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'''Involuntary celibacy''' (colloquially incel<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.involuntarycelibacy.com/ |title=The Incel Project |website=Involuntary Celibacy |accessdate=2013-11-28}}{{rs|date=November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.love-shy.com/ |title=Love-Shy.com: Support for the dating challenged |accessdate=2013-11-28}}</ref>) is [[chronic condition|chronic]] near-total or total absence in [[sexual intimacy|intimate relationship]]s or [[sexual intercourse]], for reasons other than voluntary [[celibacy]], [[asexuality]], [[antisexualism]], or [[sexual abstinence]].
'''Involuntary celibacy''' (colloquially '''incel'''){{By whom|date=February 2013}} is [[chronic condition|chronic]] near-total or total absence in [[human sexuality|a person's sexuality]] of [[sexual intimacy|intimate relationship]]s or [[sexual intercourse]] for reasons other than voluntary [[celibacy]], [[asexuality]], [[antisexualism]], or [[sexual abstinence]].{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} It is the psycho-social opposite of having a [[sex life]].


Distinct from other forms of [[celibacy]], involuntary celibacy is a term used to describe individuals who are just as sexually driven as typical individuals, but whose day-to-day experiences, despite a normal amount of effort on their part, fail to produce sexual partnerships. Incel persons therefore lack intimate physical connection for very long periods of their adult lives — not merely, for example, a 12- or 24-month gap — while also perpetually failing to secure opportunities for sexual engagement in the first place.
Involuntary celibacy is distinct from other forms of [[celibacy]]. Involuntarily celibate individuals are just as sexually driven as a typical individual, but their day to day experiences, despite effort on their part, fail to produce any significant sexual partnerships. Incel persons therefore lack intimate physical connection for very long periods of their adult lives — not merely, for example, a 12- or 24-month gap — while also perpetually failing to secure opportunities for sexual engagement in the first place. Thus, bettering their own sexuality through accumulation of ever-greater 'sexual experience' becomes difficult or even impossible.<ref name=Donnelly>[http://www.scribd.com/doc/23792587/Involuntary-Celibacy-A-Life-Course-Analysis "Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis"] D. Donnelly, E. Burgess, S. Anderson, R. Curry, J. Dillard, ''Journal of Sex Research'' 38(2), S. 159–169. (2001)</ref>


Most individuals identifying as incel exhibit the same social behaviours as their peers who have sex lives.<ref name=Donnelly>[http://www.scribd.com/doc/23792587/Involuntary-Celibacy-A-Life-Course-Analysis "Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis"] D. Donnelly, E. Burgess, S. Anderson, R. Curry, J. Dillard, ''Journal of Sex Research'' 38(2), S. 159–169. (2001)</ref> A few of the involuntarily celibate population might exhibit discernible [[personality disorders]] that preclude current and future sexual opportunities, but the small amount of research done on this subject indicates that the incel population are on the whole socially normal, otherwise healthy individuals whose [[sexual frustration|frustration]] is merely a product of their lack of sex, and not vice versa.<ref name=Donnelly/>
Most incel people are not physically unattractive, and they exhibit the same social behaviours as their peers who have sex lives.<ref name= Donnelly/> A few of the involuntarily celibate population might exhibit discernible [[personality disorders]] that preclude current and future sexual opportunities, but the small amount of research done on this subject indicates that the incel population are on the whole socially normal, otherwise healthy individuals whose frustration is merely a product of their lack of sex, and not vice versa.<ref name=Donnelly/>


