Women's sexual desire: A feminist critique

This article 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 (a) use of the male model as the standard, (b) use of a linear model of sexual response, (c) biological reductionism, (d) depoliticalization, and (e) 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.