Sexual Dysfunctions - Article Example

SEXUAL DYSFUNCTIONS Sexual Dysfunctions simply refer to the disability of men or women to sexually satisfy his or her bedfellow in a proper way. It includes lack of sexual desire, adequate sexual arousal, obtaining orgasm during the sexual intercourse and significant sexual resolution as well. Medical, social and cultural theorists define sexual dysfunction differently. According to the medical dictionary, sexual dysfunction is “he inability to fully enjoy sexual intercourse. Specifically, sexual dysfunctions are disorders that interfere with a full sexual response cycle.” (Retrieved from medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com) On the other hand, social and cultural values maintain divergent opinion regarding sexual dysfunction. According to these perspectives, sexual dysfunction is the by-product of the presence of an unfavorable social environment, which discourages humans to perform a social action in a proper way. Hence, inability of performing social action gives birth to sexual dysfunction. Renowned sociologist Talcott Parsons defines health as “a teleonomic capacity to maintain a favorable, self-regulated state that is a pre-requisite of the effective performance of an indefinitely wide range of functions both within the system and in relation to its environments.” (1978: 69) Since proper sexual functioning is an essential part of man’s health, it can also be viewed with the Parsons’ sociological perspective. Effective functioning of all social actions determines the normalcy of health, and any hurdle on the way to such performance is attributed as disability or dysfunction. Sexual dysfunction is also a form of such abnormal and inapposite health condition. Hence, social and cultural perspectives declare the individual’s disability to enjoy the sexual activity and reproduce his young ones as the basic element of sexual dysfunction. There exists a strong variation in the definitions of sexual dysfunctions. Some of the theorists consider premature ejaculation as sexual dysfunction, while others declare male erectile dysfunction as the sexual disorder. Similarly, problem while penile penetrating into vagina or anal zone is also thought as sexual dysfunction. Similarly, improper monthly menstruation cycle among women and narrowness of the fallopian tubes are viewed as sexual dysfunctions. Lack of sexual desire is the most significant element of sexual dysfunction, which can be found in both genders. Sexual desire is the man’s innate longing to satisfy one of his two fundamental human instincts in one way or the other. Man seeks sexual relief through masturbation, vaginal, anal and oral intercourse, homosexuality and other techniques and methods to satisfy his lustful desires. Religion has also described proper ways of satisfying the carnal desires. Almost all the existing religions recommend sexual union between the members of opposite sexes within the marital-knot. But during the modern era, sexual union between the individuals of the same sexes has also got approval in some regions of the globe. Since sex is the basic human instinct, any type of abnormality and lack of interest and desire in involving into it is regarded as disability or dysfunction. Contemporary era has witnessed so many social and cultural changes in comparison with the previous centuries. There was a time when women’s lack of interest in men and their indifference regarding entering into marital knot was considered as sexual dysfunction and abnormality. Moreover, homosexual activities were also considered as a grave sexual dysfunction and lesbian aptitude of females was taken as perversion and social deviation. It was particularly the case during Victorian Era, when women observed limited freedom and childlessness was thought as the woman’s disability to reproduce. But the time has taken a drastic change, and male semen is given special attention in the entire reproduction process. But in the contemporary times, lack of sexual desire, sexual arousal and proper penetration are regarded as the sign of sexual health, and lack of any of such abilities is taken as dysfunction. Theorists do not consider gays and lesbians as the persons undergoing sexual dysfunction in the contemporary times. The theorists have divided the causes of sexual dysfunction into many categories including physical, psychological and emotional ones. Physical dysfunctions in men include lack of erection, small size of penis, proper strength of penis and difficulty in penetration. Psychological male dysfunction includes fear of failure in sexual intercourse, lack of interest in sexual activity, lack of attraction towards opposite gender and others. Emotional dysfunction includes hatred towards performing any sexual act, feelings of shame and fear of any physical or mental harm during the course of action. Similarly, physical dysfunction among women includes absence or damage of fallopian tubes, severe tightness of the two lips of vagina, non-productivity of eggs, improper menstruation cycle, lack of the growth of breasts and lack of reaching orgasm. Psychological female dysfunctions include fear of pains during sexual intercourse, fear of brutality from men, fear of sadistic application and others. Rates for sexual dysfunction vary from gender to gender as well as from one category to the other. Rosen (2000) has defined prevalence rates for sexual dysfunction in women and men in details in these words: “Sexual dysfunctions are highly prevalent, affecting about 43% of women and 31% of men. Hypoactive sexual desire disorder has been reported in approximately 30% of women and 15% of men in population-based studies, and is associated with a wide variety of medical and psychological causes. Sexual arousal disorders, including erectile dysfunction in men and female sexual arousal disorder in women, are found in 10% to 20% of men and women, and is strongly age-related in men. Orgasmic disorder is relatively common in women, affecting about 10% to 15% in community-based studies. In contrast, premature ejaculation is the most common sexual complaint of men, with a reporting rate of approximately 30% in most studies. Finally, sexual pain disorders have been reported in 10% to 15% of women and less than 5% of men. In addition to their widespread prevalence, sexual dysfunctions have been found to impact significantly on interpersonal functioning and overall quality of life in both men and women.” (Quoted in Rosen, 2000) The above comparative analyses provide a detailed overview of the divergence between male and female sexual dysfunction, where lack of erection and lack of sexual desires are the male disorders, while absence of proper sexual arousal and inability of reaching orgasm are the female disorders. The present study has provided a broad prospective of sexual dysfunction and has brought significant changes in my personal views regarding the same. In the nutshell, it is clear that almost all sexual disorders are curable, but a proper medication, therapy and counseling is extremely required for the adequate cure of such problem. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Sexual+dysfunction http://www.sda.uk.net Rosen, Raymond C. Prevalence and risk factors of sexual dysfunction in men and women http://www.springerlink.com/content/c283w16717136066 Read More