A woman who suggests her man use a condom as an erotic and fun activity is judged more harshly but her women than f she simply refuses sex without a condom or because of STD concerns, according to Dr. Michelle Broaddus, from the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Whether it’s the man or the woman who suggests using a condom makes no difference to how he or she is viewed.
The study published in the journal Sex Roles: that offers a feminist perspective of behavioral science.
The research has implications of howt men and women can to more effectively communicate safer sex practices with their partners.
“This line of research has implications for both basic research on gender roles” stated the report “as well as applied research into the development of sexual risk reduction intervention content. ”
There are approximately 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections in the US each year in the US. Nearly half of these occur among young people under the age of 25.
Previous evidence suggests that how couples communicate and negotiate condom use influences whether a condom is used and how the how the proposer is viewed.
Broaddus’ team undertook two studies The first examined how women who suggest condom use are perceived compared to men. The second examined how women are perceived when using different strategies to persuade their men to use a condom.
The first study 150 undergraduates in the south west United States were shown one of three videos of sexual encounters where either the man or the woman suggested the use of a condom, or no condom was suggested.
They were asked to imagine how the proposer was viewed by their partner. They were also asked for their opinion of whether or not the filmed couple ended up having intercourse and what the chances were of them using a condom if they did.
Proposing condom use was seen as more mature and less romantic and a woman was not evaluated more harshly than the man. A women who proposed a condom She was seen as less promiscuous and the use of a condom in sex was considered equally likely no matter who suggested its use.
The second study 193 undergraduates looked at written vignettes of a sexual encounter where a women either shared concerns about sexually transmitted infections, outright refused sex without a condom or eroticized condom use.
The students were then asked to give their impressions of the woman’s character.
A women who used the eroticization strategy was considered “less nice, more promiscuous and less like the housewife type” by female students. This suggests that women are harsher on other women who highlight their sexuality.
Women who made condom use an erotic experience were seen as more exciting and likely to engage in sex.
There was no difference in how the female’s character was rated whether she simply refused or gave an explanation and eventual condom use was seen as equally likely in all three scenarios.
The studies tested two sexuality theories and one social role theory.
