PATHOLOGIZING DIFFERENCE: A Critique of Sexual Interest, Arousal & Desire Disorders

DESCRIPTION

Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) introduced in the DSM-5, diagnoses persistent absence or reduction of sexual interest and arousal in women. It has been subjected to criticism, debate and scrutiny since its introduction in 2013 with majority of its discourses concentrated on medicalization of low sexual desire in women. This paper questions the diagnostic criteria of FSIAD functions that act as biopolitical instruments of reproductive futurism, used by the state to impose its pronatalist ideologies.
FSIAD operates within a framework of compulsory sexuality, wherein variations in desire serve to justify a psychiatric classification. It also critically examines the diagnostic criteria’s validity, emphasizing its insufficient consideration of cultural differences in relational dynamics. When addressing low desire, biopolitical instruments of sexual optimization are utilized, effectively reframing the intervention as a form of neoliberal self-care.
In this way, capitalist economies. that are structurally dependent on renewable labor markets to sustain their economic growth, institutionalize heteronormativity and repronormativity, while framing variations in desire, interest and arousal as sites of intervention. This in turn, normalizes compulsory sexuality, aligning arousal with reproductive imperatives of the state and its demands for capitalistic accumulation.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. At the end of the session, attendees will be able to identify the foundational assumptions embedded in the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for sexual disorders and articulate how those assumptions constitute colonial normativity.
2. At the end of the session, attendees will be able to analyze how the diagnostic framework systematically pathologizes AroAce, BIPOC, and immigrant relationalities through normalizing compulsory sexuality.
3. At the end of the session, attendees will be able to apply an intersectional lens to evaluate a clinical scenario involving low sexual desire or arousal to generate a non-pathologizing clinical formulation.

AVAILABLE ON

ErosCoaching	AASECT CE · Standard Access	Access Now
The Elsewheres	AASECT CE · Collective Access	Access Now
Forbidden Tickets	Community Access	Access Now
Eventbrite	Open Access	Access Now

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Access Key
Standard Access: Full course access with AASECT Continuing Education credits. Ideal for licensed clinicians and certified professionals fulfilling CE requirements (First-come, first-served).
Collective Access: Full course access with AASECT Continuing Education credits, offered at a lower price point to support decolonial participation across professional communities (First-come, first-served).
Community Access: Full course access without AASECT CE credits, designed for BIPOC, queer, kink+, and sex-positive community members engaging outside of a clinical or certification context.
Open Access: Registration open to all, including international students. No AASECT CE credits issued. Suitable for anyone curious about the subject matter regardless of professional background.

EDUCATOR BIO