Perspectives on Mormon women’s reactions to having sex, immediately after and long-term, and their reasoning behind it: A thematic analysis

Kaysn Irby

This research examines the relationship between sex and Mormonism, a religion commonly taught as “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.” Specifically, I decided to identify Mormon women’s reactions, short- and long-term, to having sex along with their reasoning behind their reactions as well as methods to address these reactions. The present study brings more awareness to the issues women have when being accustomed to Mormonism. A thematic analysis was used to derive themes from the qualitative data, a total of 121 comments from a public and anonymous message board, Reddit. The resulting two main themes were 1) negative reactions based in Mormonism and 2) positive/neutral reactions despite Mormonism. Negative reactions were the most common and included comments such as “shame,” “guilt,” “crying,” and “locked [herself] in a bathroom.” Although there were few, positive/neutral reactions included comments such as “easy,” “physically loved sex,” and “no big hangups.” Subthemes within the two main reactions were identified. Based on this research, clinicians with clients accustomed to Mormonism, either current or former believers, and who are experiencing issues (e.g., in their relationships, sex lives) can adapt therapeutic practices to be specific to those who have been affected by this religion.

• Kaysn Irby is a senior psychology major, a child and family studies minor, and a human service minor from Greenwood, SC. Her accomplishments include being a teaching assistant for an upper-level psychology course along with being an undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Southard-Dobbs’s Stress and Cognition Lab for four semesters.