media essay 5-6 pages due 12 hours

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Factors shaping women’s sexual satisfaction: a comparison of medical and social models

Cristalle Pronier and Elizabeth Monk-Turner*

Old Dominion University, Sociology & Criminal Justice (CJ), Norfolk, VA 23529, USA

(Received 12 July 2012; final version received 17 October 2012)

Since the introduction of Viagra in 1998, pharmaceutical giants have been scrambling to develop a similar drug to treat ‘sexual dysfunction’ in women. In 1999, female sexual dysfunction (FSD), an umbrella term for a variety of different sexual ‘dysfunctions’, became an official disorder. FSD is one example of the medicalization of female sexuality whereby problems are defined, conceptualized, and solved in medical terms while ignoring the social, cultural, and psychological factors that shape women’s sexual health. Based on a sample of 311 sexually active women, this work explores the influence of both social factors and sexual dysfunction on sexual satisfaction. Results show that social factors explain more of the variation in sexual satisfaction than sexual dysfunction alone.

Keywords: sexual satisfaction; sexual dysfunction; social factors; stress; women’s health

Introduction

Medicalization is a process that refers to the application of a medical perspective to

hitherto non-medical behaviors and phenomena. It includes medical definitions, medical

terminology, and medical solutions to previously non-medical issues (Conrad and

Scheider 1980, Conrad 1992, 2007). Non-medical issues become medical problems

through the interactions of scientific technology, scientism, advertising, and the

patient/medical community. The conditions are then treated through medical solutions

such as pharmacology. Contemporary examples of the transformation of everyday

experiences into medical problems include shyness to ‘generalized anxiety disorder’

(GAD), rambunctious children into those that suffer from ‘attention deficit hyperactivity

disorder’ (ADHD), and unpleasant menstrual symptoms as ‘premenstrual dysmorphic

disorder’ (PMDD) (Ridberg 2006, Conrad 2007). Conrad (2007) has noted that women

have been disproportionally medicalized, citing examples such as depression,

menstruation, and, now, female sexual function. All of these ‘disorders’ can be diagnosed

using the criteria set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,

Fourth Edition (DSM-IV-TR) (American Psychiatric Association 2000) and can be treated

with pharmaceuticals. In the current work, we explore how well women’s sexual

dysfunction, compared to social desire variables, explains sexual satisfaction. If social

variables significantly shape variation in reported sexual satisfaction, pharmaceuticals

would be of limited value.

q 2013 Taylor & Francis

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Journal of Gender Studies, 2014

Vol. 23, No. 1, 69–80, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2012.752347

Defining female sexual dysfunction

In 1998, the Consensus Conference on female sexual function (by the Sexual Function

Health Council of the American Foundation for Urological Disease) helped solidify the

official definitions of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) (Tiefer 2006). Sexual dysfunction

is defined by the DSM-IV-TR as ‘ . . . a disturbance in the process that characterize the

sexual response cycle or by pain associated with sexual intercourse’ (American

Psychiatric Association 2000, p. 535). FSD is an umbrella term that includes sexual issues

with desire (hypoactive sexual desire disorder, HSDD), arousal (female sexual arousal

disorder, FSAD), orgasm (female orgasmic disorder, FOD), and pain disorders

(dyspareunia) (American Psychiatric Association 2000).

Critiques of medicalization

Academics critical of the medicalized approach to female sexuality have argued that pills

will not be able to address the core issues of women’s sexual satisfaction (McHugh 2006).

Tiefer (2002) has argued that the biological reductionism promoted by the medical model

has substantial detrimental effects on women. Disadvantages include: overemphasizing

the importance of genital response while ignoring social and cultural issues that affect

women, the dangerous promotion of pharmaceutical answers as a panacea to women’s

sexual issues, and the increase in sexual insecurity by ‘disordering’ common sexual

difficulties (Fishman and Mamo 2002, Tiefer 2002, Moynihan 2003b, Hartley 2006, Canner

2008). Many researchers have argued that disease-mongering, or the pathologizing of

common experiences by convincing healthy people that they are ‘disordered’ or ‘diseased’,

allows the pharmaceutical industry to define, promote, and treat disorders and diseases to

their financial advantage (Payer 1992, Moynihan 2005, Dyer 2006, Tiefer 2008).

