Epistles of dyspareunia
Storying Christian women’s experiences of painful sex
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15098769 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Katharina A Azim (0000-0001-9811-2729, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY, USA, corresponding author), Alison Happel-Parkins, Alison Happel‐parkin (0009-0009-4201-8720, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA), Amy Moses (Sundara Wellness Center, Southaven, TN, USA) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 644-658 |
| Publication date | 2021-05-04 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Culture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13691058.2020.1718759 |
| PMID | 32116146 |
| OpenAlex | W3009341200 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 39 |
Dyspareunia is painful attempted or completed vaginal-penile intercourse, and vaginal pain from other forms of touch. Because there is a persistent underlying message of shame and taboo surrounding female sexual pleasure in some Christian-informed cultural contexts, we sought to examine how self-identified Christian women in the Midsouthern USA conceptualise and experience dyspareunia. Data were collected through initial surveys and semi-structured interviews and analysed using incident-to-incident and in-vivo coding. Creative Analytic Practice was used to create composite character narratives from the data, storying five aspects of participants' experiences: (1) ignorance and abstinence at home, church, and school; (2) socially-informed expectations of sex and painful realities; (3) making sense of, coping with, and seeking help for painful sex; (4) validation, diagnosis, and treatment; and (5) sex mis-education and desire for a different future. Findings suggest that participants' understandings of and coping with their sexuality and the accompanying painful sex are shaped by implicit and explicit religious messages they encountered in their family upbringing, schooling, social and religious circles, and interactions with healthcare providers. Health professionals are urged to pre-screen women for symptoms of dyspareunia and include sexual wellness checks as routine procedure, and subsequently refer patients to pelvic health physical therapy when appropriate
Coping (psychology · Developmental psychology · Human sexuality · Narrative · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Shame · Taboo · Thematic analysis · Clinical Psychology · Gender Studies · Medicine · Menstrual Health and Disorders · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Sexual function and dysfunction studies · Social Psychology
Unbearable Weight
The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers
Qualitative evaluation and research methods
Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates
Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences
Understanding women’s postpartum sexual experiences
Bodies, pleasure and displeasure
The impact of abstinence and comprehensive sex and STD/HIV education programs on adolescent sexual behavior
Traditional Religious Doctrine and Women's Sexuality
Long-Term Health Correlates of Timing of Sexual Debut
Negative Affect and Somatically Focused Anxiety in Young Women Reporting Pain With Intercourse
Sex Guilt Mediates the Relationship Between Religiosity and Sexual Desire in East Asian and Euro-Canadian College-Aged Women
Bodies that matter
The use of composite narratives to present interview findings
Poststructural Writerly Representation
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |