Problematic sexual behaviors have been identified for centuries, and nymphomania has become a controversial subject among clinicians. Nymphomania is considered an organic disease, a psychological disorder, and a legal construct (Groneman, 2001). The term "nymphomania" resonates with a sense of the insatiable sexuality of women, devouring, depraved, and diseased. It conjures up an aggressively sexual female who both terrifies and titillates men (Groneman, 1994).
In general terms, nymphomania is defined as a neurotic condition in women in which the symptoms are a compulsion to have sexual intercourse with as many men as possible and an inability to have lasting relationships with them. Hypersexuality in males is sometimes known as Don Juanism (Shainess, 1972).
Nymphomania is a compulsive sexual behavior that includes conventional behaviors that are taken to such obsessive extremes that they interfere with everyday life. Nymphomania shows a symptom profile similar to the current notion of ‘sexual addiction’ (Goodman, 1998; Berrios & Rivière, 2006). Since the appearance of sexual addiction in the clinical literature, various terms have been used to name the condition, including nymphomania, Don Juanism, satyriasis, sexual compulsivity, sexual impulsivity, out-of-control sexual behavior, sexual addiction, and hypersexual behavior (Karila et al., 2014).
The term "nymphomania" was inspired by Greek mythology: nymphs are minor deities represented as beautiful maidens. The nymph was a female character who could either resist male desire orbe sexually promiscuous herself, to the point of aggression (Cohen, 2014).
Hippocrates (460 BC) wrote about uncontrolled sexual behaviors in young girls (under the term "melancholy madness") and recommended marriage as the cure (King, 1998). For centuries it was named as madness from the womb. In some cultures clitoridectomy was performed as a treatment measure. According to Brooten (1996), clitoridectomy was the suggested remedy for women with an overly large clitoris or “masculine desires.” This concept of “masculine desires” in women may also have included the act of being “sexually aggressive” towards men. Furthermore, as conservative management, hemp seed emulsion was used to treat furor uterinus, or nymphomania (Russo, 2002).
The treatment of nymphomania was discussed in Ayurvedic Medicine (Rao, 2003). The origin of Ayurveda is attributed to the Atharva Veda, where mention is made of several diseases with their treatments. Later, from the 6th century BC to the 7th century AD (Narayanaswamy, 1981). Ayurvedic medicine recommended herbal treatment for impulse-control disorders such as hypersexuality (Jansen et al., 2014).
Health care in ancient Sri Lanka dates back about 5000 years (De Silva, 2015). The ancient Sri Lankan physicians identified extreme sexual behavior in women and named it as Kinnara Umathuwa or Narikaunmadaya. For the affected subjects, healing rituals were performed. These rituals constitute behavioral treatments (Bartlett, 1989).
The Buddhist Jātaka stories that were compiled from the 3rd century B.C. to the 5th century A.D. narrate about a princess named Krishna (in Maha Kunala Jātakaya) who had suggestive features of nymphomania or sexual addiction (Jayatunge, 2015).
History recounts several infamous women with extraordinary sexual libido. The Empress Messalina (born in around 20 AD), who was the third wife of the emperor Claudius, had an enormous sexual disinhibition. To quench her sexual thirst, Messalina incognito used to go to brothels frequently.
Queen Anuladevi of Sri Lanka reigned from 47 BC to 42 BC and became famous for her promiscuous behavior. She poisoned her husband, the king, Chora-Naga, and came into power. Anuladevi became the first queen in Sri Lankan history who had meaningful power and authority.
According to the historical reports, Anuladevi had sexual sensation-seeking behavior. She was fond of men and had a number of affairs with the commoners. Ironically, she used to poison her lovers after her erotic desires had been satisfied. She had an extreme desire for sex and power. As described in the Mahavamsa—the Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka—in her last four months in power, Queen Anuladevi had sexual relationships with 30 young men. Finally, as a result of a coup, she lost her power, and her opponents set fire to her palace. The queen, Anuladevi, was burnt alive.
The Italian physician Girolamo Mercuriale (1530-1606) believed that immoderate burning in the genital area of the female, caused by the surging of hot vapor, brought about an erection of the clitoris and caused hypersexuality in them (Jung, 2011). In 1769 a Scottish medical book published the term ‘nymphomania,’ and the French physician de Bienville used this term in the medical context in 1771. From the 1880s to the 1930s, nymphomania began to be transformed from an organic illness with both mental and physical symptoms to a mental disorder caused by psychological factors (Groneman, 1995).
Freud believed the unconscious was filled with sexual and erotic desire, and the true cause of nymphomania was women's failure to have vaginal rather than clitoral orgasms. According to Freudian theory, nymphomania grew out of a psychological condition he called frigidity, in which affected, or sexually immature, women were unable to achieve orgasm during sexual intercourse. As a result of their inability to be sexually satisfied, these women sought frequent sexual encounters as a means of gratifying their sexual needs (Cavendish, 2010).
The German sexologist Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing described several cases of extreme sexual behaviors in women, which he called “insatiable succession of sexual enjoyments.” In one of the cases, Krafft-Ebing describes a woman diagnosed with nymphomania and her incestuous desire for her own son.
