Cultural Differences and the Practice of Sexual Medicine

David L. Rowland, PhD, is a Senior Research Professor of Psychology and former Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost at Valparaiso University, Indiana, USA. After receiving his doctorate from the University of Chicago and over the course of his career, he has taken research fellowships at SUNY-Stony Brook, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and Erasmus University (Netherlands). He serves on the editorial boards of half a dozen journals, was Editor-in-Chief for the Annual Review of Sex Research for five years, and is co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Mind and Medical Science. He has published several hundred research and review articles and chapters on sexual response, evaluation, dysfunction, and cross-cultural variation in men and women, and co-edited or authored a number of reference texts, including Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders (Wiley, 2008), Sexual Dysfunction in Men (Hogrefe, 2012), and Proceedings of the International Conference on Translational Medicine (Web of Science, 2018). He has consulted for numerous pharmaceutical and professional organizations, has been an expert witness for legal cases, and recently served as a Fulbright Specialist to Pakistan and Indonesia. Emmanuele A. Jannini, MD, is a Full Professor of Endocrinology, Andrology and Medical Sexology at the Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, and a Visiting Professor of Andrology at the Universities of Shanghai, Hefei, and Guangzhou. He has had numerous experiences abroad, e.g. as a guest researcher and exchange scientist at the Clinical Endocrinology Branch and at the Genetics and Biochemistry Branch, NIDDK, NIH. Later he lectured at St Catherine’s College, Oxford (UK) for summer courses organized by the European Academy of Sexual Medicine. Prof. Jannini’s scientific contributions are reflected in more than 250 papers published in peer-reviewed international journals, as well as several edited textbooks. His main research interests are sexual medicine and the andrology (erectile dysfunction and subcellular localization of type 5 phosphodiesterase; pathogenesis of premature ejaculation; functional anatomy of female orgasm) and endocrinology of reproduction and sexuality, particularly testosterone and thyroid hormone nuclear receptor phylogenesis. He is currently the President of the Italian Academy for Couples’ Health, Past President of the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine, Chairman of the Education Committee of the European Academy of Andrology, Chairman of the Publication Committee of the International Society of Sexual Medicine, and Chairman of the Multidisciplinary Joint Committee of Sexual Medicine of the Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes.

• Part I: Introduction.- Culture and Practice: Identifying the Issues.- Role of Medical Anthropology in Understanding Cultural Differences in Sexuality.- Part 2: Sexual Issues, Identity, and Challenges.- Socio-cultural perspectives, challenges, and approaches to sexual health in the Indian subcontinent.- Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexuality from a Cross-Cultural Perspective.- Transcultural Homo- and Trans-Phobia.- Impact of Chinese Traditional Culture on Sexuality.- Sexual Fluidity Behind Culture.- Part 3: Dealing with Sexual Issues.- Middle East Cultural Challenges and the Treatment of Sexual Problems in Men.- Central Asian Challenges in Sexual Issues.- Western, Asian, and Middle Eastern societies’ cultural attitudes and barriers impacting the management of sexual health care.- Latin American and Latina/Latino Issues in Sexual Health.- Cultural Issues Impacting the Acceptance of Psychosexual Therapy.- Normal or normative? Italian medical experts' discourses on sexual ageing in the Viagra era.- Part 4: Sexual Differences and Cultural Variation.- Pleasure, Orgasm, and Sexual Mutilations in Different Cultural Settings.- Disposition and Treatment of Paraphilia in Non-Western Cultures.- Disability and Sexuality.- Sexual Surgery through the Ages, in Varying Cultures.- Pornography Use: What Do Cross-Cultural Patterns Tell Us?.- Cross Cultural Research: Opportunities and Strategies for Discovery.

“The book has something to teach everyone, from the novice just beginning to understand the cross disciplinary nature of sexual health care to the seasoned sexual health professional looking to enhance their understanding of specific cultures or sub-cultures. As an educational resource tool, the book is worth being read and kept as a resource … . having read it, I look forward to treating my patients more effectively and to the many lively discussions that will be engendered by this work.” (Elisabeth Gordon, Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, May 6, 2021)