A thematic analysis of sexual desire, arousal, and orgasm among lesbians

This thesis investigated which existing sexual response models (Basson, 2000; Kaplan, 1977; Masters & Johnson, 1966) adequately describe lesbians' experiences of sexual response. Twenty lesbians, aged 19 to 42 years, were interviewed about their experiences and subjective meanings, influences, and changes concerning sexual desire, arousal and orgasm. Qualitative thematic analysis was utilized to analyze participants' descriptions of (and meanings attributed to) their sexual response patterns. Lesbians' reports on their motivations for sex, desire, arousal, and orgasm provided support for all three models. Participants expressed many sexual and nonsexual reasons for engaging in sexual activity. Reported sexual response was highly variable, depending on the sexual occasion and relationship context (i.e., casual or committed). These results suggest that multiple models may be required to adequately represent sexual response in lesbians. The strengths and limitations of thematic analysis and interview research are discussed, along with the implications of the study for clinical practice.