NYMPHOMANIA

The word "nymphomania" is denved from the Greek and literally means "bride madness." The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "a feminine disease characterized by morbid and uncontrollable sexual desire." Setting the disease issue aside, most definitions of nymphomania include the elements of excessive and uncontrollable sexual desire. The equivalent term for men is "satyriasis." Excessive sexual desire in women (as in men) is a rather ethereal concept. To evaluate what excessive sexual desire or behavior is, it is crucial to understand normative sexual desire. Numerous North American studies have revealed a wide range of variability in the frequency of sexual behavior, with no agreed upon norm except a statistical one. Indeed, there is a great deal of variability within any individual's sexual history. It is not unusual for couples to report engaging in various sexual behaviors with Promethean vigor during the beginning of a sexual relationship or during a crisis in a long-standing relationship. Engaging in sexual behaviors three or four times a day is not unusual in these circumstances. Thus, it is difficult to find a numerical equivalent of "excessive." At the biological level, one might use a marker such as "physiologically harmful" or "tissue injury" to delineate excessive.

The concept of "uncontrollable" sexual desire as part of the picture of nymphomania introduces a more clinical aspect that pertains to motivation. For instance, a woman who had ten sexual contacts in a day might be considered a nymphomaniac from a clinical perspective. A prostitute who had the same number of sexual contacts in a day would presumably not be labeled with this term, because the motivation is assumed to be financial and not her own sexual desire and gratification. The depiction of sexual desire as uncontrollable suggests the possibility of an insatiable libido or other factors that impel the person toward frequent sexual contact. A perusal of the clinical literature reveals no cases of insatiable libido. The most frequently cited factors involved in excessive sexual desire are frequent sexual contacts without gratification or orgasm, emotional tension, manic states, obsessive-compulsive disorders, an inordinate need to be accepted by men, and an attempt to deny homosexual feelings. It would appear that Kaplan's observation that excessive sexual desire is so rare as to constitute a clinical curiosity when it is a primary symptom still holds true.

The elusive nature of nymphomania is further reflected in previously published editions of the Encyclopedia of Sexual Behavior, which contains only two references to the term. The first reference, which appears unchanged in all three editions, extols the virtue of treating this condition with androgenic compounds. The rationale for this treatment is as follows: (1) nymphomania is the result of many sexual contacts without gratification due to failure to achieve orgasm; (2) treatment with androgens helps achieve orgasm so that "an excessive number of sexual contacts is no longer necessary." Suffice it to say, this is no longer a treatment of choice for women having trouble reaching orgasm, who would not meet the criteria for nymphomania anyway.

The second reference, which also appears unchanged in all but the first edition, is a brief discussion of nymphomania as male wish fulfillment in the context of pornography. Indeed, it seems that the only place where nymphomania appears to thrive is in the fantasies of males or in depictions of those fantasies. X-rated or hardcore magazines, books, and movies that have a story line tend to follow a similar pattern. They almost always involve sexually insatiable women who are incapable of resisting any type of male sexual advance. In reality, the label of nymphomania is most frequently used by men when they encounter a woman whose sexual desire may be more intense than their own. If a woman is more sexual than they are, she must be a nymphomaniac so the reasoning goes. The gender bias in the perception of sexual appetites is further underscored when one considers that a female with a lusty sexual appetite is often described as "promiscuous," while her male counterpart is more likely to be called "horny" or "ardent." In this respect, we might note that the male equivalent of nymphomania, satyriasis, is much less widely known, at least among college students.

In conclusion, it appears that nymphomania is primarily located in male sexual fantasy and wish fulfillment. For most males, this is the safest place to encounter the nymphomaniac. As Symons noted, the sexually insatiable woman is to be found primarily, if not exclusively, in the ideology of feminism, the hopes of boys, and the fears of men.

Written by A.R. Allgeier in "Human Sexuality - An Encyclopedia", Routledge, 2013, New York, USA, edited by Vern L. Bullough and Bonnie Bullough. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.