ABSTRACT
Though broad and blanket phrases like “toxic masculinity” and “sexual entitlement” have appeared in the public eye, the problem of how men interpret their relationships to women is still under-examined in mass media and public discourse. While the media has directed attention toward certain men outed as predators or sexual harassers, this undersells the normality of imbalanced gender relations and the pervasive problems of how sexuality links up with power and privilege. In this chapter, I looked closely at three case studies with men in treatment for long-term sex addiction and compulsive sexual behavior. After reviewing a brief and controversial history of sex addiction and some of the clinical implications for treatment of sex addiction, I turn to three case studies that showcase the diverse range of sex addiction: sex addiction with prostitutes, porn addiction, and sex addiction through dating apps. I examine the ways that these clients imagine women, and how feminist therapy interventions work not only to help with their compulsive behaviors but also to reshape their views of women’s sexual subjectivities. I also make links between cultural misogyny and the ways that sex addiction manifests in these men’s attitudes about beliefs about women, combined with various feminist-minded interventions that may help sex addict patients in therapy.
