Introduction

Thirteen years ago, Tiger Woods,Footnote 1 the professional golfer, hit the headlines for something other than his athleticism. On November 25th, 2009, the National Enquirer, an American Tabloid Newspaper, published a story claiming that Tiger Woods was having an extramarital affair. Two days later, Woods was involved in a car crash outside his home in Florida. This car crash led to intense media speculation and a series of events in which further allegations of extramarital affairs between Woods and dozens of women were made. On February 19, 2010, Woods gave a televised statement in which he said that he had undergone a 45-day therapy program. While he did not disclose the purpose and nature of the therapy program, Woods apologized for his actions and said, “I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to … I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn’t have to go far to find them. I was wrong. I was foolish” (CTV News, 2010). While Woods never proclaimed an addiction to sex or drugs many major media publications did. In fact, on the same day as his televised apology, Reuters published an article exclaiming that Woods had put the spotlight on “sex addiction” (Stern, 2010).

Even though there is no agreed-upon definition or clinical diagnosis for ‘sex addiction’,Footnote 2 the cultural and social phenomenon of the condition and the set of behaviors that both researchers (Carnes, 1983; Dhuffar & Griffiths, 2016; Goodman, 1992; Kafka, 2010) and lay people attribute to the condition cannot be denied as evidenced by the number of private clinics and multiple national 12-Step addiction programs claiming to cure ‘sex addiction’. To that end, this paper discusses the extent to which ‘sex addiction’ is discursively produced within, and by, the media and explores the extent to which Stern’s claim about Woods can be substantiated.

As a licensed mental health practitioner in private practice who treats people with self-diagnosed ‘sex addiction’, this author has a professional interest in discovering more about the condition. As such, through a content analysis of news reports, this paper will seek to understand the discursive production of ‘sex addition’ by examining how it had been portrayed in the U.S. news in the year before and the year after Stern’s (2010) article. This paper will do this by first offering a brief literature review on the topic, it will then discuss the methods chosen to explore the research topic and it will conclude with an analysis and discussion of the results of the content analysis.

Literature Review

In 1972 out of control sexual behavior as thought of as “rare phenomenon” (Salzman, 1972, p. 49). By 2011, however, the concept of ‘sex addiction’ was making headlines and being referred to as an epidemic (Lee, 2011). While the behavior behind the phenomenon is not new, the concept of ‘sex addiction’ is very much a twentieth century invention (Reay, 2018).

Reay (2018) offers a comprehensive genealogy of ‘sex addiction’, a concept that has become a “convenient descriptor for disapproved of sex” (p. 352). He refers to ‘sex addiction’ as a “spurious ailment” and concurs with other researchers (Andreassen et al., 2018; Dhuffar & Griffiths, 2015; Goodman, 1992; Kafka, 2010; Ley et al., 2015; Reid & Kafka, 2014) by discussing the extent to which the concept has diagnostic imprecision and very little peer-reviewed evidence showing support for the efficacy and effectiveness of current treatment models. With that being said, Reay maintains that ‘sex addiction’ “…has to be taken seriously as a phenomenon” given the way it has captured the imagination and attention of the public (p. 352). It’s success at making the mainstream and becoming a main stay story in the media, Reay argues, is thanks in no small part to the medicalization of the condition through a sizeable self-help movement, a rapidly growing network of therapists who are trained to deal with the “disease”, and it being subsumed into the addiction industry (Peele, 1989) evidenced by the number of 12-Step programs and rehab centers available around the world. Crucially, for this project, Reay calls attention to the role played by the media in the creation of ‘sex addiction’ laying out an “addictionology timeline” that started with the television and the tabloids highlighting stories of celebrities with ‘sex addiction’, then the advent of the internet, to the present day with “chat rooms, porn sites, sexting, Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, Grindr and many other sites and applications” (p. 353).

