Over half of Australian women have difficulties getting sexual satisfaction, according to a new survey of more than 400 women, by Deakin University Psychology professor Marita McCabe, and PhD student Katie Giles, who studied Australian women’s sex lives and sexual feelings.

The researchers found that rates of sexual desire were similar to those shown in international studies; however, Australian women appeared to have more problems with arousal and orgasm.

Professor McCabe, who recently presented the data at a sexuality conference on Australia’s Gold Coast said:

All up we found 55 percent of women had a difficulty with sexual satisfaction

It seems women go into the bedroom and expect it will happen quickly, automatically, with orgasm, even be multi-orgasmic, but without spending the time to do so. They’re busy and stressed and not taking the time for their sexual expression.

Further, according to Professor McCabe, the survey revealed that 65 percent of women had some form of sexual dysfunction and half had a diagnosable sexual desire disorder.

Anxiety and depression were found to be contributing factors, but stress and poor body image had the biggest influence on sexual interest and response.

Other scientists were more critical, and Jane Ussher, a women’s health psychologist at the University of Western Sydney, said while she did not dispute the statistics, to label a quarter of the Australian population sexually dysfunctional was ‘not helpful‘.

Professor Ussher was quoted as saying:

To talk about dysfunction implies some abnormality within the women, and whilst many women do have issues around sexual desire, especially in heterosexual relationships, that is very likely to be about the relationship rather than the woman herself.

She went on to say that there was strong evidence to suggest that women with low desire regained their interest in sex once they re-partnered. And, there was also an argument that pharmaceutical companies were trying to position a lack of desire as dysfunctional, so that it could be treated.

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Posted by Jonathan in Psychology, Sociology

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