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Tolman (Center for Research on Women, Wellesley College, Mass.) employed the Listening Guide method to analyze interviews conducted with teenage girls, in both urban and suburban settings, who were willing to discuss their sexual experiences and desires with her. The method involves multiple read-throughs of interview transcripts (typically, four times) in search of various specific "voices." In this report she discusses her multifaceted findings, quoting from the interviews and offering her interpretations, which should interest professionals involved with adolescents as well as scholars involved with gender studies or sociology. Her advice to parents is that calm acknowledgment of girls' sexual desire as real and normal is key to supporting their daughters' confidence and ability to make decisions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR
Deborah L. Tolman is Professor of Human Sexuality Studies and Director of the Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality at San Francisco State University.