UCLA Center for the Study of Women

This review considers the literature on sexual problems, with a focus on the most prevalent sexual dysfunction among women – low sexual desire disorder. I first discuss the debates over the definition of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) and then I consider the extent and nature of low sexual desire among women. Next I provide an overview of the underlying mechanisms that are said to account for HSDD. I end the review with a discussion of avenues for future work on sexual problems by sociologists.