DOCSLIB.ORG

Sex Coaching for Physicians: Combination Treatment for Patient and Partner

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sex Coaching for Physicians: Combination Treatment for Patient and Partner International Journal of Impotence Research (2003) 15, Suppl 5, S67–S74 & 2003 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved 0955-9930/03 $25.00 www.nature.com/ijir Sex coaching for physicians: combination treatment for patient and partner MA Perelman1* 1New York Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, USA Physicians dealing with sexual dysfunction (SD) must consider the psychological and behavioral aspects of their patient’s diagnosis and management, as well as organic causes and risk factors. Integrating sex therapy and other psychological techniques into their office practice will improve effectiveness in treating SD. This presentation provides information about the psychological forces of patient and partner resistance, which impact patient compliance and sex lives beyond organic illness and mere performance anxiety. Four key areas are reviewed: (1) ‘Sex coaching for physicians’ uses the ‘Cornell Model’ for conceptualizing and treating SD. A 5-min ‘sex status,’ manages ‘time crunch’ by rapidly identifying common causes of sexual dysfunction (insufficient stimulation, depression, etc). (2) Augmenting pharmacotherapy with sex therapy when treating erectile dysfunction (ED) specifically, or SD generally is stressed. Sex therapy is useful as a monotherapy or an adjunctive treatment and is often the ‘combination therapy’ of choice when treating SD. The following therapeutic integrations are highlighted: modifying patient’s initial expectations; sexual pharmaceuticals use as a therapeutic probe; ‘follow-up’ to manage noncompliance and improve outcome; relapse prevention. (3) Issues specific to the role of the partner of the ED patient are described. The physician must appreciate the role of couple’s issues in causing and/or exacerbating the ED and the impact of the ED on the patient/partner relationship. Successful treatment requires a supportive available sexual partner, yet partner cooperation may be independent of partner attendance during the office visit. Preliminary data from a survey of SMSNA members practice patterns, regarding partner issues, is presented and discussed. The importance of evoking partner support and cooperation independent of actual attendance during office visits is emphasized. (4) Finally, the need for more patient and partner educational materials to assist the physician in overcoming a patient/partner’s emotional barriers to sexual success in a time efficient manner are discussed. International Journal of Impotence Research (2003) 15, Suppl 5, S67–S74. doi:10.1038/sj.ijir.3901075 Keywords: combination therapy; sexual dysfunction; sex therapy; erectile dysfunction; partner issues; follow-up; relapse prevention Introduction sex lives beyond organic illness and mere perfor- mance anxiety. There were four key areas of focus: A. ‘Sex coaching for physicians’ used the ‘Cornell Physicians dealing with sexual dysfunction (SD) Model’ for conceptualizing and treating SD. A 5-min must consider the psychological and behavioral ‘sex status,’ managed ‘time crunch’ by rapidly aspects of their patient’s diagnosis and management, identifying common causes of sexual dysfunction as well as organic causes and risk factors. Integrating (insufficient stimulation, depression, etc). 1,2 sex therapy and other psychological techniques into B. Augmenting pharmacotherapy with sex ther- their office practice will improve effectiveness in apy when treating erectile dysfunction (ED) specifi- treating SD. This presentation provided information cally, or SD generally was stressed. Sex therapy is about the psychological forces of patient and partner useful as a monotherapy or an adjunctive treatment resistance, which impact patient compliance and and is often the ‘combination therapy’ of choice when treating SD. The following therapeutic inte- grations were highlighted: modifying patient’s in- itial expectations; using sexual pharmaceuticals as a *Correspondence: MA Perelman, Co-Director, Human therapeutic probe; using ‘follow-up’ to manage Sexuality Program, Clinical Associate Professor of Psy- noncompliance and improve outcome; relapse pre- chiatry, Reproductive Medicine & Urology, The New York 2–4 Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College of Cornell vention strategies. University, 70 East 77th Street, Suite 1C, New York, NY C. Issues specific to the role of the partner of the 10021, USA. ED patient were described. The physician must E-mail: [email protected] appreciate the role of couple’s issues in causing and/ Sex coaching for physicians MA Perelman S68 or exacerbating the ED and the impact of the ED on couple/individual in the privacy of their own the patient/partner relationship. Successful treat- homes. These exercises were designed to correct ment required a supportive available sexual partner, dysfunctional sexual behavior patterns as well as yet partner cooperation may be independent of positively altering cognitions regarding sexual atti- partner attendance during the office visit. Prelimin- tudes and self-image. This ‘home play’ modified the ary data from a survey of SMSNA members practice immediate causes of the sexual problem, allowing patterns, regarding partner issues, was presented the individual to have mostly positive experiences and discussed. The importance of evoking partner creating a powerful momentum for a successful support and cooperation independent of actual treatment outcome. The individually tailored ex- attendance during office visits was emphasized. ercises acted as therapeutic probes and were D. Finally, the need for more