Women's Studies 1021F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, Androcentrism, Sexual Identity

• School: Western University
• Department: Women's Studies
• Course: Women's Studies 1021F/G
• Professor: Chris Roulston

Document Summary

People who do not experience sexual attraction or desire. Two social assumptions about sexuality: all humans possess sexual desire, sexuality has become not only something one does but an identity, something one is. Only recently did sexuality become tied to identity started by the end of 19th century. As with other marginalized sexualities, asexuality appears in the dsm (diagnostic and statistics manual) Hyposexual desire disorder: less desire for sex. Treatments include: hormone therapy, psychological therapy. Asexuality has been embedded in the medical field. Asexual subjects have reclaimed pathologization of asexuality. This has been largely enabled through internet technologies and formation of internet communities. Medical discourse again gradually being challenged by social/political identitarian discourse of asexual individuals. The consequences of identity are both social and political. Private/intimate identities can become public through internet communities: anne lister unique identity. Identity: being what you are, your unique self, having an affinity for something, or idea of belonging, uniqueness and belongingness.