Department of Cultural Studies, University of Leipzig, Germany.
Cult Health Sex. 2011 Jun;13(6):669-83. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2011.566356.
Research on constructions of sexuality in Pentecostalism often struggles with the fact that the research setting is defined ex ante in terms of church communities, which imposes upon ethnographic accounts the same limitations Pentecostal morality imposes upon church members' discourse. Taking young Pentecostals operating in a space that is not explicitly religious as the methodological entrance to the field, this paper explores negotiations over sexuality, intimate relationships and love among Xhosa-speaking township youth. It introduces the notion of erotic geographies to consider how possible influences of religious discourses on sexuality are refracted by alternative cultural orientations and material contexts. Findings suggest that premarital abstinence appears as a highly exceptional ideal for youth. Even among Pentecostal youth, notions of sexuality are largely severed from religiosity and faithfulness and romanticism are dominant ideals. Future research on Pentecostalism and sexuality should be less religious-centric and rooted more firmly in ethnographies of youth sexual cultures.
研究五旬节派中的性行为结构往往面临一个事实，即研究背景是根据教会团体预先确定的，这使得民族志描述受到五旬节派道德对教会成员话语的同样限制。本文以在非宗教领域活动的年轻五旬节派为方法论切入点，探讨了科萨语城镇青年之间的性行为、亲密关系和爱情的协商。本文引入了“情色地理学”的概念，以考虑宗教话语对性的影响如何被替代的文化取向和物质背景折射。研究结果表明，婚前禁欲对年轻人来说似乎是一个非常特殊的理想。即使在五旬节派青年中，性观念也在很大程度上与宗教和忠诚脱节，浪漫主义是占主导地位的理想。未来关于五旬节派和性行为的研究应该减少以宗教为中心，更加坚定地扎根于青年性文化的民族志研究。