Sexual functioning has historically been defined in medical terms focused on the

physiological aspects of body response. Masters and Johnson (1966) contributed to

the development of medical treatments for female sexual dysfunctions through the

identification of four phases of the sexual response cycle: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and

resolution. These concepts are also reflected in the DSM-IV-TR which defines the four

phases of the sexual response cycle as: desire, excitement, orgasm, and resolution

(American Psychiatric Association 2000).

Female sexual functioning index

Researchers have developed a standardized measurement that reflects the diagnostic

criteria for FSD as outlined by the DSM-IV-TR. The Female Sexual Functioning Index

(FSFI) is a 19-item self-report measurement that is comprised of Likert scale response

options (Rosen et al. 2000). The FSFI covers the frequency and/or level of satisfaction of:

desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, and pain items – all physiological aspects of the

sexual response cycle. Although the FSFI cannot officially diagnose FSD, or any of its

subtypes, it is an accepted and widely used instrument in the study of female sexual

function.

Operationalizing sexual satisfaction and the sexual satisfaction scale

Measuring and operationalizing female sexual satisfaction has proved to be challenging.

Dundon and Rellini (2010) highlight the on-going difficulty in conceptualizing female

satisfaction, noting that there is a vast array of predictors. Sexual satisfaction is even more

70 C. Pronier and E. Monk-Turner

complex than the physiological underpinnings of sexual functioning because it includes

physical, emotional, psychological, and relational variables. To date, clinical trials have

often used orgasm as a simple quantitative way to measure sexual satisfaction in women

(Canner 2008). This is problematic as Nicolson and Burr (2003) argue that orgasm is

extremely limiting in understanding sexual satisfaction among heterosexual women.

Further, Galinsky (2009) argues that the ability to communicate and understand another

person’s emotions as well as self-esteem and autonomy are better measures of sexual

health and satisfaction than orgasm.

Recently, a scale to address the complexity of female sexual satisfaction has been

developed. The Sexual Satisfaction Scale – Women’s version (SSS-W) is a 30-item self-

report instrument that has been tested for reliability, both internal and test-retest, and

validity (Meston and Trapnell 2005). This scale measures satisfaction based on a five-

factor model with subscales covering contentment, communication, compatibility,

relational concern, and personal concern.

Besides dysfunction, predictors of female sexual satisfaction focus on age, race,

relationship satisfaction, general well-being, and lifestyle factors. Relationship

satisfaction and relational variables such as emotional closeness have been shown to be

significantly related to sexual satisfaction in women (Philippsohn and Hartmann 2009).

Philippsohn and Hartmann found, in a sample of German women, that sexual satisfaction

was ‘ . . . intricately and inextricably interwoven with relationship factors’ (2009, p. 1008).

Likewise, Carpenter et al. (2009) found that women in midlife associated emotional

closeness more with sexual practices than with relational factors. Witting et al. (2008)

concluded that overall relationship satisfaction was positively associated with sexual

satisfaction and inversely related to the presence of sexual functioning problems. The

subjective experience of emotional closeness before, during, and after sexual activities is

also positively related to sexual satisfaction (Bancroft et al. 2003, McHugh 2006).

Notably, extant work in sexuality focuses on Caucasians (Dobkin et al. 2006, Huang

et al. 2009). Huang et al. (2009) purposefully oversampled minority respondents to

explore possible differences and argued that sexual satisfaction did vary according to race

and ethnicity independent of other variables. Age has varying effects on sexual satisfaction

in women (Davison et al. 2009).

Lifestyle factors and sexual satisfaction

Time restraints have been identified as a primary issue in shaping sexual satisfaction.

A study of 519 French women, aged 35 years and older, found that lack of sexual desire

was directly related to time restraints as experienced by the individual woman (Colson

et al. 2006). Qualitative research conducted by McHugh (2006), on a college-aged

population, also identified time as a crucial factor in sexual satisfaction. Additionally,

McHugh (2006) identified seven themes in her content analysis of 2000 þ sexuality

journals in response to the question, ‘What do women want?’ These themes are:

consensual sex, mutually satisfying sex, sexual agency, relationships, self love, time and

rest, and sexual health and liberation (emphasis ours).

McHugh (2006) conceptualized ‘self love’ as a love of one’s own body, finding that

body image and self-esteem were integral factors in shaping young women’s sexual

selves. Holt and Kogan (2001) found that college women who reported dissatisfaction

with their sexual relationships were also more likely than others to be dissatisfied with

their body image. Likewise, Pujols et al. (2010) link body image and sexual satisfaction.

