Sexual Shame and Women’s Sexual Functioning
Sexual shame negatively affects women’s sexual functioning, impacting arousal, desire, orgasm, and pain. This review summarizes the existing literature, highlighting the multiple, interacting factors contributing to sexual shame including sociocultural messages, body and genital self-image, sexual s...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Sexes |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5118/5/4/47 |
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| author | Camilla Graziani Meredith L. Chivers |
| author_facet | Camilla Graziani Meredith L. Chivers |
| author_sort | Camilla Graziani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sexual shame negatively affects women’s sexual functioning, impacting arousal, desire, orgasm, and pain. This review summarizes the existing literature, highlighting the multiple, interacting factors contributing to sexual shame including sociocultural messages, body and genital self-image, sexual self-schemas, sexual pain, comorbid chronic disease, illness, medical disorders, and sexual trauma. The relationship between sexual shame and sexual functioning is often reciprocal, demonstrating sexual shame as a potential causal and maintaining mechanism underlying women’s sexual difficulties. We present a model proposing the mechanisms by which sexual shame affects sexual functioning, underscoring the need for comprehensive approaches to mitigate the impact of sexual shame and foster sexual well-being for women. Growing research emphasizes emotional processes in models of sexual function, and emotional pathways underlying sexual difficulties and dysfunction. Given the impact of sexual shame on women’s sexual functioning, therapeutic approaches that target sexual shame are recommended to help alleviate difficulties with sexual arousal, desire, orgasm, and sexual pain. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eaa130b4fcbe4e369f4822038c1c8e14 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2411-5118 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sexes |
| spelling | doaj-art-eaa130b4fcbe4e369f4822038c1c8e142025-08-20T02:43:54ZengMDPI AGSexes2411-51182024-12-015473975710.3390/sexes5040047Sexual Shame and Women’s Sexual FunctioningCamilla Graziani0Meredith L. Chivers1Clinical Psychology Program, Adler Graduate Professional School, Toronto, ON M4W 3P4, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, CanadaSexual shame negatively affects women’s sexual functioning, impacting arousal, desire, orgasm, and pain. This review summarizes the existing literature, highlighting the multiple, interacting factors contributing to sexual shame including sociocultural messages, body and genital self-image, sexual self-schemas, sexual pain, comorbid chronic disease, illness, medical disorders, and sexual trauma. The relationship between sexual shame and sexual functioning is often reciprocal, demonstrating sexual shame as a potential causal and maintaining mechanism underlying women’s sexual difficulties. We present a model proposing the mechanisms by which sexual shame affects sexual functioning, underscoring the need for comprehensive approaches to mitigate the impact of sexual shame and foster sexual well-being for women. Growing research emphasizes emotional processes in models of sexual function, and emotional pathways underlying sexual difficulties and dysfunction. Given the impact of sexual shame on women’s sexual functioning, therapeutic approaches that target sexual shame are recommended to help alleviate difficulties with sexual arousal, desire, orgasm, and sexual pain.https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5118/5/4/47sexual shamewomen’s sexual functioningsexual arousaldesireorgasmsexual pain |
| spellingShingle | Camilla Graziani Meredith L. Chivers Sexual Shame and Women’s Sexual Functioning Sexes sexual shame women’s sexual functioning sexual arousal desire orgasm sexual pain |
| title | Sexual Shame and Women’s Sexual Functioning |
| title_full | Sexual Shame and Women’s Sexual Functioning |
| title_fullStr | Sexual Shame and Women’s Sexual Functioning |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sexual Shame and Women’s Sexual Functioning |
| title_short | Sexual Shame and Women’s Sexual Functioning |
| title_sort | sexual shame and women s sexual functioning |
| topic | sexual shame women’s sexual functioning sexual arousal desire orgasm sexual pain |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5118/5/4/47 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT camillagraziani sexualshameandwomenssexualfunctioning AT meredithlchivers sexualshameandwomenssexualfunctioning |