infelicitous the performative interpellations slapper or slag, that is, whore. This
constitution is provisionally successful for Nicola, a success which appears to be derived
from its acquiescence to and citation of the moral scale. Nevertheless, the historicity of
the virgin/whore dichotomy, and the intrinsic dependence of the moral scale on this
dichotomy, renders such a constitution fragile and the risk of whore remains.
Beyond hetero-femininity and the virgin/whore dichotomy
Scene 5: consent
A Year 11 trampolineing lesson in a sports hall. A group of girls and boys are taking turns
on two trampolines. While waiting for their turn, students stand around the trampolines
chatting and watching. Pipa (girl, White, middle-class) and William (boy, White, working
class) are standing a few metres from the trampoline they have been using. Pipa and
Willian recently „got off’ (but did not have intercourse) with each other at a party. William
stands a metre or so behind Pipa and encourages her to let herself fall backwards into
his arms. Laughing, she consents. They do this several times. Each time William allows
her to fall slightly further than the previous time, crouching to catch her in time. Pipa
laughs and exclaims “William!” as he catches her later and later in the fall. William
chuckles in response. On the final fall, William catches Pipa and in a quick fluid motion
turns her and lies her face down on the floor. Pipa makes herself comfortable on the
floor, resting her head on her crossed arms. William puts one foot on Pipa’s back and
rocks his foot, and Pipa, from side to side. Pipa makes a gurgling sound. William
chuckles, takes his foot away and helps Pipa up, holding her around the upper torso with
both arms when she is upright. Pipa laughs and halfheartedly attempts to elbow William
in the ribs.
(Fieldnotes)
The capable, controlled and active hetero-masculine body and the trusting, compliant and
receptive hetero-feminine body are seen here. Yet Pipa is also a willing participant in the
scene. This willing participation does not appear to risk whore in the way that Nicola’s
practices do, nor is it deflected by the sort of wriggles and giggles with which Lucy
responds to Owen. It is noteworthy that Pipa is a member of a distinct middle-class
minority in the school that is disregarded in the daily practices of many of the working
class students, while William is a relatively high-status working class boy (See Youdell
2000). It seems that Pipa’s successful heterosexual femininity outweighs the „uncoolness’
of her middle-class status even as this class status enables her to constitute herself
outside, or without regard to, the virgin/whore binary.
While Pipa and William are ostensibly playing a trust game, their recent sexual encounter
is implicit here, referring to what they have done and what they might do in the future.
Although William appears to abuse the trust within the game and ultimately break its tacit
rule, Pipa’s response to this suggests that a further set of tacit rules govern the encounter.