Interview 17

Age at interview: 21

Brief Outline: Says that both young men and young women are experiencing pressures when it comes to sexual performance.

Background: She works full time in the education sector and is involved in the A Pause sexual education programme in an inner city area. Lives with her mother and says that they have a very good relationship.

Explains that having her periods made her feel all grown up.

I felt like I was a big woman. So, I felt like, yeah, this is another milestone in my life. I'm starting puberty now so this, only up from here, I guess. A couple years from now, I'll be a big woman.                                                                       

I love it, I love having periods 'cos then I know that everything's working down there. 

Indicates that teenage boys and girls experience anxieties and concerns about performance and body image.

I was very scared. I was quiet and I didn't move and I was nervous. So, I think that's what it's like for everybody, people said like, people say the more sexual partners you have the better you get at it, but I don't think that's necessarily true. I think the more you practice maybe with the same partner you'll get better at it. 

You don't have to sleep with 10, 15 different people to be an expert in bed. And if you can, if you know how to have, your body likes things, if you know how to... you know within yourself how you like things while you're having sex, it's easier for you to show someone else, like your partner, so you can experience things together, learn things together as a couple .

Yeah definitely, they 'cos they don't want a woman to say that they were crap or they didn't last long, so yeah. Of course, that's why a lot of, that's why apparently a lot of boys drink and then take drugs to prolong their, their, before they ejaculate. So they, they'll try and make their performance a lot better, so at a lot of the time they'll say,  'Oh it was 'cos I was drunk', they've got excuses for if they have sex and while they do it and I think that.

Boys are under a lot of pressure to last long in bed. But it not about lasting long, it's how you make the person feel but obviously they're conscience about that and they're always conscience about their body and the size of their penis. But that's, that's for girls as well, girls worry about their breasts, about their bum, about their thighs, I think it works both ways.  

Thinks that in casual sex there is no emotional involvement and that she is more prepared to do certain things in the context of a loving relationship.

The emotional level, I think when you have a one night stand, there's no emotions there whatsoever, it's just sex and that's it. I don't think, you don't let your emotions, or I don't think you do, that's what I think, anyway. You wouldn't let your emotions get involved because it's just sex. You don't know this person. You probably ain't even gonna get their number after you've had sex. Whereas in a long-term relationship, you love the person so much, that you want to please them. So I think you do certain things that you wouldn't necessarily do, maybe oral sex or whatever.

Talks about her concerns regarding the possible side-effects of the combined pill.

I was on that for about 5 years.  

OK

When me and my boyfriend split up, my ex-boyfriend, I stopped taking it, 'cos I weren't gonna be sleeping with anyone. I knew that and they say that they were worried about the cancer scare, and getting blood clots and such. I'm a really quite paranoid person about my health in general, so I thought I don't, there's no, I don't really need to take it, so I will stop, and I did.  

What do you use now?

I use condoms. If I sleep with someone, I use a condom.

And that's the only method?

Yeah.

Do you have any concerns about the health effect of any of the contraceptive methods?

Pill, 'cos you hear a lot about it in the paper about you get blood clots and it leads to cancer and things like that

Some of my friends suffer from the, the combined pill. They say they get pains in their legs and things like that. But I was fine on it. I never has no problem whatsoever. Every couple, 'cos it gives me three to six months supply, then after that check my blood pressure, check my weight and they, he said I was fine. I didn't have no affects from it at all.

Suggests that schools should allow access to sexual health sites on computers in private resource rooms.

More libraries, libraries and school, I think it should be 'cos, I think a lot of people would be nervous to access sexual health websites in school. So I think if there was like a little room allocated within the school, that you could shut the door and you could use, maybe 20 minutes, 30 minutes on the computer on your own. 

I think a lot of people would use the resources more than if it's a big open plan classroom and there's 30 kids in the class and you're trying to look up sites about Gonorrhea, you're gonna be, you're gonna feel very anxious and nervous. I think in schools nowadays they use computers a lot more, so that could possibly be an idea or GP surgeries.

Explains why she is quite happy with having periods.

They were more regular when I was on the Pill 'cos obviously they're 28 day cycles and then you have the period. Now, they vary really, so either the middle or the end of the month, I come on. It's usually between them, either the second or third week of the month.  

But sometimes it varies really but I have quite good periods. I don't get pain, I don't get bellyaches, nothing like that. My friends suffer terribly. So I've been quite lucky and I don't really stand, and the longest I started is three and half, four days, so that's pretty good. I'm quite happy with that.