Sexuality Across the Life Cycle

Sexuality and gender play a significant role in an individual's sense of self, their interpersonal relationships, and their relationship to society. These aspects of the self are also profoundly shaped by systems of oppression including white supremacy, cisheteronormativity, patriarchy, fatphobia, and ableism. Through cultural narratives and stereotypes, biased sex education, and laws that regulate sex, these systems of oppression influence our definitions of what bodies, sexualities, and sexual practices are “legitimate.” This course takes an intersectional approach to examining the major developmental stages of sexuality across the lifespan as clinically relevant junctures of emotional, physical, and relational change, and as moments where sexual dysfunctions can inhibit our access to pleasure. Students will study the clinical goals and issues that arise sexually across the lifespan and a variety of assessment questions, interventions, and approaches to treating sexual dysfunctions. Sex-positive, queer-informed approaches to working with sexuality in clinical settings will be discussed through the lenses of intimate justice; active engagement with deconstructing biases; attachment theory; kink-affirming clinical practice; competencies in ethical non-monogamies; and somatic practices. Class work will include readings, written reflections on bias, in-class experientials, discussion of case studies, and guest lectures.