Amid changes in the North American socio-cultural/political and dating landscape, there exist questions about whether the sexual double standard and the inequality (e.g., of pleasure) in sex still exist for young women today. In this study, we explored the discourses that shape young women’s navigation of and talk about heterosexuality, or heterosex. Young, heterosexual women of diverse demographic and relationship backgrounds aged 18–24 (N = 28) attended one of five online focus groups. Informed by feminist post-structuralism and discursive psychology, we analyzed women’s talk about doing heterosex. Many participants mobilized a discourse of expectations of compulsory heterosex practices in casual and committed contexts. Within that discourse, young women were positioned as both constrained and regulated in their sexual lives and as needing to comply with unwanted sex. Risks of non-compliance included the risk of being perceived as being defective and/or “bad.” Participants’ talk also linked coercion, assault, and other male-perpetrated violence against women with how heterosex is done in today’s context. Our findings suggest that despite #MeToo and other exposés of rape culture, young women remain constrained by heterosexual norms. However, their language, ability, and willingness to challenge the current situation concerning heterosex is more sophisticated than previously observed. These advancements are promising, as they suggest the importance of continued research and activism in this area and carry several practical implications, including for sex education programming and counselling and support services in sessions with young women.

在北美社会文化/政治和约会格局的变化中，存在着这样的问题：当今年轻女性是否仍然存在性双重标准和性不平等（例如，快乐）。在这项研究中，我们探讨了塑造年轻女性对异性恋或异性恋的导航和谈论的话语。年龄在 18-24 岁（ N = 28）的不同人口和关系背景的年轻异性恋女性参加了五个在线焦点小组之一。在女权主义后结构主义和话语心理学的指导下，我们分析了女性关于异性恋的言论。许多参与者在随意和承诺的环境中动员了对强制异性恋行为的期望的讨论。在这种话语中，年轻女性被定位为在性生活中受到限制和规范，并且需要遵守不想要的性行为。不合规的风险包括被认为有缺陷和/或“不好”的风险。参与者的演讲还将胁迫、攻击和其他男性对女性实施的暴力行为与当今背景下的异性恋行为联系起来。我们的研究结果表明，尽管#MeToo 和其他强奸文化的曝光，年轻女性仍然受到异性恋规范的限制。然而，他们的语言、能力和挑战异性恋现状的意愿比之前观察到的更加复杂。这些进步是有希望的，因为它们表明了在这一领域继续研究和行动的重要性，并具有一些实际意义，包括对年轻女性的性教育规划以及咨询和支持服务。