(This post is a bit different than my other ones, but this book really caught my eye and I wanted to write about it...I apologize if this post is offensive to anyone or too out of kilter from what I normally blog.)
Yesterday I was looking for books on anorexia when I thought I'd found one new to me. The title was listed (when I did a search on iBooks) as _Sexual Anorexia_ . At first I thought I'd found something related to my search. I have been reading about eating disorders for years and have never found a lot of information on sexual issues related to anorexia, bulimia or binge-eating disorders. Finally, there is one. Or so I thought.
_Sexual Anorexia_ is not only not about anorexia, it actually hijacks a term that has been used exclusively for years to relate to one of the most dangerous eating disorders around and certainly the one with the highest death rate. You can go without sex and not die, but you cannot go without food and still survive.
Only in America can attitudes about sex be so conflicting. If women want it too much, they're 'sluts' or 'nymphomaniacs." If they want it too little (or not at all) they're 'cold fish' or repressed.
I can understand that "sexual anorexia" can be a problem within a relationship where two people together are trying to be physically and emotionally intimate and one of them shies away from it. That is of concern, especially to the person who wants a mutually loving partner.
What I can't understand is why people immediately want to stigmatize asexuality (no interest in either sex) or a celibacy (where you may be interested, but choose not to be active) that is completely voluntary and stress-free. There is nothing wrong with not wanting sex in your life...
Still, once I found the book I kind of wanted to read it anyway, though I have no personal reasons for doing so. I discovered as I kept on reading that a) the author is very sincere and well-intentioned and b) she means no ill will by using the term "anorexia" here. She is trying to make it clear that she considers withdrawing from any kind of sexual behavior or interest a serious sign of something much worse.
Since I had never heard of this term before I did a Google search and found this old New York Times article (of which the comments section is a particularly compelling read) :
read here
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