patient and partner progressively adjusted until the individual or educational materials to assist the physician, in couple was gradually guided into fully functional overcoming a patient/partner’s emotional barriers to sexual behavior.2,3 sexual success in a time efficient manner was discussed. Do physicians ask? Sex coaching for physicians The sexual dysfunctions each manifest a cluster of critical symptoms that point the way towards key Incorporating sex therapy and other psychological questions which must be asked, and indicate which techniques into office practice improved effective- questions will not be as immediately important. The ness in treating SD. Our ‘Cornell Model’ of sex most important information can be obtained in a therapy was based on the development of a treat- reasonable amount of time; physicians must discuss ment plan conceptualized from the rapid assess- sex with their patients. Numerous CME programs ment of the immediate and remote causes of sexual have addressed the problem of encouraging physi- dysfunction while maintaining rapport with the cians to both initiate and discuss sexual issues by patient.1,2 This sex therapy approach integrated the emphasizing the importance of ED as a biological work of Masters and Johnson as well as Helen marker of disease among other reasons. Physicians Kaplan, using a four-phase model of human sexual were taught to ‘bring up sex’ directly or use segue response: desire, excitement, orgasm and resolu- techniques.8–10 tion.3,5,6 Sex therapy is the diagnosis and treatment Many physicians learned about the statistically of disruptions in any of these four-phases and/or the significant increase in the incidence of depression sexual pain disorders. These dysfunctions occur in men with SD. Treatment of SD may improve mild independent of each other, yet they frequently reactive depression, while depressive symptoms cluster. Personal distress and the impact of these might alter response to therapy of SD.11 A physi- dysfunctions on quality of life, is an important cian’s history taking must parse out this ‘chicken or diagnostic consideration and has become a signifi- egg problem:’ Is SD causing depression or, is cant issue in sex research. depression and its treatment (eg, SSRIs), causing the SD? The value of direct questioning about sex became especially clear here. If physicians did not Sex therapy overview ask, the patients may not tell. When asked direct questions, SSRI patients reported an increase, from 14 to 58%, in the incidence of SD versus sponta- Sex therapy is an ‘efficacious’ treatment for primary neous report. True incidence was probably under- anorgasmia in women, some erectile failure in men, estimated as PDR data were based on patient and is ‘probably efficacious’ for secondary anorgas- spontaneous report. To manage adverse effects of mia y vaginismus in women and premature medication, physicians learned to adjust dose or, ejaculation in men.7 Clinical experience supports combine with other drugs, to ameliorate the pro- efficacy in treating hypoactive sexual desire, sexual blem.12 For instance, many might reduce the SSRI aversions, dyspareunia and delayed orgasm in men. and supplement with buproprion or try sildenafil as Despite its potency, sex therapy receded as a a possible adjunct. While intrapenile injections or a treatment of choice during the 1990s as medical ‘combination approach’ might be effective, sex and surgical approaches performed by urologists therapy enhanced all these strategies. established hegemony over the treatment of ED, in Sex status: A ‘sex status’ or focused sex history is particular. the sex therapists most important tool. Both sex Sex therapy is an amalgam of individual and therapists and physicians have used the ‘sex status couple’s therapy specifically focused upon improv- exam,’ becoming ‘sex detectives,’ who juxtaposed ing sexual functioning. The sex therapist assigned detailed questions about the patient’s current structured erotic experiences carried out by the and past
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Just As the Priests Have Their Wives”: Priests and Concubines in England, 1375-1549
    “JUST AS THE PRIESTS HAVE THEIR WIVES”: PRIESTS AND CONCUBINES IN ENGLAND, 1375-1549 Janelle Werner A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2009 Approved by: Advisor: Professor Judith M. Bennett Reader: Professor Stanley Chojnacki Reader: Professor Barbara J. Harris Reader: Cynthia B. Herrup Reader: Brett Whalen © 2009 Janelle Werner ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT JANELLE WERNER: “Just As the Priests Have Their Wives”: Priests and Concubines in England, 1375-1549 (Under the direction of Judith M. Bennett) This project – the first in-depth analysis of clerical concubinage in medieval England – examines cultural perceptions of clerical sexual misbehavior as well as the lived experiences of priests, concubines, and their children. Although much has been written on the imposition of priestly celibacy during the Gregorian Reform and on its rejection during the Reformation, the history of clerical concubinage between these two watersheds has remained largely unstudied. My analysis is based primarily on archival records from Hereford, a diocese in the West Midlands that incorporated both English- and Welsh-speaking parishes and combines the quantitative analysis of documentary evidence with a close reading of pastoral and popular literature. Drawing on an episcopal visitation from 1397, the act books of the consistory court, and bishops’ registers, I argue that clerical concubinage occurred as frequently in England as elsewhere in late medieval Europe and that priests and their concubines were, to some extent, socially and culturally accepted in late medieval England.
