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issues with hypoactive sexual desire disorder criteria


embracetheace

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embracetheace

Here's the current diagnostic criteria for hypoactive sexual desire disorders:

  • Absent or reduced interest in sexual activity
  • Absent or reduced sexual thoughts or fantasies
  • Reduced or no initiation of sexual activity
  • Absent or reduced sexual excitement or pleasure during most sexual activity
  • Absent or reduced sexual interest or arousal in response to internal or external cues, such as a partner's attempts to initiate sexual activity
  • Absent or reduced genital or nonessential sensations during sexual activity
  • Symptoms must be present for at least six months and cause significant distress to the individual. 

 

I feel like HSDD and FSAD in the DSM-5 list criteria that most asexuals would feel, and it's entirely possible that asexuals in therapy would report distress regarding their orientation (that they may not even be aware of yet). It just makes me sad to think that asexuals who aren't happy being ace/face distressing aphobia/relationship issues regarding a lack of sex and asexuals who don't know they're asexual yet would be put through therapy and medical treatment for something they can't change :( It seems like the magic question is "does this cause you any distress?", and if you say yes, it gives the therapist/psychiatrist the go-ahead to start trying to "fix" you.  Bottom line is: I don't think the current criteria is good enough to protect asexuals from what's basically conversion therapy, especially people who are questioning or unaware of their asexuality.

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Well at the same time though, there are sexual people who have suffered with these symptoms for years who do genuinely have  hypoactive sexual desire disorder. These criteria are there to help doctors identify these people and try to find a way to help them. There are a LOT more sexual people suffering with HSDD and other such desire issues than there are asexuals (asexuals only make up about one percent of the population, tops). It's actually wonderful that the medical industry is FINALLY taking issues like this seriously, because for decades (centuries actually) women especially had to suffer in silence.. it was even expected of them NOT to enjoy sex and considered a sin if they did for a while there. It wasn't until 2009 that the medical industry finally discovered what the clitoris actually looks like, that's how far behind the medical industry is when it comes to something as basic female sexual anatomy, let alone how to treat sexual issues women may be having T_T ..Thank God they're finally taking these sorts of sexual issues seriously and trying to find a way to help sufferers heal. Sure, there are some asexuals who it may reflect badly on, but what's needed is better understanding of asexuality... Not people taking issue with the very valid criteria that indicate someone may legitimately suffering from HSDD.

 

Also, the difference is that an asexual generally has no interest in changing their sexuality. Even unidentified asexuals often say things like ''well, I don't actually want to have sex.. it would be easier if I did want to, sure.. but I don't want it.. so...''. Sure they may experience distress as a RESULT of that (in romantic relationships, for example) but underlying that is an innate lack of desire to engage in partnered sexual activity. Whereas a sexual suffering HSDD will generally be extremely unhappy because they DO desire that partnered sexual connection and this is where their distress comes from. They WANT to have and enjoy sex, but everything in their body is just like 'nope'. The significant amounts of distress this causes them will often lead them to try to seek help from a doctor in the hopes of fixing the issues they are having, and this is how they end up with a diagnoses of HSDD. If the person doesn't actively want to change, then the doctor will generally just let them go about their own business. It would be unethical for a doctor to try to force them to seek treatment they don't want. So an asexual would be protected in that aspect, even if a doctor wasn't actually aware of asexuality.

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To Each Their Own

Very true! When I was young I was married.  My husband had a very hard time with me not wanting sex. That began FOUR YEARS of therapists, doctors, and medical visits. I was blamed for not being a "good wife." My husband was encouraged to "take it" from me. It was horrible! Was I distressed? Hell yes I was "distressed"!! 

 

To say that asexuality is no longer classified as a mental disorder is placating, to say the very least. Because first, you have to self-identify as an asexual BEFORE you see the shrink. This means that the shrink ISN'T going to help you figure that out. Seriously? How is that actually helping anyone????

