Online Program

336207
“It happened but I didn't want to”: Consent narratives of young women when describing unsatisfying ‘consensual' sex


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 8:50 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.

Heather D. Blunt, PhD, MPH, CPH, CHES, Community Health Promotion, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
Kristen Jozkowski, PhD, Public Health, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
background: The implementation of ‘yes means yes’ policies at universities have brought increased attention to the concept of affirmative consent. Affirmative consent suggests individuals need to verbally and explicitly communicate agreement to engage in sexual activity. Providing explicit, verbal consent implies an enthusiastic desire for sex, yet sometimes people may feel unsure about having sex.

purpose: The original purpose of this study was to examine women’s satisfying/unsatisfying sexual experiences with a specific focus on sexual communication. When analyzing these data, a clear theme regarding women’s lack of desire/wantedness to engage in consensualsexual activity emerged.  Thus, the purpose of this presentation is to highlight women’s consent narratives when describing unsatisfying sex.  

methodology: Women ages 18-25 years (n=30) who had experienced heterosexual oral, vaginal or anal sex participated in semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Interviews were transcribed, and analyzed using the constant comparative method of grounded theory. The specific analysis presented here emerged from questions about consensual, but unsatisfying sexual experiences.

findings: Surprisingly, there was a clear narrative of undesired sex and ambiguity about wanting to engage in sex. Although participants described their sex as consensual, they seemed to be unsure whether they wanted it - leading to unsatisfying sexual experiences. Many women indicated that their unsatisfying sexual experiences were a result of sex that they “didn’t really want” or sex that “just happened.”

conclusions: Women’s narratives of consensual, undesired, unsatisfying sex are especially important in light of increased discussion regarding ‘affirmative consent.’ We will discuss implications for college and public health professionals.

Learning Areas:

Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the public health concern of young women’s descriptions of their consensual, unsatisfying sex. Discuss these findings in light of affirmative consent models for sexual activity.

Keyword(s): Sexual Risk Behavior, Women's Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Principal Investigator of this study and conducted all interviews and data collection that will be discussed. I have a PhD and MPH in public health and have been conducting public health and sexuality research for 10 years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.