    [Show full text]
  • JAPAN's BATTLE AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING: a VICTIM-ORIENTED SOLUTION When Marcela Loaiza Was Twenty-One, a Stranger Approached
    \\jciprod01\productn\J\JLE\50-1\JLE104.txt unknown Seq: 1 22-SEP-17 13:46 NOTE JAPAN’S BATTLE AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING: A VICTIM-ORIENTED SOLUTION JUSTIN STAFFORD* INTRODUCTION When Marcela Loaiza was twenty-one, a stranger approached her in her hometown in Colombia and offered her the opportunity to work as a professional dancer in Japan.1 After Loaiza lost her two jobs due to her daughter’s illness, she accepted the “talent scout’s” offer to provide for her daughter and mother.2 Upon arriving in Japan, three members of the Yakuza mafia received her, promptly took her passport, and informed her that the costs of bringing her to Japan amounted to the equivalent of $50,000.3 For the follow- ing eighteen months, members of the trafficking industry forced her to sell sex on the streets of Tokyo.4 She serviced anywhere from fourteen to twenty clients a day, with a Yakuza pimp always checking how much she earned and keeping her on a strict diet.5 She shared a three-bedroom flat with six other women from vari- ous countries across the world, including Russia, Venezuela, Korea, China, Peru, and Mexico.6 Fortunately, Marcela Loaiza escaped to tell her story, but the same does not hold true for thousands of women who remain under the power of their captors in Japan.7 Compared to their counterparts in similarly situated countries, Japanese authorities * J.D. expected 2018, The George Washington University Law School; B.A. 2008 Chapman University. 1. Anastasia Moloney, “I Had No Idea I’d Been Sex Trafficked”: A Terrifying True Story, SALON (Aug.
    [Show full text]
  • Nonparaphilic Sexual Addiction Mark Kahabka
    The Linacre Quarterly Volume 63 | Number 4 Article 2 11-1-1996 Nonparaphilic Sexual Addiction Mark Kahabka Follow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq Part of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Medicine and Health Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Kahabka, Mark (1996) "Nonparaphilic Sexual Addiction," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 63: No. 4, Article 2. Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol63/iss4/2 Nonparaphilic Sexual Addiction by Mr. Mark Kahabka The author is a recent graduate from the Master's program in Pastoral Counseling at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Impulse control disorders of a sexual nature have probably plagued humankind from its beginnings. Sometimes classified today as "sexual addiction" or "nonparaphilic sexual addiction,"l it has been labeled by at least one professional working within the field as "'The World's Oldest/Newest Perplexity."'2 Newest, because for the most part, the only available data until recently has come from those working within the criminal justice system and as Patrick Carnes points out, "they never see the many addicts who have not been arrested."3 By definition, both paraphilic4 and nonparaphilic sexual disorders "involve intense sexual urges and fantasies" and which the "individual repeatedly acts on these urges or is highly distressed by them .. "5 Such disorders were at one time categorized under the classification of neurotic obsessions and compulsions, and thus were usually labeled as disorders of an obsessive compulsive nature. Since those falling into this latter category, however, perceive such obessions and compulsions as "an unwanted invasion of consciousness"6 (in contrast to sexual impulse control disorders, which are "inherently pleasurable and consciously desired"7) they are now placed under the "impulse control disorder" category.s To help clarify the distinction: The purpose of the compulsions is to reduce anxiety, which often stems from unwanted but intrusive thoughts.
