Could my wife’s circumcision explain her lack of interest in sex?

I am in my mid-40s and have been married for 16 years. Our sexual life has been very underwhelming. I have tried everything I know but my wife seems to have little or no interest in sex. I do know that she was circumcised as a child. Could that have affected her sexuality?

A person’s sexuality is created through a complex combination of physical, psychological and physiological factors as well as the messages about sex they received from childhood onwards – religious beliefs, parental warnings, societal judgment and formative experiences. You have told me little, but the fact that she was circumcised suggests that she may have been raised in a society where the notion of female sexuality was not exactly appreciated. In many of the world’s societies – including our own – it is judged by some as inappropriate, and even feared, suppressed, or punished.

I cannot even try to guess your wife’s experience, or the motives of those who performed it, but I am sure it has had some effect on her conceptualisation of sex and her ability to experience pleasure. This would be particularly true if her clitoris was removed. Gently ask her if she could try to express what the circumcision was like for her, and how it might have affected her ability to enjoy sex. A gynaecologist could shed some light on how nerve loss or damage might have affected her ability to orgasm or even become aroused, and a psychosexual counsellor could suggest alternative sexual approaches. After 16 years, your wife and you deserve some understanding and hope.

• Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a US-based psychotherapist specialising in sexual disorders.

• If you would like advice from Pamela Stephenson Connolly on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns to private.lives@theguardian.com (please don’t send attachments). Each week, Pamela chooses one problem to answer, which will be published online and in print. She regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence.

Could my wife’s circumcision explain her lack of interest in sex?

AstraZeneca, Pfizer and the public interest | @guardianletters

Vince Cable is appropriate to query whether or not an AstraZeneca/Pfizer merger would be in the national curiosity (Report, 28 April). But while debate has thus far been limited to Britain’s “science base” relating to jobs, wider nationwide considerations are at stake.

British science is without a doubt about personnel undertaking analysis, but also about ethical practice. Whilst evaluating the study ethics approaches of producers is not easy, Pfizer’s record of exploiting epidemics (decried by Médecins Sans Frontières), dead and brain-broken youngsters, and forged certification in clinical trials in west Africa (as reported in the Washington Submit in 2006) is less than enviable. Repeats of this kind of episodes within an Anglo-American venture would harm “brand Britain” and United kingdom scientists’ track record all around the globe.

Closer to residence, the clout of the larger pharmaceutical producers enables them to influence United kingdom regulation policies for security and price-effectiveness – as Professor John Abraham’s and others’ investigation demonstrates. More growth of the world’s biggest drug business would grant Pfizer greater leverage upon policies with regards to the scrutinising of drug safety (MHRA EMA) and value for money (Nice). Patient safety and long term expense-effectiveness of NHS investing would not accordingly be aided by the proposed merger, especially when the politics all around pharmaceuticals is blinkered in direction of jobs.

It hence seems naive of Shapps to advocate this merger in “economic” terms, specifically given the reluctance of Pfizer’s CEO to make promises about Uk-primarily based jobs and the latest historical past of the company’s research and growth policies in east Kent.
Dr Patrick Brown
Assistant professor, Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Investigation, University of Amsterdam

• A basic answer that would defend a essential centre of British study excellence and conserve the taxpayer billions: the NHS must develop a non-revenue pharmaceutical company, supplying direct to the NHS and competing in the world industry. The medication firms would be frightened into cutting their prices, due to the fact this kind of a model would quickly be followed by most European nations. This would defend essential R&ampD excellence as the inherent idealism of scientists in the field would be maximised to be in a position to comply with need to have rather than profit.
Professor Colin Pritchard
College of health and social care, Bournemouth University

• Any scrutiny of the bid by Pfizer for AstraZeneca on grounds of national interest (Report, 6 Could) entails an examination of the tax implications. Mergers encouraged by tax guidelines in the 1960s and 70s were discovered to have been detrimental to corporate efficiency.

