Nymphomania: A History

by Carol Groneman

Nymphomania—organic disease, psychological disorder, legal construct, and locker-room joke. Throughout history, it's been all these and more. Today images of sexually available women permeate our culture, and curiosity about nymphomania appears to be as insatiable as the stereotypical nymphomaniac herself. Carol Groneman follows the idea of nymphomania over the last two hundred years, unraveling questions about how much is too much sex for women—and who decides. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Sexuality, History, Psychology, Sociology

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Lisalit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ayant à écrire une dissertation sur un phénomène lié a la psychologie à travers les époques, je me suis penchée sur ce sujet très controversé qu'est la nymphomanie.
J'ai beaucoup appris grâce à ce livre, ma partie préférée est celle du début lorsque l'auteure évoque comment la soit-disant nymphomanie était traitée au 18e siècle, c'est plutôt effrayant, croyez-moi. Ce récit m'a particulièrement touché car il démontre à quel point nous stigmatisons un comportement comme étant problématique en ne nous basant que sur notre perception, elle-même influencée par notre culture, notre éducation et nos valeurs. C'est très subjectif et par conséquence très variable en fonction de l'evolution de notre société. En effet, la nymphomanie fut décrite comme étant cette envie hors norme de relations charnelles. Mais qu'est-ce que la norme? Comment définir trop ou pas assez de sexe? Pourquoi entendons-nous parler de nymphomanie mais jamais de satiryasis (l'équivalent pour les hommes) ? Toutes ces interrogations et bien d'autres encore devraient nous pousser à rester extrêmement vigilant quant à la perception d'un comportement comme étant déviant ou non.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was a little dry and seemed repetitive in spots but it contained lots of good information.

It's scary to think that in our relatively recent past, a woman who enjoyed sex was determined to be diseased. She would have her clitoris burned off with acid, be forced to stay locked inside her home, had leeches applied to her perineum, and forced to endure twice-daily ice water douches.

It makes me wonder what the future will think about some of today's common medical practices.

[Elly · Rating 1 out of 5]

super promising start, but the end was not only unsatisfying but pretty misleading. groneman's strict adherence to looking at only the diagnostic criteria of nymphomania damages her contemporary research and invalidates a good amount of what she has to say in her final chapter. the book is a good intro to how medicalization fluctuates and varies throughout history, and is very accessible--sometimes at the risk of important nuance and depth.

[Glittervomit · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well researched book about nymphomania; the history of it, archaic treatments of it, and the current view on it. This dives into the social views that built up the term of nymphomania amazingly well.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

B Very interesting

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. the section about diagnosed nymphomania/hysteria and forced circumision is eye opening to say the least!

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

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