    [Show full text]
  • Resilience and Recovery of Insecure Attachment Styles Within Clinical Practice
    logy ho & P yc s s y c P f h o o t l h a e n r r Journal of Psychology and a u p o y J ISSN: 2161-0487 Psychotherapy Research Article Resilience and Recovery of Insecure Attachment Styles within Clinical Practice Melissa Weise* School of Social Work, Boston College, Boston, MA 02467, USA ABSTRACT Much has been written about attachment styles and mental health. This paper seeks to build a model of the strengths of resilience leading to recovery within the dismissive and preoccupied adult insecure attachment styles. This model will then be discussed utilizing composite case material for the purposes of supporting clinicians treating individuals with insecure attachment styles. Keywords: Resilience; Recovery; Attachment; Attachment styles; Insecure attachment INTRODUCTION disorganized. These styles originated in the work of Bowlby and We learn how to be human from our connection with other Ainsworth and their research on children’s attachment patterns humans. Particularly powerful connections with other human with their parents, including Ainsworth’ s Strange Situation beings become the foundation for our attachments, ways in research [2,11]. From these styles, several measures have been which humans learn to soothe and organize themselves through designed to determine attachment styles in the general the presence of others. Much study has been done on what are population with fairly reliable interrater and reliability results considered the optimal attachment circumstances for a fully [12,13]. Each childhood attachment style has a corresponding integrated and functional person [1-4]. This pattern of adult attachment style. Secure childhood attachment style connection, termed secure attachment, has long been considered becomes autonomous adult attachment style.
    [Show full text]
  • Asexualities, Intimacies and Relationality
    Asexualities, Intimacies and Relationality Tiina Vares Introduction Romantic asexual, aromatic asexual, grey-asexual and demi-sexuali are just some of the identity categories which sit under the umbrella of asexuality. Since the founding of the online site AVEN (Asexual Visibility and Education Network) in 2001, we have seen the development of an asexual movement in primarily western liberal democracies. While AVEN defines an asexual individual as a person “who does not experience sexual attraction”, the terms above highlight a diversity with the ways in which asexual identified people experience and define their asexuality. This diversity includes different kinds of attraction, different ways of desiring and seeking out interpersonal relationships, and a range of intimacies, physical and otherwise (Gupta and Cerankowski, 2017). While research into asexuality has increased rapidly in the past two decades, there has been little academic attention to how asexual people conceive of and practice intimacy and relationships (Dawson et al., 2016). In this chapter I add to the small body of academic scholarship that has focused on the experiences of friendship, relationships and intimacy of self-identified asexuals (Haeffner, 2011; Van Houdenhove et al. 2015; Dawson et al., 2016; Vares, 2018). Based on my research with 15 self-identified asexuals, aged 18 to 60 years, and living in New Zealandii (see Vares, 2018), I explore the ways in which participants are “actively and creatively renegotiating the boundaries of the platonic, the intimate and the sexual” (Carrigan, 2011, p. 476). I first consider the significance of friends in participants’ lives and, in particular, the ways in which the boundary between friend/partner and friendship/relationship is being disrupted.
    [Show full text]
  • EMDR As a Treatment for Improving Attachment Status in Adults and Children
    Revue européenne de psychologie appliquée 62 (2012) 223–230 Disponible en ligne sur www.sciencedirect.com Original article EMDR as a treatment for improving attachment status in adults and children L’EMDR : un traitement possible pour améliorer la relation d’attachement chez les adultes et les enfants a,∗ b a a a a D. Wesselmann , M. Davidson , S. Armstrong , C. Schweitzer , D. Bruckner , A.E. Potter a The Attachment and Trauma Center of Nebraska, 12822 Augusta Avenue, Omaha, Nebraska 68144, USA b University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Department of Educational Psychology, 114, Teachers College Hall, P.O. Box 880345, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345, USA a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Introduction. – The purpose of the article is to examine the current literature regarding evidence for Received 28 September 2010 positive change in attachment status following Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Received in revised form 29 August 2012 therapy and to describe how an integrative EMDR and family therapy team model was implemented to Accepted 31 August 2012 improve attachment and symptoms in a child with a history of relational loss and trauma. Literature. – The EMDR method is briefly described along with the theoretical model that guides the EMDR Keywords: approach. As well, an overview of attachment theory is provided and its implication for conceptualizing EMDR symptoms related to a history of relational trauma. Finally, a literature review is provided regarding Attachment current preliminary evidence that EMDR can improve attachment status in children and adults. Trauma Clinical findings.
