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Safe sex or safe love

Competing discourses

Bibliographic Data

ID19443387
AuthorsDavid Rosenthal (0000-0002-9323-0424, La Trobe University), S Gifford, Sandra J Gifford, Susan Moore (0000-0003-4771-2876)
Year1998
Volume10
Issue1
Pages35-47
Publication date1998-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAIDS Care (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0954-0121 • E-ISSN: 1360-0451
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09540129850124569
PMID9536200
OpenAlexW2019124241
LanguageEN
Citations received54
References cited10

The way in which sex may be constructed as safe through its relationship with 'love' is the concern of this study. Interviews with 112 heterosexual women and men from discos and bars in Melbourne, Australia, catering to single adults revealed the pervasive construction of sex within the discourses of 'love' and 'romance'. The relationship of these discourses to unsafe practices is discussed and the article presents an analysis of the normative function of the sex-as-love/sex-as-desire opposition in terms of safe sex and HIV/AIDS prevention. We conclude that health messages which emphasize that 'sex is unsafe' may be counterproductive. We illustrate how women and some men construct casual sex as a strategy for obtaining the possibility of 'love'. For these women and men, 'safe sex' as 'unprotected sex' is viewed as a strategy for maximizing the possibility that the casual encounter will result in a longer term relationship. On the other hand, 'unsafe sex' as 'unprotected sex' is viewed as a strategy that is more likely to interrupt the construction of romance in the causal encounter thus risking the possibility of love as the desired outcome

Casual · Condom · Men who have sex with men · Normative · Political science · Politics · Romance · Safer sex · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology

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Unique citing works54
Citations per year2
Citation span1999 - 2025 (27)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 50
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