Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2026

A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
Pleasure, power, and inequality: incorporating sexuality into research on contraceptive use
Jenny A Higgins1, Jennifer S Hirsch
1Office of Population Research and Center for Health and Wellbeing, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. jennyh@princeton.edu
Abstract:
We know surprisingly little about how contraception affects sexual enjoyment and functioning (and vice versa), particularly for women. What do people seek from sex, and how do sexual experiences shape contraceptive use? We draw on qualitative data to make 3 points. First, pleasure varies. Both women and men reported multiple aspects of enjoyment, of which physical pleasure was only one. Second, pleasure matters. Clear links exist between the forms of pleasure respondents seek and their contraceptive practices. Third, pleasure intersects with power and social inequality. Both gender and social class shape sexual preferences and contraceptive use patterns. These findings call for a reframing of behavioral models that explain why people use (or do not use) contraception.
Related Concept Videos
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Relationship Formation
Horney's Sociocultural Approach
Psychosexual Theory of Development
The Five Stages of Psychosexual Development
Freud's psychosexual...
Factors Influencing Attraction II: Physical Attraction
Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Genital