Britain is now perceived as a lax tax jurisdiction in contrast to the US. Pfizer could acquire by taking advantage of lower corporation tax prices and the culture of hesitant enforcement of tax guidelines by HMRC by locating its tax affairs in the United kingdom. In the New York Instances (three May), Steven Rattner factors out that about two dozen US companies have modified tax residence through cross-border mergers since 2008.

Gaming of corporate tax guidelines to decrease the burden to Pfizer may possibly not necessarily cost-free a lot more income for R&ampD. In truth the pressure to earn funds by way of merchandise innovation might even be decreased by rising possibility to earn income by the gaming of tax principles, and doing exercises better marketplace energy in negotiations with healthcare suppliers.
SP Chakravarty
Bangor

• On bank holiday Monday Pfizer announced a 15% fall in income in the three months to the end of March compared with the previous yr, to $ 2.3bn (£1.3bn). This was caused by falling revenues (down 9%) from patents expiring. It is even now a worthwhile business, but shareholders will now be hunting urgently for adjustments to cut fees and enhance earnings in the quick term. Actual hazards to Uk jobs – the two analysis staff and in the factories – are evident.

David Cameron’s original enthusiasm for this deal now appears to have been naive. Grant Shapps’s comment that Labour’s proposal to toughen the guidelines was “anti-enterprise, anti-jobs and anti-jobs safety” now sounds foolhardy, placing short-phrase election politics above the UK’s prolonged-phrase interests. The defence industry is topic to in depth investigation prior to government approval for external takeovers of this type. The organization secretary, Vince Cable, can intervene underneath the Enterprise Act. He ought to do so and make sure that the pharmaceutical and other important industries are also protected towards unwelcome takeovers. We are a single of the couple of industrial countries with out this kind of safeguards. Lack of safety endangers the two our economic recovery and United kingdom jobs.

Free of charge trade is fine, but the United kingdom should not become an open industry for foreign companies to purchase our best businesses and patents at knockdown costs. Such prudent action ought to get help across all parties.
Brian Bean
London

• As an investor, I will be bitterly disappointed if Pfizer requires more than AstraZeneca. Annual dividends of around £1.80 nonetheless seem worthwhile, even at the inflated share price near £50 nowadays, although Pfizer’s dollar a share last 12 months seems puny. Even if I had been supplied two Pfizer shares for each and every Astra share, I wouldn’t be interested. And as investment manager Neil Woodford has reportedly stated: “A cashing-out exercise is no use to me – there isn’t an additional AstraZeneca out there.”

City speculators who want a cash payout may welcome the bid, but extended-term investors will not. Of program, we know from the Royal Mail promote-off that government ministers never care about long-phrase traders – their pals in the City want brief-term income. Assume ministers to procrastinate while investors suffer.
Richard Cooper
Chichester, West Sussex

• Given that Thatcher, the Uk has been the global model for liberalisation, taking for granted that all investment opportunities will be open to transnational and foreign traders so completely that it is by no means even pointed out.

The final results can be noticed in the personal sector, where we no longer very own something nationally. In the public sector, the involvement of transnational and foreign companies in privatisations of whichever kind (contracting, promote-offs, PFIs) invokes global treaties that avert reversals of the underpinning privatisations – even when folks want them reversed.

It is time to articulate what liberalisation implies, that it has been a political option and that there are alternatives. The 51% domestic ownership that several other countries enforce would be a single alternative.
Linda Kaucher
London

• The reluctance of Labour to adopt the radical policies primarily based on fairness that, in accordance to the polls, most of the electorate want is apparently partly based mostly on the inevitable alarmist Tory response. This fear, even so, is misguided, because whatever policies are picked, the response is constantly the same. Even when Miliband proposes the eminently wise tightening of the “guidelines to shield crucial British businesses” the Tories consider the predictable “anti-organization, anti-jobs and anti-jobs security” stance (Coalition rift over £63bn provide for Uk medication group, five Could),

Final week Labour’s extremely moderate lease proposals, which concentrated on limiting future increases rather than on reversing current lease hikes, inspecting rented home and taxing profiteering landlords, received comparable treatment method, even stretching to “Venezuelan-style lease controls” from Shapps (Comment is free of charge, 1 Could).