    [Show full text]
  • MCFT 563 Treatment Issues in MCFT: Polyamory and Family Therapy
    1 “We are a community that commits itself to diversity and sustainability as dimensions of a just society” - Mission Statement, Lewis & Clark College ​ MCFT 563-03 Polyamory FALL 2020 Time & Day: Fridays 9:00 am-12:00 pm, 9/11/20 - 10/9/20 ​ ​ Place: Online ​ Instructor: Justin Rock, MA LPC ​ ​ Office Hours: By arrangement (please email instructor) ​ E-Mail: [email protected] ​ Phone: 503-310-6217 (cell) CATALOG DESCRIPTION Applications of family systems approach to treatment of families in crisis and transition. Topics include issues such as substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, trauma and loss, poverty, and chronic illness. A portion of this course emphasizes clinical case conceptualization and treatment planning. COURSE DESCRIPTION This course seeks to expand students’ understanding and treatment of polyamorous families in the field of Marriage, Couple and Family Therapy (MCFT). From a social justice and humanistic perspectives, we will evaluate family therapy modalities when working with polyamorous families. Examination of the role of the therapist as ally and advocate to the Polyamorous community will be a central theme of the course with attention to emotional and interpersonal aspects (e.g., safety, support). The course also examines the current socio-historic context that situates Polyamorous Families. Finally, students will engage in the study of topics of their choice related to Polyamorous Families. This course emphasizes clinical case conceptualization and experiential learning. Prerequisite: None ​ Credit: 1 semester hour (15 contact hours) ​ MCFT STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES This course promotes the following student learning outcomes: 2 SLO 1.1 Students recognize the impact of power on individuals, families, and communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Asexual People's Experience with Microaggressions
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Student Theses John Jay College of Criminal Justice Winter 1-23-2018 Asexual People’s Experience with Microaggressions Tamara Deutsch CUNY John Jay College, [email protected] How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/52 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] RUNNING HEAD: The Experiences of Asexual People With Microaggressions 1 Asexual People’s Experience with Microaggressions Tamara Deutsch John Jay College of Criminal Justice A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice – City University of New York The Experiences of Asexual People With Microaggressions 2 Table of Contents Abstract......................................................................................2 Introduction and Literature Review........................................................................3 Methods.......................................................................................9 Results........................................................................................12 Discussion...................................................................................18 References..................................................................................22
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding and Treating Attachments
    Understanding and Treating Attachment Problems in Children: What Went Wrong, and How Can Problems Be Fixed Dave Ziegler, Ph.D. Executive Director Jasper Mountain 37875 Jasper-Lowell Road Jasper, Oregon Effects of Trauma on Attachment 2 Abstract Developmental psychology, child development and clinical application with trauma have all placed important roles in a new understanding of attachment and bonding problems in early childhood. This article is broken into two parts. Part I discusses the important role that attachment plays in the future social success of children. It explains the tenants of traditional attachment theory and how trauma affects healthy attachment. This discussion continues with revisions to attachment theory that respond to its historical weak points. A new theoretical view of attachment is proposed identifying the causes of attachment behavior. Part II turns to clinical aspects of the treatment of attachment problems. Problems caused by trauma are identified and the many therapeutic complexities are outlined. A model for treating attachment disturbances is proposed that discusses the clinical process in three distinct areas: disrupted attachment, anxious attachment, and no attachment. The article ends with a discussion of the prognosis for a successful outcome and projects time requirements for attachment disorder therapy. Effects of Trauma on Attachment 3 Understanding and Treating Attachment Problems in Children: What Went Wrong and How Can Problems Be Fixed Introduction The study of Psychology over the last hundred years can be compared to reading a novel starting late into the book and reading progressively backwards to the beginning. Our understanding of the complex mind and psychological make-up of Homo Sapiens has begun with adults, moved to young adults, teens, adolescents, toddlers and finally we are beginning to read with great interest the first chapters of life.
