A new study in the pnline Journal Sex Roles, published by Dr. Michelle Broaddus and her colleagues, found some interesting results about how people negotiate condom use. The first discovery was that, in general, both men and women who asked to use condoms were seen as more mature but less romantic. Interestingly, women (but not men) who wanted to use condoms were also seen as less promiscuous, presumably because many people have a belief that promiscuity and caring about safe sex can't go hand and hand. I find that slightly ironic, since safe sex is even more important for people who do have many sexual partners, but it is a fascinating insight into human behavior. I suppose it could also be because they assume promiscuous women use oral contraceptives for birth control, but I like my other theory better.
The second part of the study looked at how three common condom negotiation tactics by women were perceived - refusal to have sex without a condom, presenting a condom as making sex sexier and more fun, and discussion of mutual STD risk. The scientists found that although women participants were somewhat judgmental of the women who used the "sexiness" strategy, participants of both sexes did think that such women were more likely to end up having sex - the other two strategies did not cause participants to make comments about the woman's character.
The real take home point of the second part of the study for me, however, was that all three strategies were perceived as equally likely to end up with a condom being used in a sexual encounter. Since the men participating in the study weren't judgmental no matter what the women did, it suggests that women should feel free to negotiate for condom use in whatever way makes them most comfortable. The important thing is to negotiate at all.
