“I want you.” Three simple words, but somehow they seem nearly impossible to define. Desire can be very complex and often seems mysterious to us. It appears as a magical equation of attraction mixed with physical attributes, eroticism, passion, simple physical need, or love. And when desire is not there, in its place there is …
Continue ReadingHuman sexual response.
Masters and Johnson (1970), the pioneering sex researchers, described a woman’s cycles of sexual arousal as having several phases. They believed that women moved through each phase in a linear fashion. They called this cycle the “human sexual response cycle.” The phases are described as: the excitement phase: this phase is marked by an elevated …
Continue ReadingEmbracing the masculine and the feminine.
I recently heard a lecture about the history of sexuality. The lecturer said he thought the greatest lovers of all times had a strong mix of masculine and feminine qualities. He cited Catherine the Great, Cleopatra, Marc Antony and Casanova. The men possessed a strong feminine side and the women a strong masculine side. At …
Continue ReadingThe chemistry of desire.
In her book, “Why We Love, The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love”, Helen Fisher, talks about the neuroscience of attraction. “Romantic love is associated with elevated levels of Dopamine and/or norepinephrine”. When dopamine is circulating in the brain, “it produces focused attention, as well as fierce energy, concentrated motivation to attain rewards, and feelings …
Continue ReadingMCFS Clinical Director responds to the New York Times.
New York Times Sunday Magazine November 29, 2009 Dear Editor: Daniel Bergner’s article in the Times magazine section, “Women Who Want to Want,” once again poignantly expresses both the deep distress felt by women with the loss of their libido as well as the complexity of understanding and treating the condition. Women’s loss of desire, …
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