Beware the men-ace : women's experiences using MDMA in Aotearoa New Zealand amid a global pandemic : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

This research explored women's experiences using MDMA in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic. This topic was important because the country consumes high levels of MDMA, and wastewater testing showed that this trend continued throughout the pandemic. Furthermore, the gendered experience of MDMA use in Aotearoa New Zealand has largely been ignored by researchers, and experiences of women remained unknown. Using purposive sampling, 16 women who used MDMA during the COVID-19 pandemic and identified as electronic music fans were recruited and interviewed using timeline facilitated semi-structured on-line interviews. The timelines were used to help structure the interview and give reference to the events of the pandemic. Working from a feminist and phenomenological perspective, thematic analysis was performed on the interview transcripts and two themes were produced that represented participants' experiences using MDMA during the pandemic. Theme one, 'the gendered management of safety,' described how heterosexual men posed a risk to women who used drugs, which required women to engage in active risk management to maintain their safety. In contrast, the second theme, 'MDMA as an agent for freedom,' described the feelings of freedom that women experienced through their drug use. Shaped by the background context of both postfeminism and the pandemic, these feelings included freedom from body image concerns, freedom from political concerns, and celebrations of interconnectedness when participants reconnected with others after periods of gathering restriction. This study revealed that in Aotearoa, MDMA drug use is a gendered experience, shaped by wider social inequities including the threat of violence from men. These findings highlight the need for harm reduction interventions beyond drug management.