The American psychologist Albert Ellis became one of the founders of the American sexual revolution. His early work focused on nymphomania, and he described several cases of oversexed women.
The word 'nymphomania,' the concept of 'madness from the womb,' and the belief in the existence of a behavior consisting of an abnormally high female sexual drive converged during the second half of the seventeenth century to give rise to a new clinical category which, with minor changes, has survived until the present (e.g., in ICD-10) (Berrios & Rivière, 2006). Nymphomania was listed as a "sexual deviation" in the first DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) published in 1951.
The International Classification of Diseases, or ICD-10, includes "Excessive sexual drive" as a diagnosis (code F52.7), subdividing it into satyriasis (for males) and nymphomania (for females). However, hypersexual disorder was proposed as a new psychiatric disorder for consideration in the Sexual Disorders section for DSM-V. But it failed, and the highly relevant clinical concept 'hypersexuality' has still not been incorporated as a separate category (Goethals & Cosyns, 2014).
Nymphomania is a form of compulsive sexual behavior. Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) is a disorder featuring repetitive, intrusive, and distressing sexual thoughts, urges, and behaviors that negatively affect many aspects of an individual's life (Derbyshire & Grant 2015). Nymphomania can co-occur with psychiatric disorders and traumatic experiences.
There is a stark contrast between the widespread myth of nymphomania and women who actually experience disruptive increases in sexual desire. Nymphomania can be defined in terms of three distinct elements: marked increase in sexual drive, extremely frequent partner sexual behavior, and promiscuity (Levine, 1982).
Some describe female compulsive sexual behavior in association with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Mulligan et al. (2002) provide several case studies of female compulsive sexual behavior in association with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some researchers believe that compulsive sexual behavior is a coping strategy to deal with serious stress or anxiety.
There are strong counterarguments against the diagnostic entity—nymphomania. Sexual desire is the subjective experience of being interested in sexual objects or activities or wishing to engage in sexual activities (Regan & Berscheid, 1999; Peplau, 2003). Therefore some feminists argue that the diagnosis “nymphomania” has been used as a cultural suppression of female sexuality.
According to Groneman (1994), the medical diagnosis of nymphomania in the nineteenth century, constructed within a social and cultural context as well as within a scientific one, reflected and reproduced prevailing attitudes about appropriate behavior. Physicians, however, did not speak with a single voice: they did not agree on the nature of the disease, its extent, its treatment, or even what constituted normal female sexuality. Furthermore, some feminists have argued that diagnoses such as nymphomania have served to enforce conformity to norms of female domesticity, subordination, and subservience to men's sexual needs; at times diagnoses have reaffirmed class distinctions as well.” (Marecek, 1993) As indicated by Eriksen and Kress (2005), feminist theorists believe that women's anger, depression, and discontent have been reframed as medical or psychiatric symptoms, and that, as a result, the often difficult and distressing life circumstances of women have been disregarded.
අනුලා සේරම කලේ රජකම තියා ගන්න කියායි මට හිතෙන්නේ!
ReplyDeleteරජකම තියා ගන්න දොරටුපාලයයි , දර කපන එකයි ආදී වශයෙන් නිදි වැද්දේ ඇයි
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ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to learn the etymology of the term in addition to the current scientific understanding of these behaviors. I learned about nymphs when I visited Aristotle's school in ancient Mieza during the past summer. My understanding of the concept of these minor deities, based on the discussions with some people there, is that it is more a personification of nature, though your explanation is not wrong and a part of that. Nymphs are believed to be mortal unlike major Greek deities and they were believed to live at specific places like trees, streams, meadows, kind of like the concept of Vruksha Devatha. Ancient Greeks also believed that they help humans to acquire divine knowledge. The school of Aristotle (where Alexander the Great studied for several years) has been established in a sanctuary dedicated to nymphs, enabling the students to learn from the nature (characterized by nymphs). It is an open place and he has taught various scientific subjects (like chemistry, politics but not warfare) while walking through the nature but not in a standard classroom setting. Until now, people believe that nymphs live in that place and that helped archeologists to find this place. Even some tourist hotels in that area promote this theme. Nymphs had a free choice on sexual behavior (whether to have sex or refuse) compared to women of that age and that behavior has been linked with the nature. Perhaps, the Aristotelian thought was that this is the correct or natural behavior (though this is what I feel and I am not an expert).
ReplyDeletevery good narration
Delete//Health care in Ancient Sri Lanka would go back about 5000 years (De Silva, 2015)// This seems a recent dissertation. Wonder if it has any important facts worth reading?
ReplyDeleteYes its worth reading ; she is doing her PhD currently live in Australia
ReplyDeleteDe Silva. N, (2015). Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions of South Asia, 40-56.
Ruwan, just wondering if you have ever come across the case of Abe Sada, a Japanese woman whose sex drive was so extreme she eventually killed her lover, cut off his penis, and kept it with her as a token of memory.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sada_Abe
If you could find the film titled "In the Realm of the Senses" (1976) by Nagisa Oshima, based on this incident, I recommend watching it. There are a few films using this storyline but Oshima's work looks the finest.
Thanks for the info
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