The feminist movement has been a big driver in expanding research about women and sex. We have been able to see numerous studies about female sexuality, the female orgasm, arousal and desire in women, and female-specific disorders. Leonore Tiefer mentions the feminist critique in her book as an argument against some of the ways sex has been looked at in the past, saying that women were largely left out of the equation. Upon reading this, I became confused and wondered how Tiefer could imply that all women did not fit into the model of sex that was being studied, but that in general, men did. This idea implies that we can make generalizations about the way men think and feel about sex but not about the way women perceive sex. One of the main themes of these generalizations is the idea that men are not as concerned about emotions and drivers of intimacy as women are.
This got me thinking about how everyone is different in every way, which is one of the themes of postmodern thinkers we have been learning about in other classes. Based on this idea, I think a more appropriate approach to sex and sex therapy would be based on the assumption that every person is experiencing their own set of circumstances biologically, psychologically, and socially. Additionally, everyone should be treated the same when receiving therapy for sexual problems, in that there should be no assumption and no standard so anything can be considered "normal".
I was pleased to see that the Sex Principles and Practices book immediately addressed both female and male issues and gave biological, psychological, and social treatment options. This book seemed like it was written without making as many generalizations about what males or females might be looking for out of sex therapy and emphasized partner work. So, I suppose what I am trying to say in all this is that the feminist movement, while greatly empowering women, overlooked the importance of equality for all. Essentially, this is a critique of the feminist critique* of sex therapy.
*Not a critique of feminism! Go feminists!
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