==Definition and psychological consequences==
==Prevalence==
Involuntarily celibate people tend to suffer from intense [[loneliness]], [[frustration]], and [[Depression (mood)|depression]] as a result of the very prolonged periods of lack of sexual and/or intimate body contact. In most [[Westernized]] and [[sex-positive]] societies, additional social standards pressure people to have experienced sexual interaction in some form by their 20s or 30s. If the person lacks any such experience while all of his or her peers have it, serious psychological consequences can result. <ref name=Donnelly/> No quantified records have addressed the issue of involuntarily celibate people participating as clients for [[escort services]] or [[prostitutes]] as a means of 'breaking' the pattern. The lack of information is likely due to the unlikelihood of any researcher being able to discern who among such clients would otherwise be incel, and who would not.
⚫
There is very little [[sexological]] study regarding involuntary celibacy. Prior to a self-directed study on modern involuntary celibacy initiated in 1998 by researchers from [[Georgia State University]], there were zero publicly searchable research-based sources on the phenomenon. Even the 1998 study was only started once a member of an online discussion group for involuntary celibates inquired about current research on the subject.<ref>[http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwexa/news/archive/sciences/01_invcelrel.htm For many, sexless lifestyle is not a choice], Georgia State University News Release, July 24, 2001 (accessed December 14, 2006)</ref> The study, ''Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis'',<ref name=Donnelly/> was published in 2001 in the ''[[Journal of Sex Research]]'', produced by the [[Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality]]. ''Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis'' has also been included in an anthology of scholarly literature.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sex Matters: The Sexuality and Society Reader |first=Mindy |last=Stombler |publisher=Allyn and Bacon |date=2004 |isbn=0205359744}}</ref> A more recent study has been made into involuntary celibacy inside marriage and long-term cohabiting relationships<ref>Donnelly, D., and Burgess, E. (2008). [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00498.x/abstract ''The decision to remain in an involuntarily celibate relationship''.] Journal of Marriage and Family 70(2):519-535.</ref> and was published in 2008 in the ''[[Journal of Marriage and Family]]''.


⚫
In the case of [[news reporter]] [[Christine Chubbuck]]'s [[suicide]] on [[live television]], Chubbuck's involuntary celibacy is considered to be the driving force behind both her depression and suicide.<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NO4vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AvsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3643,6084097&dq=christine+chubbuck*hl-en "What Made Christine Chubbuck Want To Commit Suicide?"], ''[[The Lakeland Ledger]]'', August 22, 1974</ref> While [[sexual abstinence]] diminishes the risk of contracting [[sexually transmitted disease]]s (STD) it may necessitate relinquishment of potential health benefits of sex.<ref>{{cite web|last=Doheny |first=Kathleen |url=http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-sex |title=10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex |publisher=Webmd.com |accessdate= 2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/74575 |title=Six Reasons to Have Sex Every Week |publisher=Thedailybeast.com |date= 2007-12-09 |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref> Some researchers conclude that male incel people are more likely to [[binge drink]] as a substitute for sexual relations.<ref>{{cite web|last=Szalavitz |first=Maia |url=http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/16/sexually-frustrated-flies-are-driven-to-drink |title=Sexually Frustrated Flies Are Driven To Drink |publisher=Healthland.time.com |date= 2012-03-16 |accessdate= 2012-08-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Carey |first=Benedict |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/health/male-fruit-flies-spurned-by-females-turn-to-alcohol.html?_r=1 |title=Learning From the Spurned and Tipsy Fruit Fly |publisher=Nytimes.com |date=2012-03-15 |accessdate=2012-08-15}}</ref>
==Causes==
An analysis by Denise Donnelly et al. of a group of incels revealed that only 29% of virgin incels (those who had never had a sexual experience) had ever participated in kissing or other activities involving a partner. Her research indicates that as incels (and virgins in particular) miss key milestones in their sexual trajectory they find themselves on a radically different sexual development path than their peers.<ref name=Donnelly/>


===Personality consequences===
Other factors, as identified by Donnelly’s 2001 life course analysis<ref name=Donnelly/> (unless otherwise cited) include shyness; inability to relate to others; poor body image; difficult living arrangements (e.g. with parents, roommates, or in an isolated area); inconvenient work arrangements; lack of transportation; disinterest in having sex in the absence of love or a relationship; commitment to a marriage or relationship with a partner who is not interested in having sex with them; reduced physical ability to have sex as a result of illness, injury or handicap, or because of difficulty in developing and maintaining erections as a result of [[erectile dysfunction]] or impotence.<ref>[http://www.muschealth.com/gs/glossary.aspx?pageid=P00522 Erectile dysfunction] glossary - [[MUSC]] Health</ref>
⚫
Behaviours associated with this prolonged lack of physically intimate events can include self-absorption and an unhealthy preoccupation with [[human sexual behavior|sexual activities]], caused at its root by a backlog of [[sexual arousal]] which can adversely effect [[social interaction]]s.<ref>Russell, Bertrand. 1970. ''Of Marriage & Morals''. Liverlight Publishing Corporation. New York. pp. 286–291</ref> The prolonged lack of partnered sexual release can also make it more difficult for affected individuals to [[sexual sublimation|channel sexual energy]] into other pursuits. Meanwhile, internal consequences that can have external manifestations in an incel person tend to follow the standard [[sexual frustration]] pattern of tension, [[irritability]], [[belligerence]], [[sleep disorder|trouble sleeping]], [[mood swings]], perpetual agitation, [[stress (medicine)|stress]], and [[anxiety]].


