NOTIONS of what is sexually normal and what is sexually abnormal
have changed with time and place. What one society has labeled as
deviant may well be labeled as normal by another. Although in the past,
premarital sex, masturbation, oral sex, and homosexuality were all condemned
by our Puritan society, today most people consider these sexual behaviors
to be quite normal.
In the past, what constituted "normal sexual order" and "normal sexual
function" was clearer than it is today. Ordinary sexual practices among men
and women in our society seem to be more diverse today than they were in
the past. And so, our concept ofwhat sexual order is has broadened and our
concept of what sexual disorder and dysfunction are has narrowed. We now
believe there are three basic classes ofsexual problems: sexual dysfunctions,
the paraphilias, and transsexuality.
In this blog, we will discuss the scientific study of sexual behavior. We
will explain what has been learned about normal sexual functioning-the
sexual response of arousal, excitement, and orgasm. Then we will discuss
sexual problems. Despite changing attitudes and more permissiveness in
our society, we still find many instances of sexual problems, both in the
form of sexual dysfunction and sexual disorder. The sexual dysfunctions are
problems of low desire, low arousal, or orgasm. The sexual disorders are
problems of sexual object choice and sexual identity. Disordered sexual object
choice manifests itself through sexual arousal to the unusual or bizarre,
such as fetishes for panties, masochism, and exhibitionism. These are the
paraphilias. Disorders of sexual identity can be seen in transsexuality, in
which a man believes he is a woman trapped in the body of a man, or a
woman believes she is a man trapped in the body of'a woman. Both the sexual
dysfunctions and the sexual disorders grossly impair affectionate, erotic
relations between human beings, and as such, are considered abnormal.*
* There have been long-standing controversies about what to call these sexual behaviors. Some
preferto call them "variations"; others label them "deviations," or even "diseases."We will
adopt the term "dysfunction" to refer to the first class of problems,the sexual inabilities. We
will adopt the term "disorder" to refer to the second and third problems, the paraphilias and
transsexuality.
have changed with time and place. What one society has labeled as
deviant may well be labeled as normal by another. Although in the past,
premarital sex, masturbation, oral sex, and homosexuality were all condemned
by our Puritan society, today most people consider these sexual behaviors
to be quite normal.
In the past, what constituted "normal sexual order" and "normal sexual
function" was clearer than it is today. Ordinary sexual practices among men
and women in our society seem to be more diverse today than they were in
the past. And so, our concept ofwhat sexual order is has broadened and our
concept of what sexual disorder and dysfunction are has narrowed. We now
believe there are three basic classes ofsexual problems: sexual dysfunctions,
the paraphilias, and transsexuality.
In this blog, we will discuss the scientific study of sexual behavior. We
will explain what has been learned about normal sexual functioning-the
sexual response of arousal, excitement, and orgasm. Then we will discuss
sexual problems. Despite changing attitudes and more permissiveness in
our society, we still find many instances of sexual problems, both in the
form of sexual dysfunction and sexual disorder. The sexual dysfunctions are
problems of low desire, low arousal, or orgasm. The sexual disorders are
problems of sexual object choice and sexual identity. Disordered sexual object
choice manifests itself through sexual arousal to the unusual or bizarre,
such as fetishes for panties, masochism, and exhibitionism. These are the
paraphilias. Disorders of sexual identity can be seen in transsexuality, in
which a man believes he is a woman trapped in the body of a man, or a
woman believes she is a man trapped in the body of'a woman. Both the sexual
dysfunctions and the sexual disorders grossly impair affectionate, erotic
relations between human beings, and as such, are considered abnormal.*
* There have been long-standing controversies about what to call these sexual behaviors. Some
preferto call them "variations"; others label them "deviations," or even "diseases."We will
adopt the term "dysfunction" to refer to the first class of problems,the sexual inabilities. We
will adopt the term "disorder" to refer to the second and third problems, the paraphilias and
transsexuality.