Hopefully the Labour leaders will realise the obvious no matter what the proposal, the Tory response will be hysterical, alarmist, or inaccurate, and perhaps all three. Allow them rant about “red Ed”, “communism” and “written by McCluskey” for all they are worth, because it seems that is all the Tories have they can hardly boast of fairness. Grasp the nettle, Mr Miliband, and let’s have ideas and policies that transform, not tinkering!
Bernie Evans
Liverpool

• It has been said that people who handle the land handle our stomachs. Consequently it is as important for Labour to press for a adjust in the law to create a new public curiosity check to cover not just British market but British land as well (Co-op farms could be sold to China as hopes of neighborhood buyouts die, 5 May).
Geoffrey Keith Naylor
Winchester

• Nils Pratley refers to Pfizer as “seeking rent in a country where it has no roots” (three May possibly). But as a child in the early 60s, I played on fields opposite its Sandwich premises, later on covered by substantial expansion. Older companions assured me that, if you received near to the buildings, you could hear the screams of the monkeys. Despite these formative recollections, I agree with Nils Pratley that Pfizer ought to not be allowed to get away with getting AstraZeneca as a tax dodge. The imposition of significantly increased Uk tax prices on companies in individuals days plainly did not stunt their growth.
Vivienne Spend
Frome

• Cameron says “the determination on any merger is a decision for the two firms and their shareholders”. If the government won’t defend the interests of the British folks, why vote for it?
Emma Tait
London

AstraZeneca, Pfizer and the public interest | @guardianletters

Fiona Nash confirms chief of personnel has interest in wife’s foods lobbying firm

The assistant wellness minister’s chief of employees, Alastair Furnival, who intervened to pull down a healthier food rating website, has an interest in his wife’s lobbying company, which acts for Cadbury’s parent organization.

The assistant well being minister, Senator Fiona Nash, confirmed late on Tuesday night that Furnival had a direct curiosity in Australian Public Affairs (APA) partnership, which is owned by his wife, Tracey Cain. APA acts for snack food giant Mondelez, the owner of Cadbury, and soft drink business group Australian Drinks Council. Furnival had also once been chairman of APA.

However, Nash stated “arrangements” had been put in spot to comply with her ministerial obligations, though she did not specify the particulars of people arrangements.

Nash stated Cain had provided undertakings that both she and the organization would not make representations to both Nash, wellness minister Peter Dutton or the Division of Health.

“On the advice offered to me these undertakings have been honoured in complete,” Nash told parliament. “Indeed, neither my chief of employees nor my workplace has met with Mondelez – formerly Kraft – the owners of Cadbury, with whom he worked as a chief economist.”

The prime minister promised Cadbury $ 16m prior to the election to upgrade their factory.

Earlier in the day, Nash confirmed that Furnival, on her orders, intervened to pull down a healthy foods internet site that rated packaged food on a 1-five star basis. She mentioned the web site had been launched prematurely.

The voluntary program had been two and a half years in the making and had been accepted by the forum of state, federal and New Zealand ministers with oversight of food. The forum even took the unusual stage of voting to approve the program at the final December meeting.

All public stakeholder groups were told the website would be published last week but inside of hrs Furnival rang the department to have it taken down.

The Guardian understands that when employees refused simply because they had been underneath orders from the ministerial forum rather than the minister, Furnival went to the Department of Health’s senior executive ranks to intervene.

Nash produced the unusual move of including to her query time response in the Senate adjournment debate just prior to 9pm on Tuesday.

“In brief, each Mr Furnival and Ms Cain have taken appropriate and suitable methods to prevent conflicts or prospective conflicts between the personal enterprise and his duties as my chief of personnel by withdrawing from any work for customers in the health portfolio,” she mentioned.