How media shape body image concerns has been the focus of much research. In a meta-

Journal of Gender Studies 71

analysis of past work, Grabe et al. (2008) write that the mass media ideal of female

‘thinness’ shapes body image disturbances. Media images of ideal bodies, and ideal body

parts (Holt and Kogan 2001), shape self-esteem which in turn is associated with sexual

satisfaction (McHugh 2006).

The role pornography plays in women’s sexual pleasure has received some research

attention. Heider and Harp (2002) argue that pornography objectifies women and depicts

them as willing to engage in any sexual act. Likewise, Gorman et al. (2010), utilizing free

internet pornography sites, found that women were typically depicted in such media as

submissive and enjoying this role in sexual activity. Notably, Dines and Jensen (1998)

maintain that pornography is primarily produced and used by men for male pleasure. In her

work, Attwood (2005, 2006, 2012) explores the sexualization of culture focusing on how

media, via images, sex products, and fashion, shape how we perceive body pleasure and

sexuality. The proliferation of pornography and how this shapes self-esteem, perceived

sexual roles, and sexual satisfaction merits further work.

Past work on exploring the relationship between survivors of childhood sexual abuse

(CSA) and adult sexual satisfaction shows mixed results. For example, Rellini and Meston

(2007) reported little difference in sexual functioning between survivors of childhood

sexual abuse compared to others. Likewise, Valentine and Feinauer (1993) write that

female survivors of sexual abuse may become sexually resilient as adults. On the other

hand, Wyatt et al. (1992) and Finkelhor and Hotaling (1989) found that adult survivors of

sexual abuse are less likely to report satisfaction in their sexual relationships. We posit that

social factors are important in shaping women’s reported sexual satisfaction; however, the

medical model generally fails to take these into account.

Feminism and the new view campaign

In 1999, in response to the resurgence of the medicalization of female sexuality, Tiefer

formed an activist group titled the New View Campaign (Tiefer 2001a, Moynihan 2003a).

Launched in 2000, the New View Campaign provides an alternative to the medical model

of female sexuality and challenges the assumptions of this approach. The New View

Campaign highlights the influence of social factors in relation to women’s sexuality.

Instead of focusing on a physiological etiology of female sexual dysfunction, the New

View Campaign argues that sexuality should be understood based on experiences of

women themselves (McHugh 2006). The New View Campaign offers an alternative sexual

problem classification system for women to that of the medical and pharmaceutical

industries. This understanding focuses on sexual desire and includes measures of non-

consensual sex, relationship intimacy, sexual agency (how often one’s feelings of sexual

desire and pleasure were acknowledged), emotional closeness, body love, stress (which

may be caused by family/work responsibilities resulting in not enough time or rest to take

care of self needs), and sexual liberation (or knowledge about one’s own sexuality). The

current work posits that sexual satisfaction is primarily shaped by sexual desire (as

informed by the New View Campaign). In other words, sexual dysfunction may play a part

in shaping sexual satisfaction; however, sexual desire will be critical in shaping self-

reported sexual satisfaction among sexually active heterosexual women.

Method

The sample consists of female respondents from a large urban university who had access to

the online announcement board and a university email address during the spring of 2010.

72 C. Pronier and E. Monk-Turner

Respondents included students, faculty, and other members of the university community.

Thus, our sample represents a diverse university population rather than a student sample,

which allows us to control for the possible effects of education and age. It has been noted

by previous researchers who have used the announcement page to recruit survey

participants that females are much more likely than males to participate in online surveys

for educational purposes, which provided a strong reason to use this recruitment method.

The participant’s information remains anonymous and cannot be traced back to them. Due

to the length of the survey (20 minutes) a small incentive for participation was offered

(a drawing for a gift card). The survey was composed in Survey Monkey (an online survey

development tool and data collection manager).

The dependent variable is sexual satisfaction, which was operationalized as the

respondents’ composite Sexual Satisfaction Scale-Women’s version (SSS-W) score. In

order for respondents to be eligible to complete the two standardized survey measurements

(SSS-W and FSFI, both validated instruments), they needed to be recently sexually active.

In order to determine their sexual activity the definition outlined in the FSFI was provided

to adhere to the instrument’s standardization. This definition of sexual activity included

caressing, foreplay, masturbation, and/or vaginal intercourse. Respondents were asked if

they had participated in any of these activities within the past four weeks. When asked

about their recent sexual activity, 81% of respondents were sexually active.