    [Show full text]
  • 'A Vile and Abject Woman': Noble Mistresses, Legal Power, and the Family in Early Modern Spain
    Grand Valley State University ScholarWorks@GVSU Peer Reviewed Articles History Department 7-2007 'A Vile and Abject Woman': Noble Mistresses, Legal Power, and the Family in Early Modern Spain Grace E. Coolidge Grand Valley State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/hst_articles Part of the History Commons ScholarWorks Citation Coolidge, Grace E., "'A Vile and Abject Woman': Noble Mistresses, Legal Power, and the Family in Early Modern Spain" (2007). Peer Reviewed Articles. 6. https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/hst_articles/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the History Department at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Peer Reviewed Articles by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “A VILE AND ABJECT WOMAN”: NOBLE MISTRESSES, LEGAL POWER, AND THE FAMILY IN EARLY MODERN SPAIN Grace E. Coolidge Mistresses of Spanish noblemen between 1360 and 1600 occupied a place within the Spanish patriarchy where concerns about gender and class intersected, revealing contradictions between the ideals of honor, the moral injunctions of Catholic doctrine, and the practical needs of noble families. Mistresses occupied a flexible space in the Spanish patriarchy where a woman’s social status, her ability to produce male heirs, and her ability to use the legal system to her advantage shaped her experience as a mistress and made her more likely to dis- rupt or change the inheritance processes of noble families. Concentrating on noble mistresses reveals that Spanish society had ambiguities about issues of morality, honor, status, and gender that allowed both male and female Spaniards to manipulate social attitudes as skillfully as they manipulated the law.
    [Show full text]
  • Marriage, Law and Polyamory. Rebutting Mononormativity with Sexual Orientation Discourse?
    Oñati Socio-legal Series, v. 6, n. 6 (2016) – Radically Rethinking Marriage ISSN: 2079-5971 Marriage, Law and Polyamory. Rebutting Mononormativity with Sexual Orientation Discourse? CHRISTIAN KLESSE ∗ Klesse, C., 2016. Marriage, Law and Polyamory. Rebutting Mononormativity with Sexual Orientation Discourse?. Oñati Socio-legal Series [online], 6 (6), 1348-1376. Available from: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2891035 Abstract This paper traces the genealogy of sexual orientation discourse in US legal scholarship and explores potential drawbacks of the articulation of a sexual orientation argument in the field of relationship recognition. After a long period of refraining from campaigning for legal recognition of multi-partner relationships, polyamory activists have recently shown a stronger interest in litigation. This paper identifies reasons for this shift in recent successes of the campaign for same-sex marriage rights and critically discusses proposals to frame polyamory as a sexual orientation to achieve multi-partner marriage rights through litigation. I argue that advocating a sexual orientation model of polyamory is likely to reduce the complexity and transformative potential of poly intimacies, limit the scope and reach of potential litigation, obstruct the capacity of poly activism to form alliances and increase the likelihood of poly activism to settle for legal solutions (i.e. marriage) that are exclusive and reproductive of a culture of privilege. Key words Polyamory; sexual orientation; compulsive monogamy; mononormativity; polygamy; slippery slope; multi-partner marriage; same-sex marriage Resumen Este artículo traza la genealogía del discurso sobre orientación sexual en las investigaciones jurídicas de Estados Unidos y explora los posibles inconvenientes de la articulación de un argumento de orientación sexual en el campo del reconocimiento de parentesco.
    [Show full text]
  • The Japanese Schoolgirl Figure
    The Japanese Schoolgirl Figure: Renegotiation of Power through Societal Construction, Masking a Crisis of Masculinity Sarah Hamm A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in International Studies University of Washington 2012 Committee: Sara Curran Gary Hamilton Program Authorized to Offer Degree: International Studies TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures .................................................................................................................................. i List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Part I: The Schoolgirl Figure and Masculinity in Crisis ................................................................. 7 Japanese Adolescent Girls ........................................................................................................... 7 The Context of Japan in the 1990s ............................................................................................ 10 The Salaryman Family Model and the
    [Show full text]