Extract

With this current issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine (JSM) devoted completely to women’s sexual health, 2010 may mark the turning point when we see research support for female sexual function begin to achieve equality with support for research on male sexual function. This equality reaches across a number of dimensions: equality in published research; equality in research dollars in both the private and academic sectors; and equality in biopsychosocial treatment options for sexual disorders. Perhaps I am being a bit too eager to suggest that a single issue of JSM signals the demise of the gender double standard. Or perhaps, it is revealing that one issue of JSM devoted to women’s sexual health should warrant a guest editorial that heralds a world of sexual equality. Yet, a quick review of the table of contents for this issue would convince most readers that research on female sexual function is already in full swing and might even call into question the idea that there is not already equality. Several articles are devoted to assessment of sexual function and satisfaction and vary in their emphasis on psychological vs. physiologic measures further supporting the awareness that a biopsychosocial approach is being maintained in this research. Other manuscripts emphasize a growing awareness of the comorbid medical conditions that affect female sexual function and the emerging research focus on genital pain conditions.

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