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embracetheace

@FictoVore. Yeah I agree it's great that treatment for these disorders for sexuals exists! I'm not saying that this isn't a real thing people suffer from or that they should take it out of the DSM or anything, I'm just concerned that professionals who aren't aware of asexuality may push asexuals who aren't really comfortable with themselves into treatment. And by push I don't mean force, I mean creating more doubt in an asexual person who may already be doubting if their feelings are perfectly healthy or not, or an asexual who is already told by friends/family that they have some sort of medical or psychological issue. I feel like this sort of treatment would happen far more often than a professional making sure to rule out the possibility that the patient is asexual, and that's a little worrisome. The fact is, most therapists will think there's some underlying problem even if you just state you don't want sex, because frankly, it's just not that common and there are real, valid disorders like HSDD and FSAD. I already experienced this with my therapist, she immediately seemed concerned by me mentioning I wasn't interested.

 

What my main issue with the criteria is is that it's got a clear lack of any consideration for asexuals. The criteria are totally valid for people who have the disorder. However, they mention comorbitidy with other disorders or medical problems as things to consider when diagnosing this, but no mention of a sexual orientation that fits this pretty closely as well! So yes, the main issue does lie in awareness of asexuality. But I think it would be a good idea for it to be listed as factors that conflict with this diagnosis so that it's harder for asexuals to be misdiagnosed. 

 

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embracetheace
27 minutes ago, paperflames said:

Very true! When I was young I was married.  My husband had a very hard time with me not wanting sex. That began FOUR YEARS of therapists, doctors, and medical visits. I was blamed for not being a "good wife." My husband was encouraged to "take it" from me. It was horrible! Was I distressed? Hell yes I was "distressed"!! 

 

To say that asexuality is no longer classified as a mental disorder is placating, to say the very least. Because first, you have to self-identify as an asexual BEFORE you see the shrink. This means that the shrink ISN'T going to help you figure that out. Seriously? How is that actually helping anyone????

I'm so sorry you had to go through that, your story just goes to show how a lack of understanding and the expectation of sex is really harmful. Yeah it's pretty ridiculous that you have to have your sexual orientation figured out beforehand. It's not that easy for everyone! My former therapist grilled me for a few minutes about my orientation but I pulled through because I was already comfortable with my asexuality. If I had that conversation a few years ago I probably would've become worried that something was wrong with me because she acted like it was so abnormal.. 

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I have that, but no stress from it, it actually probably relieves stress, but I wouldn't know because I don't know anything else in that sense.

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To Each Their Own
4 minutes ago, embracetheace said:

I'm so sorry you had to go through that, your story just goes to show how a lack of understanding and the expectation of sex is really harmful. Yeah it's pretty ridiculous that you have to have your sexual orientation figured out beforehand. It's not that easy for everyone! My former therapist grilled me for a few minutes about my orientation but I pulled through because I was already comfortable with my asexuality. If I had that conversation a few years ago I probably would've become worried that something was wrong with me because she acted like it was so abnormal.. 

Thank you. This all happened to me thirty years ago when I was only 18. I didn't have the language available to me back then that I have now. Hell, back then spousal rape wasn't even a thing, such a thing was considered an impossibility. 

 

Things are are a little better, but even today I don't think many therapist respect asexuality as much as they should, as evidenced by your own experience.

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Maybe the people writing the DSM should amend that entry to say something about the symptoms of these disorders being different from what the individual patient usually experiences/has experienced in the past, so aces who have always had these "symptoms" don't get falsely diagnosed. Also, it'd be nice if therapists had bring up asexuality before diagnosing someone with these disorders. Of course, a therapist can't determine someone's sexuality, but they could say something like "Have you experienced sexual desire, etc in the past? If not, have you looked into asexuality? It's a real and valid sexual orientation, just like being gay or straight, and lots of asexual people have had experiences similar to what you're talking about."

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everywhere and nowhere

And I strongly doubt if sexual desire disorders "really exist". There is an almost infinite range of sexual response and I don't see a reason to classify lack of interest in sex as pathological. The world would be sad and boring without diversity.

