Period Sex for Queer Cis Women and Queer Individuals Assigned Female at Birth: Navigating Gender, Power, and Heteronormativity in Sex During Menstruation

Abstract

While some research has focused on menstrual sex, little work has centered the menstrual sex experiences of queer women and queer individuals assigned female at birth (AFAB) who do not identify as women. This study drew from qualitative data collected in 2019–2020 from 26 women and AFAB individuals (mean age = 30.2 years) throughout the U.S. Midwest to explore how queer women and queer AFAB individuals who do not identify as women talked about their experiences with having sex during their periods (“period sex”). Using feminist phenomenological thematic analysis, we identified six themes for how participants discussed period sex: (1) entitlement to and enjoyment about period sex; (2) period sex feels different physically; (3) efforts to minimize shame and discomfort with period sex; (4) looking for partner cues to determine feelings about period sex; (5) period sex as messy and “unsexy”; and (6) embracing vaginal sex but not cunnilingus while menstruating. Implications for understanding intrapsychic, relational, and sociocultural aspects of menstrual sex were explored, as were patterns of accommodating stigma compared to resisting stigma when reflecting on meanings of menstruation, sexuality, eroticism, queer identity, and relationships. Tensions between enacting resistance during period sex, and subscribing to heteronormative and patriarchal notions of period sex as “gross” were explored.

Keywords:

• Menstruation
• women’s sexuality
• AFAB sexuality
• self-objectification
• body shame
• body positivity
• queer relationships

Acknowledgment

Special thanks to Caroline Rudel, Farhat Ali, Kiley Romano, Felicya Ptak, and the Feminist Research on Gender and Sexuality Group for their contributions to this manuscript.