The (SSS-W) is a 30-item self-report measurement that was used to measure sexual

satisfaction (Meston and Trapnell 2005). The scale includes subscales covering the

following: contentment, communication, compatibility, relational concern, and personal

concern. Sexual function was measured using the FSFI, a 19-item questionnaire that

utilizes a five-point Likert scale where higher scores indicate higher sexual functioning.

The FSFI covers the frequency and/or degree of satisfaction of: desire, arousal,

lubrication, orgasm, and pain items (Rosen et al. 2000). Finally, female desire was

measured with seven overarching themes that were developed from a previous qualitative

analysis: consensual sex, intimacy (mutually satisfying sex), sexual agency, relationships,

self love, stress (time and rest), and sexual health/liberation (McHugh 2006).

Respondents were asked if they had engaged in non-consensual sex within the past

four weeks (yes ¼ 1; no ¼ 0). Non-consensual sex was defined as being forced, pressured,

or coerced into unwanted sexual activity. Intimacy was a Likert-scaled variable where

respondents were asked how satisfied they were with the quality of sexual interactions

during the relationship (including intimacy and affection) (coded as 1 ¼ very satisfied, to

6 ¼ very dissatisfied). Sexual agency measured whether sexual desire and pleasure were

acknowledged within the relationship (coded as 1 ¼ all of the time, to 5 ¼ not at all).

Emotional closeness was captured by asking how often one experienced satisfying

emotional closeness during and after sexual activities (coded as 1 ¼ all the time, to

5 ¼ not at all). Respondents were asked this statement to capture self/body love: ‘I love my

body’ (coded as 1 ¼ strongly agree, to 6 ¼ strongly disagree). Stress was operationalized

by asking respondents how often stress negatively affected their relationship (stress could

be caused by responsibilities resulting in not enough time to take care of self) (coded

1 ¼ all the time, to 5 ¼ not at all). Sexual knowledge/liberation was captured by asking

respondents about knowledge of their own sexuality (including self-awareness of sexual

orientation, sexual rights, sexual feelings/desires, and sexual/reproductive health) (coded

as 1 ¼ strongly agree, to 6 ¼ strongly disagree).

Age is a continuous variable measured in actual years. Race is a dummy variable and

was coded as white (1) compared to others (0). Education was measured as some high

school, high school graduation, trade school, some college, bachelor’s degree, and

Journal of Gender Studies 73

graduate degree. This was re-coded as a dummy variable where (1) included those with at

least some college compared to others (0). Respondents were asked how important

religion was to them (coded as (1) for very important; (0) all others). Respondents were

asked about general life satisfaction – (1) was very happy versus all others (0).

Relationship status compared those who were married (1) to others (0). Respondents were

asked if they had been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (Yes ¼ 0; No ¼ 1).

Respondents were asked whether they were being treated for a medical condition (or a

psychological condition) (No ¼ 1; Yes ¼ 0).

Results

In total, 515 female respondents completed the survey instrument. Of these respondents,

72% (or 389) were sexually active. Fifty-eight percent of respondents identified as white

(21% as black/African American). Age ranged from 18 to 61; however, most respondents

(75%) were 25 years of age or younger, with a mean age of 24 (see Table 1). Perhaps

because our respondents are so young, relatively few (3%) can be classified (on FSFI

scale , 26.5 composite score) as officially sexually dysfunctional. For this reason, in our

work the FSFI scale will be used instead of a dummy variable capturing sexual

dysfunction.

When asked about their current relationship status, almost half of all respondents

(48%) were in a relationship, 15% were married, and 37% were single. When asked to

identify their sexual orientation the vast majority (91%) identified as heterosexual (3%

identified as homosexual, 6% identified as bisexual, and 1% identified as ‘other’). In light

of past work, our work restricts the sample to heterosexual individuals.

Among our restricted sample, 29% indicated that they were survivors of sexual abuse

and/or assault at some point in their lives. Respondents were asked if they had been diagnosed

or treated for an STD/STI, other medical condition, or a psychological condition within

the previous 12 months. Few respondents (11%) had been diagnosed with an STD/STI.

Twenty-three percent of the sample had been diagnosed or treated with a medical condition

Table 1. Variable description.