==Depth and prevalence==
⚫
Additionally, men may disqualify appealing women as "relationship material" based on the [[stereotype]] that beautiful women are less likely to be faithful as [[girlfriend]]s or [[wives]], or to become good mothers, and would be the most likely to seek [[divorce]].<ref>Etcoff Nancy. 1996. ''Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty''. Anchor Books. New York. (p. 88)</ref>
⚫
There is very little [[sexological]] study regarding involuntary celibacy. Prior to a self-directed study on modern involuntary celibacy initiated in 1998 by researchers from [[Georgia State University]], there were zero publicly searchable research-based sources on the phenomenon. Even the 1998 study was only started once a member of an online discussion group for involuntary celibates inquired about current research on the subject.<ref>[http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwexa/news/archive/sciences/01_invcelrel.htm For many, sexless lifestyle is not a choice], Georgia State University News Release, July 24, 2001 (accessed December 14, 2006)</ref> The study, ''Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis'',<ref name=Donnelly/> was published in 2001 in the ''[[Journal of Sex Research]]'', produced by the [[Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality]]. A news article reporting on the study indicated that involuntary celibacy can lead to anger and depression.<ref>[http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/members/news/2001/usnarch/usnewsarchive-11072001-11132001.htm ''Study shows that involuntary celibacy can lead to anger and depression''] American Association of Single People, November 12, 2001 (accessed December 14, 2006)</ref> ''Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis'' has also been included in an anthology of scholarly literature.<ref>[http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=781482936&searchurl=isbn%3D0205359744%26nsa%3D1 ''Sex Matters''] AbeBooks.com, (accessed December 14, 2006){{Dead link|date=August 2010}}</ref> A more recent study has been made into involuntary celibacy inside marriage and long-term cohabiting relationships<ref>Donnelly, D., and Burgess, E. (2008). [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00498.x/abstract ''The decision to remain in an involuntarily celibate relationship''.] Journal of Marriage and Family 70(2):519-535.</ref> and was published in 2008 in the ''[[Journal of Marriage and Family]]''.


The single chapter devoted to involuntary celibacy in historian Elizabeth Abbott's book ''The History of Celibacy'' bears little similarity to current use of the term. The examples cited include <ref>{{Cite book |author=Elizabeth Abbot |title=A History of Celibacy |publisher=Da Capo Press |location=New York |year=2001 |chapter=Coerced Celibacy: Involuntary Celibacy |pages=303–337 |isbn=0-306-81041-7}}</ref> those living amidst skewed sex ratios caused by the death of many men in a war or [[Sex-selective abortion|preferential abandonment or abortion of females]] (the latter is particularly severe in [[China]] and [[India]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html |title=Case Study: Female Infanticide |publisher=Gendercidewatch.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Tripp |first=Stephanie |url= http://www.elahemassumi.com/femaletext1.html |title= Professor Studies Effects of Female Infanticide |publisher=Elahemassumi.com |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>), [[prisoner]]s, those without access to the money needed to deal with a child, those denied the right to marry by social norms like [[Women in Hinduism#Widowhood and remarriage|widows in certain Hindu communities]] or younger sisters in societies that call for the oldest to be married first, women whose families lack money for the [[dowries]] required by their society, people who would lose their jobs if they were known to be sexually active like [[apprentice]]s and journeymen in certain trades in [[Medieval Europe]], or certain Western domestic servant or educator positions prior to the previous centuries, and men [[castrate]]d against their will.
The single chapter devoted to involuntary celibacy in historian Elizabeth Abbott's book ''The History of Celibacy'' bears little similarity to current use of the term. The examples cited include <ref>{{Cite book |author=Elizabeth Abbot |title=A History of Celibacy |publisher=Da Capo Press |location=New York |year=2001 |chapter=Coerced Celibacy: Involuntary Celibacy |pages=303–337 |isbn=0-306-81041-7}}</ref> those living amidst skewed sex ratios caused by the death of many men in a war or [[Sex-selective abortion|preferential abandonment or abortion of females]] (the latter is particularly severe in [[China]] and [[India]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html |title=Case Study: Female Infanticide |publisher=Gendercidewatch.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Tripp |first=Stephanie |url= http://www.elahemassumi.com/femaletext1.html |title= Professor Studies Effects of Female Infanticide |publisher=Elahemassumi.com |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>), [[prisoner]]s, those without access to the money needed to deal with a child, those denied the right to marry by social norms like [[Women in Hinduism#Widowhood and remarriage|widows in certain Hindu communities]] or younger sisters in societies that call for the oldest to be married first, women whose families lack money for the [[dowries]] required by their society, people who would lose their jobs if they were known to be sexually active like [[apprentice]]s and journeymen in certain trades in [[Medieval Europe]], or certain Western domestic servant or educator positions prior to the previous centuries, and men [[castrate]]d against their will.


