Women develop a sex addiction basically in the same as men do, only it may take a form that makes it harder to recognize.
Unlike addictions that involve drug abuse or other behaviors such as alcoholism or gambling, sex addiction comes with far more cultural baggage.
Our society tends to look at men as sexual aggressors.
They are the ones who are out looking for it and the more they get, the better.
They are the Don Juans, the studs.
Women, meanwhile, are seen as the targets of this behavior and for them, having a lot of sex can earn them the label of a "whore" or "slut.
" The culture sees women as beings who do not generally want sex and have to be talked into it somehow.
Of course these are sweeping generalizations that vary from place to place and social circle to social circle, but hints of it can be seen nearly everywhere.
It does not mean that women cannot develop sex addiction, but it does mean an addicted woman's behavior and motivation may be slightly altered from a man's.
First, what sets off a sex addiction is when the person, male or female, begins using sex to run interference on a negative emotion.
It feels good and releases brain chemicals that drown out other chemicals that cause a person to feel bad.
The person is seeking sex because they are aroused (Although a hyper active sex drive can play a role in developing addiction), it's being done to avoid something else.
The behavior becomes a full addiction when that behavior causes problems for the person, and all attempts to stop it fail.
It tends to be different for women in the following ways.
According to http://www.
sexualrecovery.
com, women suffering from this issue are often seeking the highs that come from romance and love, even though the relationships they are in have little connection with those two things.
Where a man might be content with the physical sex act, a woman is likely to go after the emotional highs one gets at the start of a relationship.
She will go from one partner to another seeking that high, leaving the previous relationship when the high wears off.
Of course in some cases, the woman is married or in a solid relationship, and cheats on her significant other in seeking those powerful first date emotions.
As the cycle goes on, the woman will often enter these relationships at a greater frequency and express a greater and greater enthusiasm for them at the outset.
She may use physical sex to secure the relationships, ignoring the dangers of unwanted pregnancy, or sexually transmitted illnesses.
These are the negative consequences of her actions, and in the female addict, they will be rationalized or ignored.
How a woman obtains sex, because of different cultural expectations, may also showcase itself in more manipulative behaviors rather than direct ones.
Whereas a male will simply go to a prostitute, a female is more likely choose a different route, possibly putting herself in situations that make her vulnerable to sexual advancements or just not being picky in her romantic partners.
While women also can fall into heavy use of pornography and masturbation in, there is some science behind men being more affected by visual sexual stimulus than women, so in a female this behavior is less likely to be seen.
Women may lean towards forms of exhibitionism, such as wearing overly revealing clothing, putting an excessive amount time into sexualizing their appearance, or even "accidentally" revealing themselves to men.
Here, cultural norms and mores can muddy the waters and make identifying sexually compulsive behavior in a woman difficult.
How revealing is too revealing? Is a woman exposing herself in some situations less likely to be seen as a problem than if a man were to do it the same way? This could matter when it comes to linking the negative consequences to the sexual behaviors.
The behaviors of female sex addicts, in some cases, may come off as more socially acceptable than they would on a male.
A woman dancing at a club who becomes overly aggressive may be met with a different reaction that it would with a male.
The same goes for flirting behavior.
The acts are still doing the job of creating feel good brain chemicals to thwart negative emotions, and at some point they will have to increase and will lead to problems; however they may not be seen for what they are, symptoms of sex addiction.
A male addict will often have periods where he can abstain from the sexual behavior; however, his resolve breaks down after a short time.
Women can abstain for longer periods, but tend to replace the addiction with something else, like eating or alcohol consumption.