“It’s not sexy” and “I can’t control it”: Young women's constructions of heterosex with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

An inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can negatively impact sex due to abdominal pain, faecal incontinence, symptom uncertainty and poor body image. The way women make meaning of heterosex is grounded in available cultural discourses associated with sexuality and femininity (Moran & Lee, 2014). Previous research on sexual intimacy experiences for women with IBD fails to consider the wider social and cultural environment these women are situated within. There is a need to understand how women negotiate and make meaning of heterosex in dating relationships with IBD. This study explored how young women with IBD constructed their experiences of heterosex in dating relationships. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten self-identified women who were single or dating men and between the ages of 18-35 who were diagnosed with IBD. I adopted a material-discursive theoretical framework underpinned by a critical realist epistemology. A reflexive thematic analysis was used to explore how these women constructed and navigated their IBD in relation to heterosex in dating relationships with men. From my analysis, I identified two overall themes in which women constructed heterosex regarding their IBD: disruption to the sexual youth, and the feminine sexual body. In the theme ‘disruption to the sexual youth’, women talked of how their IBD prevented them from being able to be young and sexually free. These women also positioned their IBD journey as a process of self-discovery, in which they discovered what they needed most at that point in their life. In the theme ‘the feminine sexual body’, women talked of having a failed feminine sexual body, positioning it as ‘dirty’ and ‘unpredictable’. These women talked about managing and preparing their bodies before and during sex. Finally, most women talked of reaching a point of self-acceptance with their IBD bodies. The findings of this study suggest that IBD can be seen to disrupt dominant discourses of sexuality and femininity in youth, in which young women were unable to achieve ideals around femininity, a sexual youth and heterosexual. These findings highlight the relevance and need for open conversations within research and health settings for women with IBD, to shift social taboos and ensure women have their sexual health needs met.