==Possible contributing factors==
== Impact ==
Possible reasons listed below are controversial among vocal involuntary celibates themselves{{where|date=March 2013}}.
Donnelly's analysis states 35% of celibates express dissatisfaction, frustration, or anger about their lack of sexual relationships.<ref name=Donnelly/> In most [[Westernized]] and [[sex-positive]] societies, additional social standards pressure people to have experienced sexual interaction in some form by their 20s or 30s.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} If the person lacks any such experience while all of his or her peers have it, serious psychological consequences can result.<ref name=Donnelly/>

⚫
While [[sexual abstinence]] diminishes the risk of contracting [[sexually transmitted disease]]s (STD) it may necessitate relinquishment of potential health benefits of sex.<ref>{{cite web|last=Doheny |first=Kathleen |url=http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-sex |title=10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex |publisher=Webmd.com |accessdate= 2012-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/74575 |title=Six Reasons to Have Sex Every Week |publisher=Thedailybeast.com |date= 2007-12-09 |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref> Some researchers suspect that male involuntary celibates are more likely to [[binge drink]] as a substitute for sexual relations.<ref>{{cite web|last=Szalavitz |first=Maia |url=http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/16/sexually-frustrated-flies-are-driven-to-drink |title=Sexually Frustrated Flies Are Driven To Drink |publisher=Healthland.time.com |date= 2012-03-16 |accessdate= 2012-08-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Carey |first=Benedict |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/health/male-fruit-flies-spurned-by-females-turn-to-alcohol.html?_r=1 |title=Learning From the Spurned and Tipsy Fruit Fly |publisher=Nytimes.com |date=2012-03-15 |accessdate=2012-08-15}}</ref> A news article reporting on the study indicated that involuntary celibacy can lead to anger and depression.<ref>[http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/members/news/2001/usnarch/usnewsarchive-11072001-11132001.htm ''Study shows that involuntary celibacy can lead to anger and depression''] American Association of Single People, November 12, 2001 (accessed December 14, 2006)</ref>

⚫
Behaviours associated with this prolonged lack of physically intimate events can include self-absorption and an unhealthy preoccupation with [[human sexual behavior|sexual activities]], caused at its root by a backlog of [[sexual arousal]] which can adversely affect [[social interaction]]s.<ref>Russell, Bertrand. 1970. ''Of Marriage & Morals''. Liverlight Publishing Corporation. New York. pp. 286–291</ref> The prolonged lack of partnered sexual release can also make it more difficult for affected individuals to [[sexual sublimation|channel sexual energy]] into other pursuits.

== Notable examples ==
George Sodini, the assailant in the [[2009 Collier Township shooting]] wrote extensively in his blog about his sexual frustration and rejection by women.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gunman in health club shooting a 48-year-old loner|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/gunman-in-health-club-shooting-a-48-year-old-loner-1.422779|accessdate=20 November 2013|newspaper=CTV News|date=5 Aug 2009}}</ref>


