Communicating Intimate Health

Angela F. Cooke-Jackson is associate professor of health communication and behavioral science at California State University, Los Angeles, and co-director of the Intimate Communication Lab. Valerie Rubinsky is assistant professor of communication at the University of Maine at Augusta and co-director of the Intimate Communication Lab.

Table of Content

Introduction: Communicating Intimate Health: From the Bedroom to the Doctor’s Office

Valerie Rubinsky & Angela Cooke-Jackson

Part 1: Absence as a Theme of Intimate Health Communication

Chapter 1: Sweet Nothings: A Journey of (Gay) Sex without Condoms

By Andrew Spieldenner & Nic Flores

Chapter 2: “Why Don’t All Parents Talk About This Stuff:” Informational, Emotional, and Cultural Barriers to Meaningful Parent-Child Conversations About Sex

By Amanda Holman

Chapter 3: “The Sex Talk was Taboo… So was Wearing a Tampon:” Sexual and Menstrual Health Conversations among Young Latina and Latinx Women and Gender Minorities

By Ashley Aragón and Angela Cooke-Jackson

Chapter 4: Intimate Conversations about Sex and Sexuality: Lessons Learned from Studying Purity Pledges

By Jimmie Manning

Chapter 5: Intimate Communication Guidelines for Transformative Sexual Education

By Angela Cooke-Jackson, Taylor McMahon, and Kavita Shah

Chapter 6: The (S)lack of Queer Healthcare in Appalachia

By Katy A. Ross

Part 2: Interpersonal Communication and Health Intimacies

Chapter 7: Theory of Memorable Messages: Theorizing Message Disruption

By Angela Cooke-Jackson & Valerie Rubinsky

Chapter 8: Beyond the Binaries of Sexual Consent: Developing Consent Identities through Diversification of Sexual Messaging

By Rachel Hanebutt

Chapter 9: Disrupting Sexual Communication: An Exploration and Application of Boundary-Setting Conversations in BDSM, Polyamorous, and LGBTQ Relationships

By Valerie Rubinsky & Monica Roldán

Chapter 10: “But I Can’t Talk to My Doctor About That!” Tips for Young Adults to Improve Sexual Communication with Health Providers.

By Carey Noland

Chapter 11: Technology and Sexual Health Communication Among Black and Latinx Young Women

By Carina M. Zelaya and Diane B. Francis



Part 3: Maternal Health & Motherhood

Chapter 12: Interpersonal Communication Surrounding Infertility and Miscarriage: Considerations Under the Gaze of the Master Narrative of Motherhood

By Haley Kranstuber Horstman and Shaye Morrison

Chapter 13: From “Breast is Best” to “Your Choice” – Memorable Messages Mothers Receive about Breastfeeding

By Angela M. Hosek, Heather Matthys, and Kelly M. Weikle

Chapter 14: Caregiving Throughout Herstory: The Role of Doula on African Descent Women’s Health Outcomes

By Shukura Ayoluwa Umi

Part 4: Trauma, Structural Violence, and Intimate Health

Chapter 15: Migrant Gender Violence, Reproductive Health, and the Intersections of Reproductive Justice and Health Communication

By Leandra H. Hernández and Sarah De Los Santos Upton

Chapter 16: Historical and Intergenerational Trauma and Radical Love

By Andrew Jolivétte

Part 5: Negotiating Identity in Intimate Health Research: Considerations and Opportunities

Chapter 17: Researching Marginalized Populations in Intimate Health Communication: Observations from the Field

By Angela Cooke-Jackson, Valerie Rubinsky, Andrew Spieldenner, Nicole Hudak, Ashley Aragón, and Jacqueline Gunning

Chapter 18: Negotiating Identity in Queer Pregnancy and Birth Control Research

By Nicole Hudak

Chapter 19: A Dialogic Forum on Feminist Implications of Birth Control Research

By Jacqueline Gunning and Nicole Hudak

Conclusion: A Love Letter to Vulnerability

By Valerie Rubinsky & Angela Cooke-Jackson