“At the time of answering Senator Wong’s question I did not have each detail of this details at hand, but, getting made more checks soon after question time I offer this details to the Senate.”

APA is a partnership registered with NSW Honest Trading. NSW Fair Trading data present APA’s partners are APA Pty Ltd, Strategic Troubles Management Pty Ltd and Centre for Litigation Communications Pty Ltd.

Asic paperwork display that Furnival is a director of Strategic Concerns Management Pty Ltd along with Tracey Cain, who is also secretary.

The chief executive of the Public Health Association, Michael Moore, explained it was clear that some influence had been “brought to bear” and consumer and wellness advocates would be pushing to have the website reinstated.

“We had been really appalled and shocked when it came down,” said Moore, who was an independent member in the ACT Legislative Assembly and a former wellness minister.

“There is plainly politics but we just to get the web site back up. We have a voluntary code that some elements of the business desires to get up.

“This was a method in place prepared to go and some influence had been brought to bear to deliver it down.”

Fiona Nash confirms chief of personnel has interest in wife’s foods lobbying firm

Alcohol-connected violence: numbers do not usually tally with media interest

There’s been a lot of coverage and discussion of alcohol and violence, with media coverage of “king hits”, and emergency solutions recommending the introduction of stricter hrs for bars and clubs in Sydney.

There is no doubt this a serious concern. I myself am down many teeth after a random, unprovoked punch thrown at me when I was walking down the street in Newtown. A single of my good close friends was hospitalised following a brawl in Wyong. One particular punch in the face resulted in him currently being knocked unconscious and hitting his head on the curb, fracturing his skull.

But reading through the recent coverage, you would be forgiven for thinking that alcohol-relevant assaults are turning into more frequent.

Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research statistics demonstrate the rate of alcohol-associated assaults in New South Wales is the lowest since 2008, with 184.eight assaults per 100,000 individuals per 12 months. It is nonetheless, even now greater than the lowest level in 2000 of 136.6 assaults per 100,000.

And for the regional government area (LGA) of Sydney, in which considerably of the consideration has been centered, the pattern is related (use the dropdown menu on the graph over to modify LGAs).

Since not all assaults are reported to police (only about 57.4% are reported in NSW, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics), it really is worth looking at one more supply.

NSW Overall health maintains a dataset that shows the fee of hospitalisation due to interpersonal violence. It doesn’t present individuals the place alcohol is a element, but it exhibits the overall assault trend.

The most latest figures are an all-time lower. The NSW Overall health data is segmented by gender and age, so we can check out if there’s a various trend for younger males.

Yet again, for males aged 15 to 44, the most current figures present an all-time minimal.

When hospitalisations due to damage are ranked by variety of incidents, interpersonal assault is eighth. The two falls and motor automobile accidents consequence in more than twice the amount of hospitalisations.

All this is not to say the measures being suggested, such as lock-outs from bars, would not more reduce the number of alcohol-connected assaults. There’s at least one examine showing the effectiveness of lock-outs in lowering assaults in Newcastle, for illustration, and other studies exhibiting a link between the density of alcohol retailers and violence. Ensuring the rate of alcohol-associated assaults continues to fall would naturally be a great factor.

It truly is also possible the severity of assaults is worsening, as Don Weatherburn, the director of the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research points out in the Sydney Morning Herald. He writes that the only way to check out this is to examine data of people admitted to emergency with assault-connected injuries. Weatherburn says his division is seeking to undertake investigation into this early this 12 months.

It is even so crucial to acknowledge that assaults have been reducing since the substantial level of 2008, and this is due in part to the actions of the NSW government.

As a side note, when looking for variables other than alcohol relevant to assaults, I identified this research exhibiting a correlation among when the Geelong Cats win a game, and a larger rate of assaults.

Alcohol-connected violence: numbers do not usually tally with media interest