Book Reviews: Sex Research and Sex Therapy: A Sociological Analysis of Masters and Johnson

2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 508-510
Author(s):  
Victoria Robinson
2020 ◽  
pp. 88-106
Author(s):  
Leslie Margolin

“Docile Bodies” focuses on behavioral sex therapists who were contemporaries of Masters and Johnson, including Joseph Wolpe, Arnold A. Lazarus, William Hartman, and Marilyn Fithian. This chapter shows how they valued intercourse for women partnered with men, much as Masters and Johnson did, not for what it means to women, but as a behavior that is intrinsically natural and healthful. This chapter shows that for Masters and Johnson’s contemporaries, intercourse was not only mandatory for heterosexuals; it was the unstated, unrecognized foundation of sexuality and sex therapy. Topics covered include systematic desensitization, typical hierarchies of sex scenes, and when sex therapists prescribe intercourse.


2020 ◽  
pp. 73-87
Author(s):  
Leslie Margolin

“Male Identification” examines how a prominent follower of Masters and Johnson, Helen Singer Kaplan, viewed her female patients much as Masters and Johnson viewed theirs, as less deserving, as less entitled, and less credible. Kathleen Barry called this bias “male identification,” a phenomenon of growing importance since the field of psychotherapy and the subfield of sex therapy have become increasingly dominated by female practitioners. Through examination of case studies written by Kaplan, the chapter highlights how this therapist pressured women to accept masculine versions of sexual normality. It shows how she encouraged her female patients to admit that, deep down, despite their repeated denials, what they really want and need is a penis—their husband’s penis—thrusting inside their vagina.


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