Feminist and LGBTQ+ Studies

Abstract

Gender is a construct.  Whilst mainstream culture and recent politics are propagating a gendered binary, sexual health acknowledges gender is a spectrum, unique to the individual.  Medical research, health literacy, and public health reports are also suggesting gendered biases, which reinforce the binary and the societal constructs influencing people’s beliefs.

This talk will discuss antidotal evidence. As an accredited clinical psychosexual therapist, the challenges people face across a wide diversity all share a commonality of sexual shame when it comes to issues impacting their sexually intimate life.  Irrespective of sexual orientation, sexual identity, or where we they are raised, societal narratives contribute and influence a person’s belief on who they are sexually.  How one experiences sexual desire, arousal, interest, and fantasies (just to name a few) are shaped heavily by cultural discourse; influencing how people believe they “should” be when it comes to their sexuality.  Current geopolitical movements are only creating more confusion in this arena, either further solidifying the unhelpful discourse, or highlighting the imbalance.  This is not assisting with many folk who are already confused on the mixed messages of gender and sexuality.

Both how a “woman” and “man” behave sexually are engrained into individuals, setting up expectations that are unrealistic and unhelpful to the person.  These are amplified over the course of a sexual relationship and can often lead individuals to believe they are not living up to how they “should be performing sexually”.  Pleasure is often eliminated from the initial conversation people have, and their expected performance based on gender is what can create many issues that present in clinical practice.  When individuals believe they are not “performing” in line with their gendered expectations, shame, and the inherent belief that they are not good enough greatly impact sexual satisfaction.

Biography

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