# sexual addiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 23, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-addiction/197156 "2003-08-23T14:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![roscopc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@roscopc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roscopc)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-addiction/197156/1 "2003-08-23T14:38:07Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-addiction/197156/2 "2003-08-23T19:25:15Z")
Link to the article referred to: [What is nymphomania?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030822.html) ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-addiction/197156/3 "2003-08-25T03:51:56Z")
And what’s this referring to the male equivalent as “Don Juanism” ? Horrible term. “Satyromania” is the proper equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![vodyanoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c68b51/32.png) [@vodyanoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vodyanoi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-addiction/197156/4 "2003-08-26T14:41:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-addiction/197156/5 "2003-08-28T12:40:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AndrewT \* > \*\*And what’s this referring to the male equivalent as “Don Juanism” ? Horrible term. “Satyromania” is the proper equivalent. \*\* I thought it was “satyriasis”. A quick search reveals that [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) confirms that term, while “satyromania” appears to be… let’s say a word that has some bad company. ---
**Author:** ![Pablito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@Pablito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pablito)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-addiction/197156/6 "2003-09-01T15:44:08Z")
No such thing as ‘sexual addiction’? Dropped from the DSM-IV? And Cecil supports that position with this: > [@](#): > > If men as well as women can be sex addicts, and if many male victims (Bill Clinton, Joe Namath) are successful, admired, and largely unrepentant, it seems stupid to characterize as an illness what a lot of people would consider an accomplishment. ??? 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.