australia. In: Sexuality Research and Social Policy. 2025 ; Vol. 22. pp. 522-538.

Bibtex

@article{69c4d81d2b3a4751a78dd934f8402e70,
title = "“Dude, Come On, Like, Let{\textquoteright}s Just Do the Thing”: Men{\textquoteright}s and Women{\textquoteright}s Navigations of Sexual Communication and Sexual Consent in Australia",
abstract = "IntroductionNotions of effective sexual communication and consent have shifted towards an enthusiastic consent framework. This study explored how young cisgender heterosexual men and women apply these concepts in casual sexual encounters.MethodsSix single-gender and mixed gender focus groups of 44 participants were conducted with young cisgender heterosexual men and women living in Australia in 2021. Participants were asked about their dating and sexual practices, as well as their understanding and navigation of sexual communication and sexual consent practices using vignette methodologies. Findings were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis techniques.ResultsThe findings highlight tensions between how participants understand what constitutes good practices of sexual communication and consent, and how they expected characters in the vignettes, or themselves, to engage in similar scenarios. These involved (1) gendered power dynamics in sexual encounters; (2) the need for context in universal assumptions; and (3) differences between expectations and personal actions in similar scenarios.ConclusionsThe participants express a high degree of knowledge of what constitutes best practice for sexual communication and sexual consent. However, such knowledge is not necessarily engaged in their lived experiences of sex for a variety of reasons.Policy ImplicationsWhile current educational and health promotion methods for topics such as sexual communication and consent are valuable, they may be limited in efficacy. Sexual encounters are often complex, and are influenced by culture, religion, and various emotions. Decision-making in such situations involves known and unknown variables. A deeper understanding of these processes is needed to develop more nuanced resources.",
keywords = "Communication, Consent, Dating, Heterosexual, Men, Sex, Women",
author = "Andrea Waling and Alexandra James and Lily Moor",
year = "2025",
month = mar,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1007/s13178-024-00973-w",
language = "English",
volume = "22",
pages = "522--538",
journal = "Sexuality Research and Social Policy",
issn = "1868-9884",
publisher = "Springer New York",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - “Dude, Come On, Like, Let’s Just Do the Thing”

T2 - Men’s and Women’s Navigations of Sexual Communication and Sexual Consent in Australia

AU - Waling, Andrea

AU - James, Alexandra

AU - Moor, Lily

PY - 2025/3/1

Y1 - 2025/3/1

N2 - IntroductionNotions of effective sexual communication and consent have shifted towards an enthusiastic consent framework. This study explored how young cisgender heterosexual men and women apply these concepts in casual sexual encounters.MethodsSix single-gender and mixed gender focus groups of 44 participants were conducted with young cisgender heterosexual men and women living in Australia in 2021. Participants were asked about their dating and sexual practices, as well as their understanding and navigation of sexual communication and sexual consent practices using vignette methodologies. Findings were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis techniques.ResultsThe findings highlight tensions between how participants understand what constitutes good practices of sexual communication and consent, and how they expected characters in the vignettes, or themselves, to engage in similar scenarios. These involved (1) gendered power dynamics in sexual encounters; (2) the need for context in universal assumptions; and (3) differences between expectations and personal actions in similar scenarios.ConclusionsThe participants express a high degree of knowledge of what constitutes best practice for sexual communication and sexual consent. However, such knowledge is not necessarily engaged in their lived experiences of sex for a variety of reasons.Policy ImplicationsWhile current educational and health promotion methods for topics such as sexual communication and consent are valuable, they may be limited in efficacy. Sexual encounters are often complex, and are influenced by culture, religion, and various emotions. Decision-making in such situations involves known and unknown variables. A deeper understanding of these processes is needed to develop more nuanced resources.

AB - IntroductionNotions of effective sexual communication and consent have shifted towards an enthusiastic consent framework. This study explored how young cisgender heterosexual men and women apply these concepts in casual sexual encounters.MethodsSix single-gender and mixed gender focus groups of 44 participants were conducted with young cisgender heterosexual men and women living in Australia in 2021. Participants were asked about their dating and sexual practices, as well as their understanding and navigation of sexual communication and sexual consent practices using vignette methodologies. Findings were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis techniques.ResultsThe findings highlight tensions between how participants understand what constitutes good practices of sexual communication and consent, and how they expected characters in the vignettes, or themselves, to engage in similar scenarios. These involved (1) gendered power dynamics in sexual encounters; (2) the need for context in universal assumptions; and (3) differences between expectations and personal actions in similar scenarios.ConclusionsThe participants express a high degree of knowledge of what constitutes best practice for sexual communication and sexual consent. However, such knowledge is not necessarily engaged in their lived experiences of sex for a variety of reasons.Policy ImplicationsWhile current educational and health promotion methods for topics such as sexual communication and consent are valuable, they may be limited in efficacy. Sexual encounters are often complex, and are influenced by culture, religion, and various emotions. Decision-making in such situations involves known and unknown variables. A deeper understanding of these processes is needed to develop more nuanced resources.

KW - Communication

KW - Consent

KW - Dating

KW - Heterosexual

KW - Men

KW - Sex

KW - Women

U2 - 10.1007/s13178-024-00973-w

DO - 10.1007/s13178-024-00973-w

M3 - Journal article

VL - 22

SP - 522

EP - 538

JO - Sexuality Research and Social Policy

JF - Sexuality Research and Social Policy

SN - 1868-9884

ER -