Reay (2018) argue that ‘sex addiction’ is “essentially mythical, creating a problem that need not exist” (p. 1). This argument does a good job of summarizing the current literature about the concept; it at once exists as a cultural and social phenomenon and remains contested from a psychiatric and legal point of view. An argument that Bruce (2010) talks to when they ask two important questions about:

What is sex addiction? In a society which is often uncomfortable about, sex and sexuality, when not averse to it and even its discussion, teaching, i.e., school sex education programs, how can ‘sex addiction’ be defined? (Bruce, 2010, comment on the online post How Sex Addiction is Treated)

From a clinical point of view, the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V-TR), the standard reference used by mental health professionals, does not include a specific diagnosis for ‘sex addiction’ (APA, 2022). Various authors (Carnes, 1983; Goodman, 1992; Kafka, 2010) have argued against this and have published work calling for the inclusion of Sexual Addiction Disorder and/or Hypersexuality Disorder to be named as a formal mental disorder.

Goodman (1992) offers a high-level description of Sexual Addiction Disorder as being “a disorder in which a sexual behavior that can function both to produce pleasure and to provide an escape from internal discomfort is employed in a pattern characterized by (1) recurrent failure to control the sexual behavior, and (2) continuation of the sexual behavior despite significant harmful consequences. ′′ (p. 306).

Whereas Goodman’s (1992) diagnostic criteria do not specify types of sexual behavior, Kafka (2010) goes one step further by naming Hypersexuality Disorder as “primarily a nonparaphilic sexual desire disorder with an impulsivity component” and by proposing full diagnostic criteria as well as the diagnostic specifiers of “masturbation, pornography, sexual behavior with consenting adults, cybersex, telephone sex, strip clubs, other” thereby widening the focus from person-to-person activity in which there is a victim(s) (p. 377).

With the exception of one article reviewed (Dhuffar & Griffiths, 2016), the current literature on ‘sex addiction’ seems to locate the problem as a straight male one. An unsurprising situation given the phallocentrism (i.e., the ideology that the phallus, or male sexual organ, is the central element in the organization of sexuality) and heteronormativity (i.e., the concept that assumes the gender binary and that sexual and marital relations are most fitting between people of opposite sex; that heterosexuality is the preferred or normal mode of sexual orientation) of the social world of the global West. This remains true for Braun-Harvey and Vigorito (2015) who frame ‘sex addiction’ as a male issue. However, they take a less pathological and slightly more sex-positive (Bullough, 1976) view than many of their contemporaries by reframing ‘sex addiction’ under the banner of out-of-control sexual behaviors. They outline several clinical concerns with the current conceptions of ‘sex addiction’:

  • The risk of reinforcing disapproval of specific sexual behaviors.

  • Sexual behavior that is not normative is defined as a mental disorder.

  • “SA [‘sex addiction’] carries the historical burden of labeling the adjustment symptoms of sexual identity development for gay and bisexual men as an addiction” (Braun-Harvey & Vigorito, 2015, p. 28).

  • The inappropriate classification of non-consensual sex behavior (e.g., sexual assault or rape) as ‘sex addiction’.

  • Data is lacking to support diagnostic criteria.

  • Premature framing of problematic sexual behavior as a clinical disorder can impact an individual’s self-concept negatively.

  • The creation of ‘sex addiction’ can inadvertently lead to an iatrogenic illness (i.e., an illness caused by medical examination, focus, or treatment).

  • The SA model becoming widely known has resulted in a common perception among the general public that sexual behavioral issues are frequently viewed as addictive, even though there is no scientific agreement to support this belief.

There is some agreement (see: Andreassen et al., 2018; Dhuffar & Griffiths, 2016) that excessive sexual behavior is a behavioral addiction, and it has been compared to an addiction to gambling which is, as of today, the only behavioral addiction that the psychiatric community recognizes and has been codified in the DSM-V-TR as Gambling Disorder. Although Reay (2018) argues that attempts to combine sex and addiction results in a complete loss if analytical complexity. We can read from this, by extension, that the construction of ‘sex addiction’ may not actually be helpful in aiding our understanding of sexual behavior that is problematicFootnote 3 and therefore devising effective options for treatment, policy, and law.

