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Objective: Sexual desire is a psychological state that prompts individuals to engage in sexual activity. Although interest about this topic is constantly increasing, there are no validated instruments to measure sexual desire in Italy, making scientific studies difficult. This paper aims to provide a contribution to validation of the Sexual Desire Inventory-2 (SDI-2) for the Italian population, investigating factorial structure, invariance, reliability and validity. Method: The sample was composed of 389 Italian participants from a nonclinical population. The thirteen-item SDI-2 and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) for measuring impulsiveness were administered. Results: The results supported two dimensions, i.e. dyadic and solitary desire, and partially measurement invariance across gender. Furthermore, good validity and reliability indicators have been gained. Conclusions: the Italian version of the SDI-2 supports good psychometrics properties. It may be considered a valid and reliable measure for assessing dyadic and solitary sexual desire. Therefore, the present inventory may be used, in the research and clinical field, as an innovative instrument in order to investigate sexual desire and its relationship with clinical disorders [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims at discussing the intersections of disability and sexuality as narrated by lesbian women with chronic illness. It draws from an empirical study conducted in Portugal and Italy between 2016 and 2018 with LGBTQA + chronically ill people: in particular, the article focuses on fifteen biographical interviews collected among participants that self-identify as lesbian. The interviews highlight intersections of sexuality through the experience of chronic illness, showing different strategies through which lesbian women re-invent their own self-definition and their sexual practices in intimate encounters with partners. The first part discusses the contributions of feminist disability studies and crip studies in the understanding of the entanglements between able-bodiedness and heteronormativity. In the second section, the analysis focuses on narratives around dating: in particular, it explores the difficulties reported by participants in coming out as chronically ill to their sexual partners. In the third section, the paper discusses desires and sexual practices: since illness influences the way desires are embodied and negotiated, participants find ways to face their vulnerabilities and establish self-caring sexual encounters. The last section addresses the importance of communication in this process, enabling forms of transformative actions and resilience through sexual practices. The article aims at contributing to the existing literature on disability and sexuality, shedding light on the specific aspects of the experience narrated by lesbian women with chronic illness: such aspects challenge normative assumptions over the entanglements between disability and sexuality and question some of the pillars on which disability is constructed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Displacing the physiological model that had held sway in 19th-century medical thinking, early 20th-century hormone research promoted an understanding of the body and sexual desires in which variations in sex characteristics and non-reproductive sexual behaviours such as homosexuality were attributed to anomalies in the internal secretions produced by the testes or the ovaries. Biotypology, a new brand of medical science conceived and led by the Italian endocrinologist Nicola Pende, employed hormone research to study human types and hormone treatments to normalise individuals who did not conform to accepted medical norms. Latin American medical doctors, eugenicists, and sexologists took up biotypology with enthusiasm. This article considers the case studies of Italy, Argentina, and Brazil, and analyses the work of medical doctors who adopted a biotypological mode of reasoning and employed to various extents hormone therapies in their practice. By focusing on hormone therapies that aimed to normalise secondary sexual characteristics and the sexual instinct, the article suggests that while the existence of normality was contested to the point that a number of medical scientists argued that no such thing existed, the pursuit of normality was carried out in very practical terms through the new medical technologies hormone research had introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate how individual and couple's sexuality had changed during the COVID-19 pandemic-related quarantine.Methods: A quantitative correlational research study was conducted, using a web-based survey.Results: About 1576 participants were involved: 1018 women (64.6%) and 558 men (35.4%). A significant decline in the mean well-being scores during the quarantine, compared to before, was reported. A positive correlation between the well-being scores and the number of sexual intercourse (SI) before and during the quarantine was found. The mean number of SI decreased significantly during the quarantine. The main reasons were: poor privacy (43.2%) and lack of psychological stimuli (40.9%). About 1124 respondents (71.3%) did not report sexual desire (SD) reduction. A positive association between SD and SI during the quarantine was found. About 61.2% did not report autoerotism reduction. In those who reported decreased masturbation activity, the main causes were poor privacy (46.4%) and lack of desire (34.7%). We found that men presented lower SD during the quarantine, than women (P < 0.01).Conclusion: Potentially, the more time available might lead couples to reconnect at an intimate level and to improve their sexuality. However, the majority of quarantined participants experienced reduced number of SI per week, with poor household privacy and lack of psychological stimuli as cited causes, even as a majority did not report reduced autoeroticism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ownership of wild animal furs in Renaissance Italy was a sign of prosperity and social status. In addition to the explicit aspect of wealth, owning wild animal furs also meant that the wearer came from good lineage and could dress as befitting a noble station thanks to the exemption from the restrictions imposed by sumptuary laws. Contrary to modern expectations of conspicuous display these valuable skins were used as linings for clothing with the fur in contact with the body. Wearing fur on the outside of the garment raised a series of moral issues concerned with the animal origin of fur and the wearer's relationship to the animal world. Renaissance eroticism was mainly associated with the baser, sensual faculties and sexual appetites, that is, animal behaviour. Because it was linked to the emotions, it had the power to disturb the mind and the soul, and to disrupt order by posing a threat to a rational, civilized community. For that reason, the suspicions surrounding animal skins have to be taken into account when considering the rage for using valuable pelts in Europe. This paper will delve into the complex meanings attributed to fur: its status as a luxury good as well as the visual and symbolic associations to eroticism that inhibited its open display. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first study in Italy to evaluate parenting desires and intentions, the value of parenthood and individual perception of competence as a parent in an Italian sample of lesbian women (N = 201), gay men (N = 199) and heterosexual participants (female = 314 and male = 216) 18-35 years of age. Childless lesbian and gay individuals were less likely than their heterosexual peers to report parenting desires and intentions. Data suggested that lesbians and gay male participants reported a lower level of enrichment and less confidence in receiving social support as parents than their heterosexual counterparts. Regression analysis indicated that sexual orientation is the best predictor of desires and intentions for women and men participants. Our findings suggest that, while some Italian lesbian and gay people want to become parents, their intentions probably founder due to the difficulty to access to adoption, donor insemination or surrogate maternity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines a sexual assault case in Italy that received significant media attention which illustrates how changing rape laws on the books does not bring about change in attitudes. In 1979, efforts have been made to reform the country's rape law after Italians submitted a proposal to the Italian legislature to completely revamp the law. An important aspect of it was to change the classification of sexual offenses in the Italian Penal Code. Another important aspect is the elimination of the distinction between violent acts of lust and carnal violence. It also touches on the concept of the bene giuridico or legal good or right in Italian criminal law.

The article examines the play "The Revenger's Tragedy" which portrays the court society in Italy. It is stated that the court society goes down into a state of moral decay in which the unchecked appetites and illicit desires of royal inhabitants prevails. It furthers that the structure of society is bent to fulfill its physical and material cravings due to the dominance of aristocracy beyond legal consequence. Moreover, it notes that the corrupt ruling society and practice of revenge is criticized by the author of the play and uses the living women of the play to suggest more humane system by achieving renewal and regeneration.