People with supposed "HSDD" etc. aren't in fact protected enough against medical abuse - see the case of flibanserin. See cases of attempts at "conversion therapy" for asexuals, though we still have little data about how common it is. See casual, non-medical "attempts" at "conversion therapy" in form of bigoted comments such as "I'll make you love sex" or "You should try sex to relax". Asexual people shouldn't strongly distance themselves from people who are not interested in sex or not having sex for other reasons because there is in fact no clearly defined acephobia - there is much social hostility towards people who don't have sex, but intolerant people don't study definitions of asexuality and don't distinguish asexuals, celibate people and supposed "HSDD" patients! They believe that sex is the Allgreatest Pleasure in the World and that everybody Must love it, and they are intolerant because they can't accept the idea that other people don't have to share their views.

Lack of interest in sex is not as simple and definitely not as neurological as filbanserin producers are trying to portray it. (I would say that, on a social scale, it's 0,1% neurology, 40% asexuality or naturally low libido and 59,9% interpersonal problems. These number don't have to be accurate, but they show how important are, in my opinion, neurological reasons endorsed by flibanserin producers in comparison to other, real reasons.) Of course, lack of interest in sex can be very problematic for people who are in a relatinship. Yet I believe that for many supposed "HSDD" patients the best solution would be to consider if they aren't perhaps asexual. Saying "I'm asexual" can be very liberating when compared to "I don't desire sex and I just don't know anymore what to do about it".

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Telecaster68

Surely any decent therapist is going to deal with the DSM criteria by drawing out whether the patient is stressed by not wanting sex (which would be HSDD), or stressed by issues it may cause, for instance in relationships (which would point to asexuality). It's a delicate distinction, but sorting out that stuff out is what they're paid for. 

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To Each Their Own
1 hour ago, Telecaster68 said:

Surely any decent therapist is going to deal with the DSM criteria by drawing out whether the patient is stressed by not wanting sex (which would be HSDD), or stressed by issues it may cause, for instance in relationships (which would point to asexuality). It's a delicate distinction, but sorting out that stuff out is what they're paid for. 

I think you'd be underestimating how lazy a lot of therapists can be. 

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On 8/22/2017 at 8:38 PM, FictoVore. said:

Well at the same time though, there are sexual people who have suffered with these symptoms for years who do genuinely have  hypoactive sexual desire disorder. These criteria are there to help doctors identify these people and try to find a way to help them. There are a LOT more sexual people suffering with HSDD and other such desire issues than there are asexuals (asexuals only make up about one percent of the population, tops). It's actually wonderful that the medical industry is FINALLY taking issues like this seriously, because for decades (centuries actually) women especially had to suffer in silence.. it was even expected of them NOT to enjoy sex and considered a sin if they did for a while there. It wasn't until 2009 that the medical industry finally discovered what the clitoris actually looks like, that's how far behind the medical industry is when it comes to something as basic female sexual anatomy, let alone how to treat sexual issues women may be having T_T ..Thank God they're finally taking these sorts of sexual issues seriously and trying to find a way to help sufferers heal. Sure, there are some asexuals who it may reflect badly on, but what's needed is better understanding of asexuality... Not people taking issue with the very valid criteria that indicate someone may legitimately suffering from HSDD.

 

Also, the difference is that an asexual generally has no interest in changing their sexuality. Even unidentified asexuals often say things like ''well, I don't actually want to have sex.. it would be easier if I did want to, sure.. but I don't want it.. so...''. Sure they may experience distress as a RESULT of that (in romantic relationships, for example) but underlying that is an innate lack of desire to engage in partnered sexual activity. Whereas a sexual suffering HSDD will generally be extremely unhappy because they DO desire that partnered sexual connection and this is where their distress comes from. They WANT to have and enjoy sex, but everything in their body is just like 'nope'. The significant amounts of distress this causes them will often lead them to try to seek help from a doctor in the hopes of fixing the issues they are having, and this is how they end up with a diagnoses of HSDD. If the person doesn't actively want to change, then the doctor will generally just let them go about their own business. It would be unethical for a doctor to try to force them to seek treatment they don't want. So an asexual would be protected in that aspect, even if a doctor wasn't actually aware of asexuality.

That's a possibility, but I think it's also quite common for people to try to make their partners into better sexual partners through this diagnoses. In particular husbands who might want more sex with their wives might want them to be, "fixed" whether they are asexual or just want less sex than their husbands. 

