In his column “what is Nymphomania?” he says in reference to the term “sexual addiction” being taken out of the DSM: “…even sexual addiction was abandoned, perhaps because the non-gender-specific nature of the term laid bare the speciousness of the whole project…”
My understanding is that “sexual addiction” never actually met the definition of “addiction.”
Link to the article referred to:
What is nymphomania?
And what’s this referring to the male equivalent as “Don Juanism” ? Horrible term. “Satyromania” is the proper equivalent.
Instead of “sexual addiction,” shouldn’t the term be “sexual compulsive?” It is my understanding that there is a disorder known as sexual compulsive, and this would encompass males and females.
I thought it was “satyriasis”. A quick search reveals that dictionary.com confirms that term, while “satyromania” appears to be… let’s say a word that has some bad company.
No such thing as ‘sexual addiction’? Dropped from the DSM-IV?
And Cecil supports that position with this:
???
I had some buddies in college who considered chugging a bunch of beer to be an accomplishment, but that doesn’t convince me that there’s no such thing as alcoholism.
My understanding is that, like alcoholism and drug addiction, sex addiction is based not on frequency but on a person’s ability to control the behavior.
Consider the many people whose lives have been dramatically affected in a negative way by their apparent inability to manage their sexual behavior, including, I would suggest, Bill Clinton. Another famous example would be Bob Crane, subject of the recent film ‘Auto Focus’, whose life was ruined and who probably died directly as a result of his sex addiction.
There are lots of organizations devoted to helping individuals to deal with sex addiction, too.
I guess it just seems pretty weak to dismiss something because it didn’t make it in the latest edition of the ever-changing DSM.