Marijke Naezer

Winner Dissertation Prize 2019

Dissertation
Sexy Adventures. An ethnography of youth, sexuality and social media.

Supervisors: Prof.dr. Marieke van den Brink and Prof.dr. Willy Jansen
Co-supervisor: Dr. Els Romnes
Nomination: Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Social Sciences (Gender & Diversity Studies)

Report by the selection committee

In this thesis, Naezer examines how young people shape sexuality through social media. The author interprets sexuality as a broad-ranging and multi-layered concept that encompasses both personal feelings and desires as well as social ideologies and practices, which range from gender relations to power relations and moral discourses. She creatively combines qualitative and quantitative methods to gain insight into the experiences and opinions of young people. Naezer introduces the concept of ‘adventure’, which has a less negative connotation than the term ‘risk behaviour’, and implies a complex mixture of danger and pleasure.

In recent years the jury has often received books about similar subjects. Everybody is obviously all fascinated by what our children or young relatives are doing behind their captivating screens. But this book is quite simply peerless, both in its interdisciplinary approach and in its critical attitude towards existing discourses which marginalize certain youth groups. Through her innovative and individual approach, Naezer succeeds in elaborating constructive insights into this topical theme, thereby contributing to the development of an academic tradition that centres on empowering young people.