The history of the medicalisation of rapid ejaculation—A reflection of the rising importance of female pleasure in a phallocentric world

ABSTRACT

Early ejaculation is a male dysfunction that became a subject of medical and psychological interest concurrently with the growing recognition of the importance of female sexual needs. Psychoanalytical ideas, psychosomatic approaches, behavioural concepts, and, in recent decades, rampant pharmacologization based on biological reductionism have been used to explain the condition and to propose various treatments. The history of the medicalisation of rapid ejaculation reflects the evolution of sexual norms and expectations regarding the desired length of intercourse, accepted ways of achieving orgasm, and ideal sexual scripts for both men and women.

KEYWORDS:

• Premature ejaculation
• medicalisation
• male sexual dysfunctions
• coital imperative
• orgasm

Author biography

Katarzyna Grunt-Mejer, PhD is a psychologist (Psychology Department at Warsaw University), bioethicist (Philosophy Institute at Warsaw University) and sexologist (certified by The European Federation of Sexology and the European Society for Sexual Medicine). She is an assistant professor at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the head of postgraduate studies in sexology (Faculty in Poznań). Her research areas combine philosophical, ethical, and psychological topics in sexology. She authors and reviews articles in the fields of sexology, psychology and ethics. Currently, she leads a project entitled ‘The concept of norm in sexology - Analysis of origins of diagnostic criteria and their social and ethical consequences’, awarded by the National Center of Science (Poland), where she is conducting a multidimensional comparative historical analysis of the process of constitution of specific behaviors and preferences as sexual dysfunctions or paraphilias over subsequent editions of the main diagnostic systems, DSM and ICD. This analysis is accompanied by the investigation of the ethical implications of adopting existing norms and the extent to which the above classifications influence the sexological practice.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Narodowe Centrum Nauki [2016/21/D/HS1/03401 titled “The concept of norm in sexology - Analysis of origins of diagnostic criteria and their social and ethical consequences”].

Notes on contributors

Katarzyna Grunt-Mejer

Katarzyna Grunt-Mejer, PhD is a psychologist, bioethicist and sexologist. She is an assistant professor at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty of Psychology and Law in Poznań, and the head of postgraduate studies in critical sexology. Her research focuses on philosophical, ethical, and psychological problems in sexology.