Existing research on young intimate relationships often neglects to draw upon the ways in which attitudes and gender norms shape the embodiment of gendered roles for young people. While it is acknowledged that the research here builds on previous research on young intimate relationships, the focus is on addressing the gaps in evidence on exploring the progression of young intimate relationships. Research has focused on ‘dating violence and abuse’, ‘hooking up’ (Bogle, 2008) or the impact of social media on dating norms, rather than the progression of intimate relationships or the impact of gender norms on the ritual of forming romantic and intimate relationships. The aim of this research was to engage with young women who have been in intimate relationships, and those who are yet to encounter these experiences, in order to gain a more nuanced picture of their attitudes towards their gender, normative expectations and perception and experiences of relationships from both these perspectives, essentially, examining the overall structural link to the normative social construction of gender in our society today.

For young people, intimate relationships, ‘going out’, relationship exclusivity, ‘courtship’ or ‘dating’ morph into different forms depending on several factors, such as local norms, age group and peers. Young people begin initiating intimate relationships during early adolescence, between the ages of 10 and 13 (Stonard et al, 2015; Davies, 2019). Young intimate relationships differ from adult relationships, specifically with regards to the role expectations, the degree of intimacy, the duration and everyday routines (Hickman et al, 2004; Davies, 2019). The discussion ahead will focus on the gendered social construction of intimate relationships, basically, the norm or cultural feature of courtship, specifically, the perceived benefits and comfort gained from accepting established gendered scripts, rather than suffering the consequences of non-conformity. The young women interviewed expressed a lack of power to operationalise their egalitarian attitudes in order to engage in relationships that adhere to the description of what they expect, want or desire within a ‘healthy relationship’.