Risk, power and the possibility of pleasure: Young women and safer sex

Abstract

This paper draws on the work of the Women Risk and AIDS Project (WRAP) which was undertaken by the authors working collectively. It reports on data from a sociological study of the sexual beliefs and practices of two samples each of 75 young women between 16 and 21 in the cities of London and Manchester in the UK. The period of data collection was 1988–1990. The paper sets out the methods used by the WRAP team and locates this research process within wider debates about feminist theory and methodology. There then follows a discussion of the main research findings—relating to the respondents sexual practice–which are then illustrated in some detail in relation to the themes of ‘risk and trust’ and ‘power and empowerment’. Based on these findings conclusions are drawn about the need for a gendered dimension in the development of policy and practice for HIV and AIDS prevention.