Washington, Jan 28 (ANI): A new study has revealed that the way a woman negotiates condom use influences how she is perceived by others.

Dr. Michelle Broaddus, from the Medical College of Wisconsin in the US, and colleagues examined the effects of the proposer’s gender and their condom negotiation strategy on how they are perceived by others.

They found that whether it’s the man or the woman who suggests using a condom makes no difference to how he or she is viewed. However, how the woman suggests it makes a difference.

If she highlights her sexuality by incorporating condoms into the sexual scenario as an erotic and fun activity, other women judge her more harshly than if she simply refuses to have sex without a condom or shares her concerns about sexually transmitted infections, the authors found.

Safer sexual practices rely on the use of condoms and there is some evidence that how couples communicate about, and negotiate, condom use influences how the proposer is viewed and whether or not condoms are actually used during intercourse.

For the study, the researchers conducted two studies looking at how women who suggest condom use are perceived compared to men, and how specific condom negotiation strategies affect perceptions of a woman who uses them.

“This line of research has implications for both basic research on gender roles … as well as applied research into the development of sexual risk reduction intervention content for men and women on how to more effectively communicate with partners when the goal is to engage in safer sex practices,” the authors said.

The study has been published online in Springer’s journal Sex Roles. (ANI)