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To be honest, I'm convinced the HSDD is literally asexuality described by the modern consensus. There are sexual people with a low libido, but most, if not all, of them usually have other mental illnesses, such as depression, that justify their decrease in sexual desire and thus can't have HSDD by definition.

 

That's it, the rest of the people diagnosed with HSDD are literally asexuals alienated by their society, and you only have to read the entire criteria to notice that. 

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1 hour ago, m4rble said:

That's a possibility, but I think it's also quite common for people to try to make their partners into better sexual partners through this diagnoses. In particular husbands who might want more sex with their wives might want them to be, "fixed" whether they are asexual or just want less sex than their husbands. 

I honestly don't think that happens much, I've never heard of it. And it's actually really difficult to treat in women. They don't have a magic pill for it or anything or I would have taken   it by now lol. And the woman herself has to convince they doc of why she wants treatment, the doc wont do anything just because the husband wants his wife to desire sex more.

 

49 minutes ago, loomborn said:

To be honest, I'm convinced the HSDD is literally asexuality described by the modern consensus. There are sexual people with a low libido, but most, if not all, of them usually have other mental illnesses, such as depression, that justify their decrease in sexual desire and thus can't have HSDD by definition.

 

That's it, the rest of the people diagnosed with HSDD are literally asexuals alienated by their society, and you only have to read the entire criteria to notice that. 

Urgh just no. 'regular' non-mentally ill sexual people who have this suffer a lot from it. I used to be in support group for women with sexual issues before I discovered AVEN and these women still WISHED they could physically desire sex because they adore having that connection and pleasure with other people, but this can't be treated as easily as libido issues can (and even those can be really hard to fix). HSDD is an awful, destructive issue that sexual people do actually get that can destroy their relationships and cause them a lot of pain and suffering, and as they've only been trying to find treatments in recent decades (for women especially) they actually have no idea how to fix it yet. Their treatments work sometimes, but a lot of the women I've met with it haven't been cured of it despite seeking treatment.

 

A sexual person still has an innate desire to connect sexually with others under certain circumstances, which is why often they become so upset and suffer so much if they get sexual disorders. Sometimes they don't care at all, but a lot of the people I've met with these disorders really, really care. Also, they've often been able to desire and enjoy sex 'normally' previously, it's often not something that persisted since their teens like asexuality.

 

Asexuals are perfectly happy that they don't want sex. Yes many do wish they were 'normal' etc, but they're not sitting there aching inwardly for sex wishing they could find a way to enjoy it again like sexuals with HSDD do. And if an ace DOES feel that way (actively waiting to seek treatment in the hopes they can find a way to desire and enjoy sex) they're possibly a sexual person who has had HSDD all along. If you tell a doctor that you don't care that you don't want sex though, you'd rather stay the way you are, they won't force treatment on you. They only try to treat people who this is a legitimate issue for, and for sexual people who have HSDD it often really, really is an issue.

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4 hours ago, Telecaster68 said:

Surely any decent therapist is going to deal with the DSM criteria by drawing out whether the patient is stressed by not wanting sex (which would be HSDD), or stressed by issues it may cause, for instance in relationships (which would point to asexuality). It's a delicate distinction, but sorting out that stuff out is what they're paid for. 

 

3 hours ago, Telecaster68 said:

Maybe. My experience with my therapist was very positive. 

Tele is right. For the most part they are paid to deal with this professionally and assess the distress this is causing the person, look to different possibilities as to the cause etc.

 

3 hours ago, paperflames said:

I think you'd be underestimating how lazy a lot of therapists can be. 

And if they're that lazy they probably aren't going to come up with a complicated diagnosis like HSDD. It's really difficult (and often impossible) to treat. 

