ABSTRACT.
Fibromyalgia is a predominantly female rheumatologic syndrome that may lead to losses in different spheres of life. Therefore, researches on the sexuality of this population has been developed, focusing, above all, on its objective aspects. However, sexuality is also affected by more subjective factors, of psychological and sociocultural origin. Thus, this study aimed to understand the resonances of religiosity and morality in meanings about sexuality in a group of women with fibromyalgia. This paper is part of a broader research and was determined by the occurrence of results that were not sought directly. This study was based on the clinical-qualitative method propositions, and had the participation of six women with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Data were collected in a psychoanalytic discussion group. Audio recordings of the group meetings were transcribed and constituted the corpus. They were examined according to the methodological procedures established by content analysis. Results demonstrate that meanings about sexuality from most participants are sharply influenced by restrictions established by the Christian doctrine and the so-called ’civilized sexual morality’. Those restrictions are not related to the syndrome itself, and this may explain why they have been rarely explored in specialized literature. Therefore, it is recommended, for the sake of comprehensive care, that health professionals and researchers, when working with women with fibromyalgia, pay greater attention to the possible resonances of religiosity and morality in meanings about sexuality.
Keywords:
Fibromyalgia; female sexuality; women’s health