Variable Mean Standard deviation Minimum Maximum

Sexual satisfaction 93.15 19.77 28.5 116 Sexual function 18.17 3.48 10.7 29.9 Age 24.16 7.24 18 61 Sexually active 0.72 0.45 0 1 White 0.57 0.49 0 1 At least some college 0.88 0.32 0 1 Very happy 0.25 0.43 0 1 Married 0.14 0.35 0 1 No children 0.77 0.41 0 1 Religion very important 0.30 0.45 0 1 Absence of non-consensual sex 0.84 0.35 0 1 Intimacy 4.82 1.20 1 6 Agency 3.82 0.97 1 5 Emotional closeness 3.81 1.11 1 5 Body love 4.10 1.15 1 6 Stress 2.92 0.88 1 5 Sex knowledge 5.41 0.72 1 6

74 C. Pronier and E. Monk-Turner

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Journal of Gender Studies 75

other than an STD/STI, and 18% had been diagnosed or treated with a psychological

condition.

Composite scores were calculated for the SSS-W and the FSFI in accordance with past

work. In order to be eligible to take these survey instruments, respondents were required to

have been sexually active within the previous four weeks. The range of FSFI composite

scores was 10.7 – 29.9. Higher scores indicated less sexual dysfunction. The SSS-W scores

ranged from 28.5 – 116. A high SSS-W score indicated a higher level of sexual satisfaction.

Regression results

We posited that social factors would be significantly related to sexual satisfaction. To

assess this relationship, we first modeled sexual satisfaction with only sexual function in

the model. Looking at Table 2, the reader can see that 46% of the variation in sexual

satisfaction is explained by this model. In other words, the simple medical model accounts

for almost half of the variation in women’s reported sexual satisfaction. Next, sexual

satisfaction was modeled to include social desire variables. The seven desire variables,

which aim to capture non-medical concepts, account for 59% of the variation in sexual

satisfaction (see Table 2). Five of the social desire variables were significant in the model.

Women who report greater intimacy, agency, emotional closeness, less stress, and greater

sexual knowledge enjoy more sexual satisfaction than others.

Next, we include both sexual function and desire variables to see how well sexual

function holds in explaining sexual satisfaction. As the reader can see in Table 2, sexual

function is significant in the model; however, the coefficient declines from 22.85 to

21.16. Essentially, when social desire (or non-medical variables) is omitted from models

aiming to explain women’s sexual satisfaction, the coefficient for sexual function will be

upwardly biased. Looking at Table 2 (model 3), the reader can see that the key variables in

shaping women’s sexual satisfaction, when controlling for sexual function, are sexual

function, perceived intimacy within the relationship, sexual agency, and stress levels.

Perceived intimacy in the relationship appears most important in shaping sexual

satisfaction. Women with less stress report greater sexual satisfaction than others where all

else is equal. In addition, sexual agency (feeling one’s feelings of sexual desire and

pleasure are acknowledged within the relationship) and emotional closeness are significant

variables in shaping sexual satisfaction.

Finally, we modeled sexual satisfaction using sexual function and desire variables

along with demographic and background variables. Table 2 (model 4) shows that, in

addition to sexual function, intimacy, emotional closeness, and experiencing less stress,

sexual satisfaction is positively related to not being diagnosed or treated for a

psychological condition within the past 12 months. No other background variables were

significant in the model including age, relationship status, education, race, presence of

children, past abuse, or a medical condition.

Discussion and conclusion

The success of Viagra – a pharmaceutical treatment for male erectile dysfunction –

prompted the pharmaceutical and medical industries to ‘discover’ or ‘create’ an equally

lucrative pharmaceutical treatment for FSD (Fishman and Mamo 2002, Basson et al. 2003,

Conrad and Leiter 2004, Hartley 2006, Canner 2008). We argue that this medicalized

perspective overshadows social factors relating to sexuality (Canner 2008) and ignores the

vast feminist literature on female sexuality (Tiefer 2001b). Even though all

76 C. Pronier and E. Monk-Turner

pharmaceutical treatments for a pink Viagra have been rejected by the Federal Drug

Administration, due to their inability to produce positive benefits beyond the placebo

effect (Canner 2008), the quest for a ‘pink’ Viagra is on. Given the findings reported in this

work, the potential of such a pharmaceutical is less than promising.

