Le champ actuel de la sexologie au Brésil : considérations initiales

The sociocultural aspects, professional characteristics, and motivational factors of the first fellows of the European committee of sexual medicine

INTRODUCTION

After a century of development in the field of sexology and decades of attempts to establish the field of sexual medicine, the first examination that led to the qualification as Fellows of the European Committee of Sexual Medicine (FECSM) was held in December 2012.

AIM

This study aims to describe the first European specialists in sexual medicine, their clinical practice, motivation, and professional self-identification.

METHODS

A web-based survey of the first FECSM on demographic data, data on the practices of their work (gender of clients, setting, and time frame), and reasons for entering the sexual medicine (five-point Likert rating of motives and open question on other reasons) was conducted.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Gender, religion, specialty, region, and their association with professional practices of the first FECSM.

RESULTS

The first FECSM have a wide range of experience in the field of sexual medicine (0-30 years) and were mainly men (79%) and urologists (56%). Only 15.5% had other qualifications related to sexual medicine and 60% self-identified as sexual medicine specialists. Only a small proportion of the professional time was dedicated to the practice of sexual medicine. The primary speciality influenced the gender of their patients seen, setting of work (couple vs. individuals), and time spent with patients. Only a minority managed sexual problems in women; hypoactive sexual desire is treated by 41% of FECSM and dyspareunia by 17%. The participants were motivated by the pleasure of knowing new things and desire to understand and to help patients, whereas prestige, finances, and own sex lives are less important.

CONCLUSIONS

The first FECSM are very diverse in terms of age, culture, religion, and primary specialty. Their practice is strongly influenced by their primary specialty, and this needs to be taken into account in future development of the speciality.

Diferenças de gênero e medicalização da sexualidade na criação do diagnóstico das disfunções sexuais

O objetivo do artigo é analisar criticamente as contribuições internacionais mais importantes e atuais que têm tomado a etapa recente da medicalização da sexualidade como tema de pesquisa. A maioria dos trabalhos centra-se na produção da categoria e do diagnóstico de "disfunção sexual", seja considerando o caso masculino, mais amplamente estudado pela via da "disfunção erétil", seja o caso feminino, muitas vezes traduzido pela ideia de uma suposta complexidade da sexualidade das mulheres. A perspectiva que utilizo tem como referência os estudos sociais da ciência e, especialmente, as contribuições da antropologia e da história da medicina. Além disso, incorpora a matriz dos estudos de gênero e ciência que tem produzido uma poderosa visão crítica da produção científica dos dois últimos séculos, revelando como os condicionantes de gênero têm atravessado a relação entre produção do conhecimento e contexto social.