 

The amount of people who actually DO have this issue will be far greater than the amount of asexuals who end up getting diagnosed with it regardless. What's needed is greater visibility and (actual) education efforts about asexuality. If things continue as they are though (with this ongoing insistence that asexuals can love sex to the extent of actively desiring it) then doctors will become even more convinced that aces who come to them are actually sexuals who have HSDD. ...The way we are going, there isn't any such thing as someone who legitimately just doesn't want sex and is fine with that. Which certainly doesn't help when trying to spread understanding and acceptance of asexuality. But yeah, docs need to be more aware of asexuality, and greater visibility is needed so that individuals have the chance to discover it and consider whether or not they may be ace before seeking treatment. The criteria for the HSDD itself are spot on though for most sexuals who have it.

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NoLongerActive1234

I definitely hope that there will be more visibility and education about asexuality so that therapists know it is a possibility and can help guide a person better. If not even knowing of it then considering it to be a diagnosed condition would be easy to default to. A therapist is not necessarily up to date or without preconceived notions because of their profession. The more knowledge the better.  

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everywhere and nowhere

And what if some people want the connection that sex provides just because they were taught that sex is the privileged way of connecting with a partner?

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2 hours ago, FictoVore. said:

I honestly don't think that happens much, I've never heard of it. And it's actually really difficult to treat in women. They don't have a magic pill for it or anything or I would have taken   it by now lol. And the woman herself has to convince they doc of why she wants treatment, the doc wont do anything just because the husband wants his wife to desire sex more.

Maybe it doesn't happen as much with this specific diagnoses, but people definitely have encouraged their partners to get treatment if they think they should desire sex more.

For example: 

 

On 8/22/2017 at 8:44 PM, paperflames said:

Very true! When I was young I was married.  My husband had a very hard time with me not wanting sex. That began FOUR YEARS of therapists, doctors, and medical visits. I was blamed for not being a "good wife." My husband was encouraged to "take it" from me. It was horrible! Was I distressed? Hell yes I was "distressed"!! 

 

To say that asexuality is no longer classified as a mental disorder is placating, to say the very least. Because first, you have to self-identify as an asexual BEFORE you see the shrink. This means that the shrink ISN'T going to help you figure that out. Seriously? How is that actually helping anyone????

 

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Telecaster68

That doesn't say her husband encouraged her. It implies they went together ie relationship counselling, and that's entirely appropriate when there's a problem in the relationship. 

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20 hours ago, FictoVore. said:

The criteria for the HSDD itself are spot on though for most sexuals who have it.

HSDD seems like an attempt, to me, to pathologize something that doesn't comport to the sexual expectations of so-called "professionals."

 

Basing it on someone's "distress" doesn't make it a legitimate definition. No one has the right to tell a patient his/her sexual desire is inadequate. There is nothing unhealthy with having no desire at all.

 

 

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2 hours ago, asexjoe said:

HSDD seems like an attempt, to me, to pathologize something that doesn't comport to the sexual expectations of so-called "professionals."

 

Basing it on someone's "distress" doesn't make it a legitimate definition. No one has the right to tell a patient his/her sexual desire is inadequate. There is nothing unhealthy with having no desire at all.

 

 

Like I said, I've spent a lot of time with people who have it. Doctors don't just randomly ask you 'how's your sex life?' then judge whether or not they think it's adequate. Sufferers go to the doctor because they want help, the doctor assesses what the issue may be, and if the person meets the HSDD criteria they are diagnosed with that and treatment options for that particular disorder are discussed. If someone isn't in severe distress as a result of this and if it isn't negatively impacting their life, then they don't actually meet the criteria for the disorder. But the people who experience significant amounts of distress (and even become suicidal as a result of it) are generally the ones who end up at the doctor's trying to seek help for it. If the doctor just said "oh you don't have a problem no matter how much you're suffering, everyone has different desire levels so it's not my place to judge what's normal and what isn't'' that would just be ridiculous because they person is in significant distress because they are having desire issues. It's already established that it's an issue for the patient so the doctor will try to find treatments options that could help them based on the patients distress etc and what their symptoms are. The criteria for HSDD are there to help identify treatment options (because someone diagnosed with a different sexual disorder like vestibulodynia will need a completely different kind of treatment). 

 

Having no desire at all is only unhealthy if the person is experiencing significant distress as a result of that and is seeking help to try to get their desire back, that's the whole point of HSDD. If the person isn't in distress then it's not HSDD. That is clearly stated in the opening post of this thread: "Symptoms must be present for at least six months and cause significant distress to the individual."