Critics of medicalization argue that the over-emphasis of medical diagnoses and

medical treatment overshadows social and cultural factors contributing to an individual’s

experience. Not only does medical ideology dominate how society thinks about and solves

issues such as sexual problems, it is also a powerful mechanism of fear. This fear stems

from being negatively labeled with something such as ‘sexual dysfunction’ which can be

harnessed and leveraged by institutions with vested interests in widening the net of the

‘sick’, ‘diseased’, and ‘dysfunctional’.

Sexual functioning has historically been conceived as the physiological and biological

part of sexuality whose components comprise the sexual response cycle. This is also

referred to as the medical model, and it has dominated the way researchers approach

sexual problems and discontents. Taking a critical look at this perspective, the current

work aims to highlight the shortcomings of this model in the hope of filling the gaps and

addressing the issue on a more integrative level which includes social and cultural factors.

While the social model of female sexuality does not reject the importance of medical

components to the sexual experience, it does, however, challenge medicine’s claim to be

the panacea for women’s sexual issues and problems. While physiological components

were determined in the analysis to be important in a woman’s overall sexual satisfaction,

other factors such as stress, intimacy, sexual agency, and emotional closeness were

significant in understanding variation in reported sexual satisfaction. In fact, if models

exclude social desire variables in modeling sexual satisfaction, the coefficient for sexual

function will be upwardly biased. Women need to know and feel confident that their sexual

physiology is functioning properly, but that in itself is not the ‘be-all, end-all’ fix to the

broad spectrum of issues women experience in their sexual lives. In addition to sexual

function and desire variables, being in treatment for a psychological condition negatively

impacted women’s sexual satisfaction. Psychological health appears to impact sexual

satisfaction even with general life satisfaction, past abuse, medical conditions, and other

background variables constant.

These results suggest that women would benefit from reducing their stress, increasing

their experiences of quality intimacy, asserting their needs and desires, and increasing

their feeling of emotional closeness in their relationships. None of these actions involve a

prescription for a pill. These are individual and social actions that not only affect the

sexual satisfaction of women but are in fact intertwined with many aspects of life. Factors

that affect sexuality are interconnected and a part of a web of social, cultural, and

physiological factors and should be studied as such. This conclusion draws attention to the

importance of a multitude of factors in regard to one’s sexual satisfaction.

Future work should address what types of stress-reducing strategies are most beneficial

in shaping sexual satisfaction in a relationship. Stress reduction may come from

participating in classes or activities targeted at alleviating pressure in one’s life, having

one’s partner engage in more housework/childcare in the home, and/or some other

activity. Perhaps, different strategies to ease stress may work better in one situation

compared to another or at different points in the life-span. The successful reduction of

stress in one’s life and how this impacts all aspects of relationships merits future

exploration.

Although this research provided support for the social model, there are some

limitations that must be taken into consideration. The method of sampling in this project

Journal of Gender Studies 77

was a convenience sample, therefore care must be taken with generalizing any results.

Further, this sample was drawn from a university population and was generally young,

unmarried, and educated. Finally, the web-based survey was approximately 80 questions,

assuming the respondent qualified to complete the SSS-W and the FSFI. Estimated time to

complete the entire survey was about 20 minutes, which probably deterred some potential

participants.

After reviewing the findings and limitations of this study it is clear that sexual

satisfaction is a complex issue and must be addressed as such. Research must continue to

reflect the changing and increasing complexity of human experience. Additionally, further

research with more diverse and representative samples will aid in providing a more

accurate picture of women’s sexual issues. The suggestion that a pill can greatly improve

women’s sexual problems is oversimplistic and counter-productive to the well-being of

women. It denies the fact that sexuality is experienced within a complex social

environment. Gender roles (especially for women) are constantly changing and evolving

in many ways, all of which are a part of the social context that influences the experiences

of sexuality. Prescribing a pill for women’s sexual problems also denies the fact that

women have long been the subject of social control through the oppression and regulation

of their sexuality.

Notes on contributors

Cristalle Pronier received her MA in Sociology at Old Dominion University. She is currently employed as a researcher with the Social Science Research Center at Old Dominion. Her primary research interests are in gender and sexuality.

Elizabeth Monk-Turner received her PhD in Sociology at Brandeis. Her work appears in the American Sociological Review, Feminist Economics, Sociological Quarterly, among others. Current research interests include subjective well-being, the gender wage gap, and factors shaping commercial sex work.

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