* Lack of suitable social circumstances conducive to sex
In the case of [[news reporter]] [[Christine Chubbuck]]'s [[suicide]] on [[live television]], Chubbuck's involuntary celibacy is considered to be the driving force behind both her depression and suicide.<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NO4vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AvsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3643,6084097&dq=christine+chubbuck*hl-en "What Made Christine Chubbuck Want To Commit Suicide?"], ''[[The Lakeland Ledger]]'', August 22, 1974</ref>
* [[Cognitive bias]]es and/or negative [[explanatory style]]s such as [[learned helplessness]] or [[fundamental attribution error]], including self-sabotaging [[passive-aggressive]] patterns and [[self esteem]] issues
* Psychological [[disabilities]] such as [[Specific social phobia|social phobias]], [[social anxiety]], [[avoidant personality disorder]], [[post traumatic stress disorder]] or [[Autism spectrum|Autism spectrum disorders]].
* The [[Effects and aftermath of rape|long-term effects of rape]], [[incest]] and [[child sexual abuse]] may play a role in shrinking the pool of suitable, sexually available partners; some victims become sexually unavailable due to [[psychological trauma]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Sloan |first=Louise |url=http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0,,20188385,00.html |title=Psychological Issues Can Fuel a Low Libido |publisher=Health.com |date=2008-05-05 |accessdate=2012-09-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Slowik |first=Guy |url=http://ehealthmd.com/content/what-causes-low-sex-drive#abuse |title=What Causes Low Sex Drive? |publisher=ehealthmd.com |date=2012-04-19 |accessdate=2012-09-24}}</ref>
* Living in [[rural]] and [[suburban]] areas with constrained sexual, romantic, and marriage patterns{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}
⚫
* Heterosexual men who disqualify appealing women as "relationship material" based on the [[stereotype]] that beautiful women are less likely to be faithful as [[girlfriend]]s or [[wives]], or to become good mothers, and would be the most likely to seek [[divorce]].<ref>Etcoff Nancy. 1996. ''Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty''. Anchor Books. New York. (p. 88)</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Antisexualism]]
*[[Asexuality]]
*[[Asexuality]]
*[[Celibacy]]
*[[Attachment theory]]
*[[Love-shyness]]
*[[Erectile dysfunction]]
*[[Sexual abstinence]]
*[[Nice guy]]
*[[Sexual frustration]]
*[[Sexual frustration]]
*[[Unrequited love]]
*[[Orgastic potency]]


==References==
==References==
Line 46: Line 48:
==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/guide/sexless-in-the-city Sexless in The City]
* [http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/guide/sexless-in-the-city Sexless in The City]
* [http://www.involuntarycelibacy.com The Incel project]
* [http://www.involuntarycelibacy.com The Incel project]


{{Human sexuality}}
{{Human sexuality}}

Revision as of 14:11, 7 December 2013

"Incel" redirects here. For the medication used to treat cancer patients, see Biricodar.

Involuntary celibacy (colloquially incel)[by whom?] is chronic near-total or total absence in a person's sexuality of intimate relationships or sexual intercourse for reasons other than voluntary celibacy, asexuality, antisexualism, or sexual abstinence.[citation needed] It is the psycho-social opposite of having a sex life.

Involuntary celibacy is distinct from other forms of celibacy. Involuntarily celibate individuals are just as sexually driven as a typical individual, but their day to day experiences, despite effort on their part, fail to produce any significant sexual partnerships. Incel persons therefore lack intimate physical connection for very long periods of their adult lives — not merely, for example, a 12- or 24-month gap — while also perpetually failing to secure opportunities for sexual engagement in the first place. Thus, bettering their own sexuality through accumulation of ever-greater 'sexual experience' becomes difficult or even impossible.[1]

Most incel people are not physically unattractive, and they exhibit the same social behaviours as their peers who have sex lives.[1] A few of the involuntarily celibate population might exhibit discernible personality disorders that preclude current and future sexual opportunities, but the small amount of research done on this subject indicates that the incel population are on the whole socially normal, otherwise healthy individuals whose frustration is merely a product of their lack of sex, and not vice versa.[1]

Definition and psychological consequences

Involuntarily celibate people tend to suffer from intense loneliness, frustration, and depression as a result of the very prolonged periods of lack of sexual and/or intimate body contact. In most Westernized and sex-positive societies, additional social standards pressure people to have experienced sexual interaction in some form by their 20s or 30s. If the person lacks any such experience while all of his or her peers have it, serious psychological consequences can result. [1] No quantified records have addressed the issue of involuntarily celibate people participating as clients for escort services or prostitutes as a means of 'breaking' the pattern. The lack of information is likely due to the unlikelihood of any researcher being able to discern who among such clients would otherwise be incel, and who would not.

