'Nice girls don't': women and the condom conundrum

Area of Science:

• Sexual health
• Feminist post-structuralist research
• Qualitative research

Background:

• Current sexual health education emphasizes rational decision-making and condom access.
• These messages often overlook the social complexities women face in negotiating condom use.
• Deterrents to practicing safer sex may increase after a viral sexually transmitted infection diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the tensions between condom negotiation, feminine identity, and safer sex education.
• To understand how viral sexually transmitted infection diagnoses impact women's ability to practice safer sex.
• To inform more effective sexual health education strategies for nurses.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative, feminist post-structuralist research design.
• In-depth email interviews with 12 sexual health clinicians and 26 women diagnosed with HSV or HPV.
• Thematic analysis of semi-structured, interactive interviews.

Main Results:

• Few women received direct safer sex education from clinicians; they desired initiation of these discussions.
• Safer sex negotiation became more difficult for women post-diagnosis.
• Women experienced dilemmas regarding disclosure, condom use obligation, and perceived risks to feminine identity.

Conclusions:

• Women may find it harder to negotiate safer sex post-viral STI diagnosis.
• Women seek clinical advice on reconciling rational safer sex messages with social expectations of femininity.
• Nurses play a crucial role in understanding and addressing real-life barriers to safer sex practices, acknowledging gender power dynamics.