Interview with Elaine, 22, White British, Lower middle class, No religion. Women, Risk & AIDs Project, London, 1989. Original version. (Ref: LSFS30)

This interview is part of the Women, Risk and Aids Project (1989-90) archive which was created as part of the Reanimating Data Project (2018-20). Original transcript of an interview with Elaine, who has recently moved to London from North West England to work in police recruitment. She has been glad to move away from home, as her town was lacking in opportunity - it was typical there for women to fall pregnant early on and go on the dole. Elaine was married and subsequently divorced as a teenager. Her ex-partner had expected her to be a 'traditional' stay-at-home wife, while Elaine wanted her own career, following in her mother's footsteps. Sex education was largely from her school, with one particularly good female teacher who students felt they could go to with questions, though there were no 'deviations' from what was traditionally expected of women at the time in terms of marriage and motherhood. She regularly uses both the pill and the condom in her sexual relationships, as she is terrified of falling pregnant. Elaine has had a handful of sexual partners, with varying degrees of pleasure, but feels much more comfortable with her body at the moment.