A feminist analysis of young women's experiences of alcohol and sexuality

The current research attempts to understand the role of alcohol in women's sexual behaviors, thoughts, and feelings, and the potentially reciprocal role of sexual factors in alcohol consumption. This study is part of a larger study that qualitatively and quantitatively examines club drug use and sexuality among 18-29 year-olds in New York City's club scene. The current study utilized thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) from baseline interviews of 60 women (20 lesbian, 20 bisexual, and 20 heterosexual) to examine themes in the relationship between sexuality and alcohol consumption. Additionally, I utilized checklist coding to quantify and statistically compare the most recent narratives of sexual activity that occurred while sober and sexual activity that occurred after drinking alcohol (n = 121).; Women reported that alcohol facilitated sexual activity through a variety of mechanisms, and reported that alcohol consumption changed their sexual behaviors, sometimes leading to risky sexual activity. Alcohol also negatively impacted the physical sexual experience. However, when comparing recent stories in terms of risk behaviors, slightly different findings emerged. In the most recent alcohol stories, women's partners were significantly less risky than in the most recent sober stories. However, this is qualified by the finding that the alcohol stories were significantly more often about first-time partners, whereas sober stories were significantly more likely to be about main partners. A variety of psychosexual, demographic, and contextual factors, such as race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, sexual anxiety, sexual sensation seeking, dose, and partner type, also moderated the relationships between alcohol and sexuality. Finally, women recognized patterns of alcohol consumption and sexual behavior in their lives and experienced regret and pleasure in recognizing these patterns, demonstrating the positive and negative effects of alcohol on their sexuality and sexual behavior.; These findings illustrate the complex relationship between alcohol and sexuality, which may help researchers and educators better understand patterns of combining alcohol and sex and the various factors that impact this combination. Such findings have implications for sexual risk prevention and alcohol abuse/dependence prevention and intervention and demonstrate the role of social factors in the relationship between alcohol consumption and sexual experiences.