Low sexual desire in women partnered with men is typically presumed to be a problem—one that exists in women and encourages a research agenda on causation and treatment targeting women. In this paper, we present a distinct way forward for research on low sexual desire in women partnered with men that attends to a more structural explanation: heteronormativity. A heteronormative worldview assumes that relationships and structures are heterosexual, gender (usually conflated with sex) is binary and complementary, and gender roles fit within narrow bounds including nurturant labor for women. We propose the heteronormativity theory of low sexual desire in women partnered with men, arguing that heteronormative gender inequities are contributing factors. We outline four hypotheses and their predictions related to: inequitable divisions of household labor, blurring of partner and mother roles, objectification of women, and gender norms surrounding sexual initiation. We discuss some mechanisms—social, physiological, and otherwise—for the heteronormativity theory, especially related to stress, objectification, and nurturance. We close by noting some limitations of our paper and the ways that the heteronormativity theory of low sexual desire in women partnered with men provides a rigorous, generative, and empirical way forward....Article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8382213/
Andrea Martin, DNP, CRNP, WHNP
Andrea is a board-certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, which enables her to offer reproductive and sexual health care to all genders. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Rutgers University as well as a bachelor’s in Nursing Science from William Paterson University. She received her master’s degree in Nursing Science from Rutgers University, and a doctorate degree in Nursing Science from Misericordia University. Her nursing experience includes inpatient medical-surgical and telemetry care, and nurse practitioner expertise has encompassed Family Planning, Gynecology, Urogynecology, and Sexual Medicine. She is an active member of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health and currently works at Virtua Sexual Wellness & Pelvic Health in Southern New Jersey. In her free time she enjoys caring for her pets as well as cross-stitching nerdy medical humor designs. You can find her on Instagram @andrea.sexplains.it.all.
To Follow US check out:
Heather- www.theshowcenter.com
Jackie- https://www.mymonarchhealthco.com
The podcast- @justaskhive
Heather- @showcenterdrq
Jackie- @jackiep_gynnp
Tara @thesexualhealthpharmacist
The Midlife and Menopause seminar series is live and available at:
the-hive8.teachable.com