Muscle Memory: Exploring the Sociocultural Factors of Sexual Pain in People Assigned Female at Birth

Abstract

According to the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “nearly 3 out of 4 women have pain during intercourse at some time during their lives,” which is an under-researched issue, especially when it comes to factors outside of biology (2017). This research paper focuses on examining the most common sociocultural aspects that affect sexual pain in people assigned female at birth (AFAB) between the ages of 18 and 30. A survey was completed by 144 participants, 6 of whom participated in structured interviews. My analysis shows a strong impact of sociocultural factors on experiences of pain during sex in participants. 90.28% of participants had experienced pain during sex at least once in their lives. Seven themes were identified from the data: (1) situations that cause pain, (2) pain during first intercourse, (3) normalization of pain, (4) pain is not “a big deal,” (5) shame, (6) pressure, and (7) expectation of pain during sex.