In the case of news reporter Christine Chubbuck's suicide on live television, Chubbuck's involuntary celibacy is considered to be the driving force behind both her depression and suicide.[2] While sexual abstinence diminishes the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STD) it may necessitate relinquishment of potential health benefits of sex.[3][4] Some researchers conclude that male incel people are more likely to binge drink as a substitute for sexual relations.[5][6]

Personality consequences

Behaviours associated with this prolonged lack of physically intimate events can include self-absorption and an unhealthy preoccupation with sexual activities, caused at its root by a backlog of sexual arousal which can adversely effect social interactions.[7] The prolonged lack of partnered sexual release can also make it more difficult for affected individuals to channel sexual energy into other pursuits. Meanwhile, internal consequences that can have external manifestations in an incel person tend to follow the standard sexual frustration pattern of tension, irritability, belligerence, trouble sleeping, mood swings, perpetual agitation, stress, and anxiety.

Depth and prevalence

There is very little sexological study regarding involuntary celibacy. Prior to a self-directed study on modern involuntary celibacy initiated in 1998 by researchers from Georgia State University, there were zero publicly searchable research-based sources on the phenomenon. Even the 1998 study was only started once a member of an online discussion group for involuntary celibates inquired about current research on the subject.[8] The study, Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis,[1] was published in 2001 in the Journal of Sex Research, produced by the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. A news article reporting on the study indicated that involuntary celibacy can lead to anger and depression.[9] Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis has also been included in an anthology of scholarly literature.[10] A more recent study has been made into involuntary celibacy inside marriage and long-term cohabiting relationships[11] and was published in 2008 in the Journal of Marriage and Family.

The single chapter devoted to involuntary celibacy in historian Elizabeth Abbott's book The History of Celibacy bears little similarity to current use of the term. The examples cited include [12] those living amidst skewed sex ratios caused by the death of many men in a war or preferential abandonment or abortion of females (the latter is particularly severe in China and India[13][14]), prisoners, those without access to the money needed to deal with a child, those denied the right to marry by social norms like widows in certain Hindu communities or younger sisters in societies that call for the oldest to be married first, women whose families lack money for the dowries required by their society, people who would lose their jobs if they were known to be sexually active like apprentices and journeymen in certain trades in Medieval Europe, or certain Western domestic servant or educator positions prior to the previous centuries, and men castrated against their will.

Possible contributing factors

Possible reasons listed below are controversial among vocal involuntary celibates themselves[where?].

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Involuntary celibacy: A life course analysis" D. Donnelly, E. Burgess, S. Anderson, R. Curry, J. Dillard, Journal of Sex Research 38(2), S. 159–169. (2001)
  2. ^ "What Made Christine Chubbuck Want To Commit Suicide?", The Lakeland Ledger, August 22, 1974
  3. ^ Doheny, Kathleen. "10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex". Webmd.com. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  4. ^ "Six Reasons to Have Sex Every Week". Thedailybeast.com. 2007-12-09. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  5. ^ Szalavitz, Maia (2012-03-16). "Sexually Frustrated Flies Are Driven To Drink". Healthland.time.com. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  6. ^ Carey, Benedict (2012-03-15). "Learning From the Spurned and Tipsy Fruit Fly". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  7. ^ Russell, Bertrand. 1970. Of Marriage & Morals. Liverlight Publishing Corporation. New York. pp. 286–291
  8. ^ For many, sexless lifestyle is not a choice, Georgia State University News Release, July 24, 2001 (accessed December 14, 2006)
  9. ^ Study shows that involuntary celibacy can lead to anger and depression American Association of Single People, November 12, 2001 (accessed December 14, 2006)
  10. ^ Sex Matters AbeBooks.com, (accessed December 14, 2006)[dead link]
  11. ^ Donnelly, D., and Burgess, E. (2008). The decision to remain in an involuntarily celibate relationship. Journal of Marriage and Family 70(2):519-535.
  12. ^ Elizabeth Abbot (2001). "Coerced Celibacy: Involuntary Celibacy". A History of Celibacy. New York: Da Capo Press. pp. 303–337. ISBN 0-306-81041-7.
  13. ^ "Case Study: Female Infanticide". Gendercidewatch.org. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  14. ^ Tripp, Stephanie. "Professor Studies Effects of Female Infanticide". Elahemassumi.com. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  15. ^ Sloan, Louise (2008-05-05). "Psychological Issues Can Fuel a Low Libido". Health.com. Retrieved 2012-09-24.
  16. ^ Slowik, Guy (2012-04-19). "What Causes Low Sex Drive?". ehealthmd.com. Retrieved 2012-09-24.
  17. ^ Etcoff Nancy. 1996. Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty. Anchor Books. New York. (p. 88)
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