The complexity of female sexuality

Let’s begin with a few words about the story of female sexuality … Freud was the first to demonstrate scientific interest on the subject. Among the theories he formulated was the one that characterised clitoral orgasm as an immature and low-intensity response to sexual arousal, while vaginal orgasm with a much higher intensity, was the mature response of a sexually healthy woman. Since then, women had been trying to get a vaginal orgasm for more than half a century and most of those who failed to do so, ended up to  Freud’s divan, with the diagnosis of psychological, sexual dysfunction. In the 60s, researchers like Kinsley, Masters and Johnson interviewed thousands of women to find out that most of them do not get orgasmic when there is only vaginal penetration and no direct clitoral stimulation. So the myth created by Freud has been dispelled, and we can now consider both types of orgasm a normal sexual response.

Today, female sexual dysfunction is ranked in four main categories, which often overlap and are: Desire disorders, arousal disorders, orgasmic disorders and painful states. Women report at least a problem of sexual dysfunction in the high percentage of about 40%. However, the issue of sexual dysfunction is causing concern and annoyance to 12% of all women, and these should seek help from their doctor. Most physicians, however, are reluctant to report the issue of sexuality on a routine visit for a variety of reasons, such as lack of comfort, time, reduced ability to deal with it, or merely because they expect women to report the issue themselves. On the other hand, women either have difficulty talking to their doctor because they are ashamed or they have learned to live with their problem. The truth is that physicians and patients must always face the issue of sexuality when taking a gynaecological medical history.