Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Assessment of Sexual Behavior of Male Mice
Published on: March 5, 2020
Women's sexual desire: a feminist critique
Jill M Wood1, Patricia Barthalow Koch, Phyllis Kernoff Mansfield
1Women's Studies Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. jmw193@psu.edu
Abstract:
This paper offers a critical feminist analysis of the biomedical conceptualization of women's sexual desire. The five major features of the biomedical model of female sexual desire examined and critiqued are: 1) use of the male model as the standard, 2) use of a linear model of sexual response, 3) biological reductionism, 4) depoliticalization, and 5) medicalization of variation. A "New View", an alternative to the biomedical model, is offered for reconceptualizing women's sexual problems. This analysis concludes with recommendations for feminist-based biopsychosocial research.
Related Concept Videos
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Horney's Sociocultural Approach
Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Phallic
Factors Influencing Attraction II: Physical Attraction
External Female Genitals
Jealousy in Romantic Relationships

