Female and Male Sexual Dysfunctions
- Sexual Dysfunctions |
Prevalence: How many people suffer from
sexual dysfunctions? |
Short answer: Nobody knows.
Long
answer: It is difficult, if not
impossible, to say how many people
suffer from sexual dysfunctions and to
what degree. Most available figures are
provided by therapists or drug companies
who want to sell their services or
products and thus have a professional
interest in large numbers of potential
patients. In any case, patients showing
up for therapy are never representative
of the populations as a whole. Truly
representative sex surveys are rare and
usually silent on this point, because
self-reports about sexual difficulties
are not reliable. Many people lie,
deceive themselves or exaggerate in
either direction. Others, being unaware
of the biological and social realities
around them, cling to unrealistic norms
of sexual performance. Moreover, as
already stated, any definition of sexual
dysfunction itself cannot help but be
"soft" and imprecise. The term lends
itself to stretching and often is used
to cover all kinds of minor
disappointments and temporary
inconveniences. However, people are not
machines, and everyone is likely to
experience occasions when the "spirit is
willing, but the flesh is weak". In such
cases, it would be inappropriate to
speak of a sexual dysfunction. Finally,
different people have different sexual
needs, and some couples may be greatly
mismatched in this regard. With
different partners they might not have
any problems at all. In short:
Beware of any number about the alleged
prevalence of sexual dysfunctions!
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