Exploring Intersectional Variations in Sexual Pleasure, Sexual Autonomy, and Important Correlates

Violeta Alarcão (), Miodraga Stefanovska-Petkovska, Pedro Candeias and Patrícia M. Pascoal
Additional contact information
Violeta Alarcão: Centro de Investigação e Estudos de Sociologia, Iscte—Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Avenida das Forças Armadas, 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal
Miodraga Stefanovska-Petkovska: Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
Pedro Candeias: Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
Patrícia M. Pascoal: Centro de Investigação em Ciência Psicológica, Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, 1649-013 Lisboa, Portugal

Social Sciences, 2022, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: Research suggests that pressure to meet gender norms can limit social behaviors and ultimately promote poor health outcomes, such as disparities in decreased sexual pleasure, which are considered a central component of human rights and well-being. Previous studies have shown that sexual pleasure and sexual autonomy are gender-related, but little is known about these indicators in diverse populations. This study used data from a probabilistic sample of Cape Verdean immigrant (n = 127) and Portuguese native (n = 133) women and men who were in an intimate relationship enrolled in the FEMINA (Fertility, Migration and Acculturation) project to explore intersectional variations in sexual pleasure, sexual satisfaction, and distress considering their interplay with sexual autonomy and social representations regarding sexuality. For all participants and especially among men, sex is a very important part of life. Sexual autonomy was positively associated with sexual pleasure among Cape Verdean and Portuguese women and Portuguese men. Sexual distress was negatively associated with sexual pleasure among women, especially Cape Verdean women who reported higher sexual distress. This small-scale study is an example of an intersectional approach to sexual health and rights.

Keywords: sexual health; health equity; empowerment; gender; race/ethnicity; intersectionality; telephone survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/11/496/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/11/496/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:11:p:496-:d:953511

Access Statistics for this article

Social Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Yvonne Chu

More articles in Social Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().