Putting Instrumental Sex On The Couch

Grunt-Mejer, Katarzyna; Chańska, Weronika

Putting Instrumental Sex On The Couch

Abstract

Introduction & objectives: Presented results are the part of a broader study on the mainstream and marginalized sexological approaches in the Polish practice of diagnosing and treating sexual problems. In the presentation we will focus on the therapists’ attitudes towards the instrumental use of the body. Method(s) & Sample: 46 in-depth interviews with Polish sex therapists representing various therapeutic approaches were carried out to elucidate the influence of diverse concepts of healthy sexuality on the sexological practice. Findings & discussion: We have observed a great variety of norms regarding sexual health. The topic of instrumental use of one’s own or partner’s body emerged as one of the most controversial and important for defining a sexual norm. Within this topic we identified three threads: body use for mercantile purposes (sexual surrogates and workers), for purposes resulting from internalized social expectations as to the role of the spouse, and for satisfying the needs of one partner only (e.g. instrumental use of other’s body for one’s own pleasure). Limits in the acceptance of these various forms of body use were strongly conditioned by therapist’s leading moral values, adopted psychological theories or medical norms, and personal attachment to cultural prescripts regarding sexual activity in marriage. Recommendations: The goal of sexological treatment is regarded by various therapists as unambiguous: the client’s well-being. Despite this ostensible consensus, our research shows that the client’s well-being may be interpreted in very different ways. The phenomena perceived by some sexologists as pathological and requiring treatments, by the others are treated as normative and even worthy of affirmation. The chosen topic of instrumental body use spotlights these essential differences and reveals that there is no common set of sexual norms on which all sex therapists would agree.