Medicalization, eroticism and sexual diversity: a sexological critique of the DSM-IV-TR (I part)
B. Useche Aldana, PhD

SUMMARY

The two parts in which this article is divided present a critique of the categories of “Sexual dysfunctions” and “Gender identity disorders” included in the Fourth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Text Revision) by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). The critique is based on three theoretical fundamentals: 1) A sexological model based on the acknowledgment of eroticism as the main function of human sexuality; 2) A discussion of the most recent studies on the evolutionary origins of sexuality; and 3) An analysis of the impact that the globalization of market society has had on the populations’sexual identities and sexual practices. This first part points out the limitations of the models used to define sexual dysfunctions and paraphilias; it proposes alternative concepts; and it underlines the necessity to review clinical concepts based only on reproduction and physiology. It also concludes that current classification should be understood in the context of the global trend toward medicalization of sexuality with the double purpose of profiting from it and maintaining society under ideological control.

KEY WORDS

Medicalization, sexual dysfunctions, paraphilias, sexual health.