Creating Lasting Love: An Ethnographic Study of Sexual Pleasure, Intimacy and Contraception

Abstract

Sexual pleasure and intimacy are key reasons why people have sex, yet it remains underexamined in our understanding of how people make decisions about contraception. This paper draws on ethnographic research of the intersections between sexual pleasure, intimacy and contraception among women using specialist contraceptive services in central London. I describe how contraceptive use and choices are intertwined with how women assess intimacy in their sexual relationship, and not solely a desire to avoid pregnancy. How and when women use contraceptives relays their concerns about creating and maintaining pleasure and intimacy in their sexual relationships. Moreover, this ethnographic account illustrates how women draw on various contraceptive methods in their decision making and use them to increase communication and trust, distinguish relationships and potentially enhance sexual pleasure, which is indexical and necessary for enduring intimate connections. Considering intimacy alongside sexual pleasure also allows us to consider the relational dimensions of contraceptive choice and how these are far from static, one-off decisions. These empirical insights into intimacy illustrate that contraceptive choice is both a reflection of the perceived intimacy in a relationship and is also a “practice of intimacy”, particularly when people are navigating the various forms of intimacies available.