Do women use dental dams? Safer sex practices of lesbians and other women who have sex with women
Juliet Richters A D , Garrett Prestage B , Karen Schneider B and Stevie Clayton CA University of New South Wales, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
B University of New South Wales, National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
C Formerly AIDS Council of NSW, PO Box 350, Darlinghurst, NSW 1300, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: j.richters@unsw.edu.au
Sexual Health 7(2) 165-169 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH09072
Submitted: 17 July 2009 Accepted: 17 February 2010 Published: 14 May 2010
Abstract
Dental dams are distributed and promoted in some safer sex campaigns for use in oral sex. However, whether and how often dams are used for sex between Australian women remains unknown. We investigated the use of dental dams for sex by lesbians and other women who have sex with women, and the relationship between dam use and sexual risk for this group. In 2004, a self-completion questionnaire was distributed to women attending the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day and lesbian community venues and health services in Sydney (n = 543). Among the 330 women who had had oral sex with a woman in the previous 6 months, 9.7% had used a dental dam and 2.1% had used one ‘often’. There was little evidence of dam use for prevention of sexually transmissible infections. Although women who practised rimming (oral–anal contact) or had fetish sex involving blood were more likely to have used a dam, dam use was not significantly more common among women who had more partners, or had casual or group sex. Some women avoided oral sex during menstruation or had oral sex with a tampon in place. Latex gloves and condoms were used by more women and more often than dams.
Additional keywords: cunnilingus, HIV prevention, lesbians, rubber dams, STI prevention.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the National Centre in HIV Social Research, University of New South Wales, and its former director, Professor Susan Kippax, for staunch support of the Sydney Women and Sexual Health (SWASH) survey from 1996 to 2007. We also thank the volunteers who distributed questionnaires and all the women who took time to complete them. Jeanne Ellard, Abigail Groves and Angela Song at NCHSR gave research assistance on SWASH at different times, and Brent Allan, Sera Pinwill, Jen Rudland and Ronnie Turner helped at ACON with questionnaire revision, data collection and organisation. Karen Schneider was supported by a Goldstar award from the University of New South Wales to Juliet Richters for 2008.
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Appendix
Questionnaire items ascertaining sexual and protective practices
When was the last occasion that you had sex with a woman?
Never □
Over 6 months ago □
In the past 6 months □
During the past 6 months, how many women have you had sex with?
None □ 6–10 women □
One □ More than 10 women □
2–5 women □
In the past 6 months, which of the following have you done while having sex with a woman?
Fingers/hand on external genitals No □ Yes □
Fingers/hand inside vagina No □ Yes □
Fingers/hand inside anus No □ Yes □
Oral sex (your mouth, her genitals) No □ Yes □
Oral sex (her mouth, your genitals) No □ Yes □
Rimming (her mouth, your anus) No □ Yes □
Rimming (your mouth, her anus) No □ Yes □
Sex toy used on external genitals No □ Yes □
Sex toy used inside vagina No □ Yes □
Sex toy used inside anus No □ Yes □
In the past 6 months, while having sex with a woman, have you used —
A dental dam? Never □ Once □ Often □
A glove? Never □ Once □ Often □
A condom? Never □ Once □ Often □
In the past 6 months, have you had sex with a woman who was menstruating at the time?
Yes □ Yes, but always with a dam □
Yes, but always with a tampon □ No □
In the past 6 months, have you had sex with a woman when you were menstruating at the time?
Yes □ Yes, but always with a dam □
Yes, but always with a tampon □ No □
In the past 6 months, have you had any other form of sex in which blood was involved (such as cutting, piercing, whipping, fisting)?
Yes □ No □
Have you had casual sex in the past 6 months?
Yes – with women □ Yes – with both □
Yes – with men □ No casual partners □
On any occasion in the past 6 months did you have group sex which included:
A gay, homosexual or bisexual man? No □ Yes □
A straight or heterosexual man? No □ Yes □
A woman? No □ Yes □