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12 minutes ago, FictoVore. said:

Like I said, I've spent a lot of time with people who have it. Doctors don't just randomly ask you 'how's your sex life?' then judge whether or not they think it's adequate. Sufferers go to the doctor because they want help, the doctor assesses what the issue may be, and if the person meets the HSDD criteria they are diagnosed with that and treatment options for that particular disorder are discussed. If someone isn't in severe distress as a result of this and if it isn't negatively impacting their life, then they don't actually meet the criteria for the disorder. But the people who experience significant amounts of distress (and even become suicidal as a result of it) are generally the ones who end up at the doctor's trying to seek help for it. If the doctor just said "oh you don't have a problem no matter how much you're suffering, everyone has different desire levels so it's not my place to judge what's normal and what isn't'' that would just be ridiculous because they person is in significant distress because they are having desire issues. It's already established that it's an issue for the patient so the doctor will try to find treatments options that could help them based on the patients distress etc and what their symptoms are. The criteria for HSDD are there to help identify treatment options (because someone diagnosed with a different sexual disorder like vestibulodynia will need a completely different kind of treatment). 

 

Having no desire at all is only unhealthy if the person is experiencing significant distress as a result of that and is seeking help to try to get their desire back, that's the whole point of HSDD. If the person isn't in distress then it's not HSDD. That is clearly stated in the opening post of this thread: "Symptoms must be present for at least six months and cause significant distress to the individual."

No doctor or nurse ever asked me about my sex life. There's not even a checkbox for "reduced libido" on a patient intake form. I just get the feeling it's not considered a medical issue.

 

If the distress over "desire" is psychological, why isn't it a psych problem? What, exactly, requires treatment?

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The problem with the "significant distress" criteria is that whether or not a person experiences significant distress due to low sexual desire often depends on whether or not they are in a relationship with another sexual person. If you're a sexual person with HSDD but you don't have any sexual relationship prospects, after all, you're probably a lot less likely to be distressed by your low sexual desire. Therefore, this criteria doesn't always serve so well to distinguish between people with HSDD and people with asexuality, especially with cases of lifelong HSDD or people who have become asexual later in life. That is why researchers are starting to emphasize the experience of sexual attraction as the distinguishing feature. For example, here's a quote from a 2017 article discussing asexuality and the diagnostic criteria of HSDD:
 

“We do regret, however, that DSM-5 refers to self-identification as asexual as the criterion to differentiate between asexuality and a sexual desire disorder. After all, the diagnostic criteria of FSIAD/MHSDD may well apply to a number of asexual persons. Also, when an asexual individual does not (yet) self-identify as such, and/or experiences distress, a diagnosis of FSIAD/MHSDD could be made. Brotto and Yule (2016) advise further research to explore whether asexual individuals and individuals with lifelong sexual desire disorders are, in fact, distinct groups. We believe that research to unravel that distinction should focus on the experience of sexual attraction: Have individuals with lifelong sexual desire disorders ever felt sexually attracted toward another person? If so, how do they distinguish between a feeling of sexual attraction and an experience of sexual desire? How do people who have experienced sexual attraction at some point in their life, but no longer do (late onset asexuality) describe and understand the evolution in their (dissolving) sexual attraction? Clearly, because all these questions refer to the subjective experience and meaning-making of people, these intriguing research questions need to be studied with a qualitative methodology (e.g., Gupta, 2017b; Van Houdenhove, Gijs, T’Sjoen, & Enzlin, 2015b).”

 

(Ellen Van Houdenhove, Paul Enzlin, Luk Gijs, A Positive Approach Toward Asexuality: Some First Steps, But Still a Long Way to Go, Archives of Sexual Behavior, April 2017, Volume 46, Issue 3, pp 647–651)

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48 minutes ago, Pramana said:

The problem with the "significant distress" criteria is that whether or not a person experiences significant distress due to low sexual desire often depends on whether or not they are in a relationship with another sexual person. If you're a sexual person with HSDD but you don't have any sexual relationship prospects, after all, you're probably a lot less likely to be distressed by your low sexual desire. 

