Premium
Cultural Values and the Therapeutic Definition of Sexual Function and Dysfunction
Author(s) -
LoPiccolo Joseph,
Heiman Julia
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1977.tb02011.x
Subject(s) - human sexuality , context (archaeology) , psychology , function (biology) , psychotherapist , sexual behavior , sex therapy , sexual function , work (physics) , sexual dysfunction , social psychology , clinical psychology , psychoanalysis , gender studies , sociology , history , mechanical engineering , archaeology , evolutionary biology , biology , engineering
This paper reviews the role of cultural attitudes toward sexuality in shaping sex researchers' and sex therapists' views of “normal” sexual behavior. The theoretical systems and therapeutic procedures of the pioneer sex researchers Havelock Ellis and R. von Krafft‐Ebing are reviewed, as is the work of Freud. Kinsey's work, and the more recent work of Masters and Johnson, are discussed in the context of how their views both reflected and also challenged cultural assumptions about sexuality. The role of mass media in shaping both popular and therapeutic views of male/female roles and sexual function is discussed, and the cultural biases of the current generation of sex therapists are examined.