Although cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR), and psychopharmacological treatments are being used to treat ‘sex addiction’, it is not yet clear from a psychiatric point of view, which aspect of the condition should be treated (Dhuffar & Griffiths, 2015). Is it the underlying cause of the behavior, the behavior itself, or the psychological impacts of the behavior (such as shame, embarrassment, diminished ability to function socially, etc.)? Kafka (2010) illustrates the problem succinctly by arguing that “since there is no universal agreement on how ‘sex addiction’ and/or hypersexual disorder are defined, it is more difficult for clinicians outside of the field to conceptualize, assess, and diagnose the disorder” (p. 562).

From a legal point of view, even without an available psychiatric diagnosis, ‘sex addiction’ has been used regularly in legal proceedings in the US (Ley et al., 2015). Ley et al. (2015) demonstrate the legal ramifications of the misuse of the term ‘sex addiction’ and argue for a clearer distinction between sex offending and ‘sex addiction’. They also argue that the term ‘sex addiction’ may have been abused from a legal perspective (e.g., claiming diminished mental health) leading to faulty judgments and inappropriate recommendations. As such they ask “… mental health professionals, forensic psychologists and psychiatrists, sex offender therapists, and sexologists all to endeavor to educate the courts about these questions and concerns, when sex addiction claims or labels are presented in court (p. 115).

Throughout the literature, there is a clear call for further empirical research into the concept in order to develop a clearer understanding of out-of-control sexual behaviors and/or ‘sex addiction’ and to drive more effective clinical case conceptualization and treatment of the condition (Andreassen et al., 2018; Dhuffar & Griffiths, 2016; Goodman, 1992; Kafka, 2010; Kafka, 2014; Ley et al., 2014; Read & Kafka, 2014; Reay, 2018; Stinson, 2015).

Method

This research did not require ethical clearance as media content is readily available and readily accessible to anyone on the Internet.

Methodological Considerations

The Bill Clinton sex scandal, commonly known as the Monica Lewinsky scandal, came to public attention in January 1998. The scandal was first reported by the news website Drudge Report, operated by Matt Drudge (1988). On January 17, 1998, the website published a news article titled “Newsweek Kills Story on White House Intern: 23-Year-Old Sex Relationship with President,” revealing the alleged affair between President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. The article was based on confidential information leaked to Matt Drudge. Following the Drudge Report’s publication, mainstream media outlets, including The Washington Post and The New York Times, picked up the story and further investigated the claims, leading to widespread media coverage and public scrutiny of the President’s actions. The scandal eventually culminated in an impeachment inquiry against President Clinton by the U.S. House of Representatives.

While the Bill Clinton sex scandal could indeed be relevant to the analysis of the discursive construction of ‘sex addiction,’ the author chose not to include it in this particular study for several reasons. Firstly, the focus of this research is specifically on the media perspectives on ‘sex addiction’ in the U.S. before and after the case of Tiger Woods. As such, the data collection was limited to these two distinct time periods to gain a comprehensive understanding of the changes in media discourse over time in relation to Tiger Woods and the claims made in Stern’s (2010) article. Secondly, while the Bill Clinton sex scandal was an influential event in the public discourse surrounding sex addiction, its inclusion might introduce complexities and additional variables (for example political rhetoric) that could potentially dilute the main focus of the study. Moreover, given the word limit and depth of analysis required, it would be more appropriate to dedicate a separate research endeavor specifically to the examination of the Clinton case.

According to the Whitestone Clinic (2017), the actor Rob Lowe was the first celebrity to be associated with sex addiction. In 1989, when he was 22, Lowe recorded himself having sex with two women one aged 23 and one aged 16. The two women took the mini cassette of the recording and allegedly attempted to sell it but instead decided to release it themselves (Ahsan, 2019). While Rob Lowe is understood to be the first celebrity sex addiction story, it is not understood to be the most prominent example. The author hypothesizes that the reason behind the lack of prominence (and influence) of Lowe’s sex tape scandal is connected to the advent of in-home internet. Lowe’s story broke in the press in 1989 which was before in-home internet access was widely available and the media had a narrower reach that it does today and did in 2010. Further research would need to be conducted to substantiate this hypothesis.

