ABSTRACT

The chapter examines the relationship between sexual health and embodiment through the lens of the developmental theory of embodiment (Piran, 2017). The understanding of sexual embodiment of girls and women requires the concurrent exploration of their physical experiences; exposure to prevalent social discourses; and experiences of social power and relational connections at the place of intersection of gender, age, social class, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical disability, and gender identity. Review of research in these domains suggests multiple disruptions that challenge women’s embodied connection to desire, agency in desire, and self-care in the practice of desire. Changes in women’s experiences of sexual embodiment require sociocultural transformations informed by social justice, feminist, anti-oppressive, and human rights perspectives. Overall, enhanced sexual embodiment will relate to embodied equity. Concurrently, research suggests the value of forming communities of equity and activism, whereby societal structures and ideologies can be interrogated and alternative goals and values can be collectively identified and implemented.