TALK ABOUT SEXUAL MISCOMMUNICATION

Underpinned by the influential literature on gender differences in com munication (e.g., Tannen, 1991), miscommunication theory claims that s exual violence is a problem that can be solved through better communic ation skills: this theory is used not only by social scientists, but a lso by young women talking about their experiences of sexual coercion. This paper draws on young women's accounts of miscommunication, not a s supporting evidence for miscommunication theory, but to explore the functional utility of miscommunication theory as a participant resourc e. We argue that sexual miscommunication theory is useful for women at tempting to sustain heterosexual relationships because it: (a) avoids blaming men; (b) gives women a sense of control; and (c) obscures inst itutionalised gender power relations. This paper raises questions abou t the uncritical validation of women's experiences and about the ways in which, both as analysts and as feminists, we theorise the experienc es of the women we study. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.