The Whitestone Clinic (2017) posits that the most famous (and most widely reported) example of ‘sex addiction’ is that of Tiger Woods’ story and assertion that Stern (2010) agrees with. It is for these reasons that Tiger Woods’ story provides a starting point from which to conduct this analysis.

Research has shown that the news is not a simple benign source of facts; it can influence opinions, beliefs, and attitudes about a range of social, cultural, and political phenomena (see: Jensen et al., 2014; Kapuściński & Richards, 2016; van Dalen et al., 2017; Holman et al., 2020). Television and the internet are the most-used platforms for consuming news among adults in the United States with 86% of Americans consuming the news ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ through digital platforms. The rise in the digital consumption of news has seriously impacted the print news industry. 26% of digital news consumption is done through news websites (Pew Research Center, 2022).

Of the digital new sites in the US, nytimes.com is currently the most popular with 488.4 million visitors per month, followed by cnn.com, msn.com, foxnews.com, and nypost.com (Majid, 2023). The search functions vary across each of these sites thereby variously enabling data collection within the parameters specified.

The search term ‘sex-addiction’ was used to attempt two searches on the top five news sites as identified by Majid (2023). The first search attempt used the date parameters February 18th, 2009, and February 18th, 2010. This time period represents the twelve months prior the Stern’s (2010) article about Tiger Woods and will be referred to in this paper throughout Period One. The second search used the date parameters February 20th, 2010, and February 20th, 2011. This time period represents the twelve months following Stern’s (2010) article about Tiger Woods and will be referred to as Period Two throughout this paper.

The selection of a one-year timeframe, encompassing the 12 months before and after the prominent case of Tiger Woods, serves as a methodologically defensible approach that allows for a focused and nuanced analysis of the discursive construction of ‘sex addiction’ in the media. This choice is supported by several rationales:

Significance of the Case of Tiger Woods

The case of Tiger Woods was a watershed moment that significantly impacted public discourse and media coverage regarding ‘sex addiction’. The extensive media attention surrounding this case led to heightened awareness and discussions on the concept of ‘sex addiction’. By examining the media perspectives during the year prior to and after the Tiger Woods case, it is possible to capture the dynamic shifts in how ‘sex addiction’ was constructed and portrayed in the media during a period marked by substantial changes in public perceptions and discussions.

Temporal Delimitation for Analysis

A one-year timeframe provides a focused lens for studying media representations, which inherently require a certain level of temporal delimitation to manage the breadth of data and facilitate in-depth analysis. Focusing on a specific pre- and post-event period aids in containing the volume of data to a manageable level while maintaining the integrity of the analysis. This approach aligns with similar studies that have effectively used time-bound periods to investigate shifts in media discourses (Riffe et al., 2019).

Capturing Short-term and Long-term Effects

Analyzing a one-year period enables the capture of both short-term reactions to the Tiger Woods case and the potential for more sustained changes in media discourse over time. It could be argued that following a high-profile event, the media often experiences an initial flurry of attention characterized by rapid shifts in focus and rhetoric. However, these immediate shifts are not always short-lived; instead, they can gradually evolve and solidify over the subsequent months as the event’s impact continues to resonate with audiences and as media narratives adapt to changing societal perspectives. By examining a full year, this study explores how the initial media reactions transformed or persisted beyond the immediacy of the Tiger Woods event.

Results

Initial Findings

  • NYTimes.com. This site offers an advanced search function enabling a search for specific content, within a date range, across different categories and types of content.

  • cnn.com. At the time of the research, this site no longer offers the ability to perform advanced searches with stated parameters other than filtering by ‘newest’ or ‘relevancy’.

  • msn.com. The search function for msn.com is powered by bing.com, an online search tool similar in function to google.com. As such, performing a search on msn.com crawls the world wide web to build an index of web pages according to particular search terms. The search results will include websites, images, documents, and other items rather than simply news. At the time of the research the news section of msn.com did not allow for a search of articles within the parameters specified.

