The panic over HIV/AIDS pushed the study of sexuality into mainstream sociology, framing young people's sexual relationships as an important strategy for discovering information which could minimize the risk of the disease. For feminist analyses, this research has simultaneously drawn attention to the social constructions of heterosexuality (Jackson, 1999; Allen, 2003), highlighting sexual attitudes and behaviors centered on questions of desire, pleasure and power, and the degree to which which women can subvert or challenge within heterosexual relationships. This essay examines recent debate regarding the nature and extent of power in terms of “immutability” and “instability” in heterosexual relationships (Allen, 2003). It will examine research suggesting that power is inevitably patriarchal and that heterosexuality represents the embodiment of male dominance and the subordination of women (Holland et al, 1998; Chung, 2005), as well as claims that heterosexual relationships are contested ; asserting agency towards women and suggesting that male power is at some level vulnerable to subversion (Stewart, 1999; Allen, 2005). Heterosexual feminist theories configure masculinity and femininity around normative gender standards of what it means to be masculine and, by default, feminine ( Goldstein, 1994 ). Wilton (1997) notes the structural “heteropolarity” maintained in the context of hegemonic heterosexuality, which affirms conventional femininity as “passivity, helplessness and victimization” (Vance, 1984), as opposed to a superordinate masculinity; predicted independence, activity, and possession of sexual desire and power (Goldstein, 1994; Connell, 1987). As a result, heterosexuality has often been theorized by feminists as… middle of paper… and a conceptualization of power that captures both women's experiences of agency in heterosexual relationships and how these relationships are simultaneously governed. discursively and materially by male power. What is clear throughout the research is that the extent and nature of any changes in the roles and practices of young men and women within heterosexual relationships varies between studies undertaken with different groups of young people. Perhaps more consideration should be given to factors that might explain variations such as socioeconomic class, ethnicity, cultural positions and context. With this in mind, and “if we turn on the light and start talking about bodies, feelings and desires”, it may be possible not only to begin the process of reclaiming and reworking sex, but also to reform gendered heterosexuality (Holland et al.., 1994).