Eeer... It doesn't really work that way. All the people in the group I was in, whether single or in a relationship, were in a lot of distress over their condition. You don't just magically stop wanting sex because you're single.. it doesn't work that way for many sexual people. Some of the single women were actually a lot worse off because they felt they'd never be able to be loved again or enjoy a loving relationship due to their HSDD. Not being in a relationship doesn't just magically make those issues stop and if you're single and romantic (meaning there's a high chance you desire a relationship) and if you're sexual (meaning there is a high chance you view sexual pleasure as an extremely important aspect of the intimacy between you and your future partner) then it's literally hell on Earth knowing your own body and mind is betraying you like that and preventing you from having the loving sexual relationships you desire.

 

The amount of incorrect assumptions by some aces in this thread about how sexuals feel is actually quite frustrating.

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6 minutes ago, FictoVore. said:

The amount of incorrect assumptions about  how sexuals feel going on by aces in this thread is actually quite frustrating.

It is not an assumption; I based the above on reported observations of HSDD researchers. Your claims would be more convincing if you didn't rely solely on anecdotal evidence.
 

“Researchers acknowledge that the vast majority of people diagnosed with HSDD are heterosexual women in romantic partnerships with men who want more sex from them. Researchers also concede that whether women consider their own sexuality to be "dysfunctional" is strongly related to social expectations and is largely unrelated to women's everyday enjoyment of sex or their own sexuality."

 

(CJ DeLuzio Chasin, Reconsidering Asexuality and Its Radical Potential, Feminist Studies, January 2013, Volume 39, Issue 2, pages 405-426)

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37 minutes ago, Pramana said:

It is not an assumption; I based the above on reported observations of HSDD researchers. Your claims would be more convincing if you didn't rely solely on anecdotal evidence.
 

“Researchers acknowledge that the vast majority of people diagnosed with HSDD are heterosexual women in romantic partnerships with men who want more sex from them. Researchers also concede that whether women consider their own sexuality to be "dysfunctional" is strongly related to social expectations and is largely unrelated to women's everyday enjoyment of sex or their own sexuality."

 

(CJ DeLuzio Chasin, Reconsidering Asexuality and Its Radical Potential, Feminist Studies, January 2013, Volume 39, Issue 2, pages 405-426)

Yet another asexual relying on 'research papers' over actual experience. It doesn't matter what real people experience as long as a paper says differently, the paper is right.

 

How about we play it like this Pramana?

 

No no you're right. Single sexual women are absolutely fine being single and sexless forever. They couldn't care less about sex and romantic love if they don't already have a man in their life that they're trying to please sexually.. because that's literally all that sexual women live for; the pleasure of their romantic partners. They're actually happier when they're single because they don't have to worry about having to please the dick, they can just sit around happily with their cats and lie to members of HSDD support groups about how miserable they are without sex. Of course you're talking to someone who does actually have a sexual disorder that prevents me from experiencing pleasure from genital stimulation by another, but meh, what would I know about how single sexual women with sexual disorders feel.

 

Happy now?

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Of course, back when Freud was popular, it was 100% true that clitoral orgasms were inferior, and vaginal orgasms could only be had by 'mature women'. He wrote papers about it, so it had to be true. It was only in 2009 that it was discovered the clitoris extends around the vaginal opening so orgasms experienced there generally actually are clitoral. Oh and surprisingly its also now widely accepted that a woman who can only orgasm in her clitoral glans isn't actually inferior to a woman who can orgasm vaginally, weird right??. So what happened, did females genitals' change?? Or was Freud just wrong? ...*gasp*

 

It just so happens that, no matter how revered someone is, they can be wrong.. especially when it comes to female sexual desire and even female sexual anatomy. This has been proven time and time again throughout the last few centuries. Many doctors still deny the existence of female ejaculation because it's so misunderstood they think it's just pee squirting out *shakes my head*

 

But no, the researchers are still always right, no matter how many times they've been proven wrong in the past. Personal experience will never, ever be correct in the face of... Papers.

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