Virginity Lost,Satisfaction Gained? Physiological and Psychological Sexual Satisfaction at Heterosexual Debut

Despite the literature's focus on (hetero)sexual initiation, little is known about the degree to which young people are satisfied by their first vaginal intercourse experience, let alone the factors that predict satisfaction. This study analyzed data from a cross-sectional survey of 1,986 non-Hispanic White and Black 18- to 25-year-old respondents from four university campuses. Respondents were asked to rate the degree to which their first vaginal intercourse was physiologically and psychologically satisfying. Both Black and White women were significantly less likely than Black and White men to experience considerable or extreme satisfaction at first vaginal intercourse, particularly physiological satisfaction. Among all four gender–race groups, being in a committed relationship with one's sexual partner greatly increased psychological satisfaction, particularly among women. Experiencing less guilt at first sexual intercourse was also strongly associated with psychological satisfaction for women. Developing sexual relationships with partners they care for and trust will foster satisfaction among young people at first vaginal intercourse. These findings highlight strong gender asymmetry in affective sexual experience.     

Willingness to Have Unprotected Sex

Little is known about people's willingness to engage in sex without protection from unwanted pregnancy. This study surveyed 1,497 women and men at 75 clinics and physician offices across California after their reproductive health care visits in late 2007 and early 2008. When asked if they would have sex without contraception, 30% said definitively that yes, they would have unprotected sex, and 20% indicated they would “sometimes” or “maybe” engage in unprotected sex. In multivariate models, compared to non-Latino White respondents, Latinos who responded to the survey in English were 52% more likely and African Americans were 75% more likely to report willingness to have unprotected intercourse. Wanting a child within the next three years was associated with increased willingness to have unprotected sex. Age, gender, parity, and relationship status were not significant in multivariate models. A considerable proportion of women and men may be willing to have unprotected sex, even with access to subsidized contraceptive services and even when recently counseled about birth control. The dominant behavioral models of contraceptive use need to acknowledge the widespread likelihood of occasional unprotected sex, even among people motivated to usually use contraceptives. Findings underscore the need to make contraceptive methods accessible, easy to use, and even pleasurable.     

Women's Alternative Internet Radio and Feminist Interactive Communications

The nude male centrefold spread like a virus through the new women's magazines of the seventies. At the time, and since, the academic gaze has viewed the centrefold as little more than a joke, a failure for feminism and female sexuality. This article returns to the heyday of the centrefold and listens to the responses of ordinary women in reader letters published in the new Australian women's magazine Cleo from 1972 until 1985. It argues that far from being a failure, these representations of the nude male became a practice of popular feminism, one of the early representations of popular feminist desire in mainstream women's magazines.     

Pregnancy care and birth outcomes for women with moderate to super-extreme obesity

PurposeTo describe the health service utilisation and birth outcomes of pregnant women with moderate to super-extreme obesity.BackgroundMaternal obesity is increasingly recognised as a key risk factor for adverse outcomes for both women and their babies. Little is known about the service utilisation and perinatal outcomes of women with obesity beyond a body mass index of 40.MethodWomen with a self-reported pre-pregnancy BMI of 40 or more, who had received care and birthed a baby at the study site between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2010. Clinical audit was used to identify the health service utilisation and birth outcomes of these women.Results153 women had a BMI of 40 or more. Women saw 6 different health professionals during pregnancy (1–16). Most of their visits were with a medical practitioner, often with limited experience, and almost all women only saw a midwife once at their booking visit (n = 150, 98.0%). While the majority of women experienced a normal pregnancy, free from any complications, almost half the women in this study experienced a caesarean section (n = 74, 48.4%).ConclusionClinical audit has been useful in providing additional information which suggests current maternity care provision is not meeting the needs of this group of women. The model of antenatal care provision may be a mediating factor in the birth outcomes experienced by obese women. The development of effective, targeted antenatal care, designed to meet the needs of these women is recommended.