  • foxnews.com. This site offered very similar advanced search capabilities to nytimes.com, insomuch as it was possible to search for content within the specified date range and by type of content. However, it was not possible to refine the search by category. With that said a search for the term ‘sex-addiction’ within the dates specified yielded zero hits for Period One and one hit for Period Two.

  • nypost.com. Various search parameters were available on nypost.com, however they did not function in a dynamic way. While it was possible to search for ‘sex-addiction’, it was not possible to search within a time frame other than ‘last week’, ‘last 30 days’ or ‘last year’. Further, it was possible to search across different sections/categories of nypost.com, but this search was limited by the time frame parameters above.

As a result of the above initial findings, the author elected to collect and analyze data from the nytimes.com only. In further support of this decision, it should be noted that in 2009, it was the top-visited news website in the U.S. with 14, 942, 016 discrete visitors (McIntyre, 2020). An online survey conducted in February 2022 (n = 2,210) showed that 24% of respondents found nytimes.com ‘very credible’ and 24% found it to be ‘somewhat credible’ (Watson, 2022). This data leads the author to understand that what is shared on nytimes.com has reach and is influential in terms of the general discourse in the United States.

Data Collection

The initial search yielded 86 articles from Period One and 96 articles from Period Two. The data showed that 51% of the articles from Period One and 44% of the articles from Period Two were categorized as being about the arts (nytimes.com categories of ‘Arts’, ‘Books’, ‘Fashion’, ‘Game Play’, ‘Movies’, ‘Music’ ‘Theater’, ‘TV’). These articles mostly focused on reviews of other texts rather than reporting news stories, from this it can be construed that the articles that fall within these categories are unlikely to provide original information or report the news. For this reason, these categories were removed from the initial search results. A similar argument could have been made for the sports categories (nytimes.com categories ‘Baseball’, ‘Golf’, ‘Olympics’, ‘Soccer’, ‘Sports’), but because the categories have a close relationship with Tiger Woods (the key subject in this analysis), the decision was made to not remove them. As a result of this initial analysis of the data, there were 42 articles to select from Period One and 54 articles to select from Period Two.

Next, Giga Calculator’s random number generator (Georgiev, 2023) was used to generate ten random numbers out of 43 for Period One and out of 54 for Period Two. The results were as follows:

  • Period One: 1, 2, 9, 15, 16, 20, 22, 24, 32, 36.

  • Period Two: 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 28, 34, 42.

The random numbers were used to identify which articles would be analyzed by identifying the number order they appeared in the search term search results. The articles were then arranged in date order prior to conducting a content analysis. This data can be viewed in the appendices.

Analysis

Before conducting a content analysis and comparing the cultural treatment of ‘sex addiction’ between Period One and Period Two, there are two observations to be made in the metadata (i.e., number of articles, categorization of articles, titles of articles). The first observation is that there was an 11.63% increase between Period One and Period Two in the number of articles published in connection with ‘sex addiction’ on nytimes.com. Additionally, none of the headlines of the articles from Period One mentioned the phrase ‘sex addiction’ whereas three of the articles from Period Two used the phrase in their headline.

Following a comparative textual analysis of the ten articles from Period One and the ten articles from Period Two, the author was able to determine the following findings:

  1. 1.

    ‘Sex addiction’ was more directly and openly discussed as a concept in the year following Stern’s (2010) article than it was in the year prior.

  2. 2.

    ‘Sex addiction’ is constructed as a male problem and is regarded as an underlying reason for their extramarital affairs.

  3. 3.

    In Period One, ‘sex addiction’ was discursively positioned as a social problem.

  4. 4.

    In Period Two, ‘sex addiction’ was discursively positioned as a medical problem.

Finding 1: ‘Sex Addiction’ was More Directly and Openly Discussed as a Concept in the Year Following Stern’s (2010) Article than it was in the Year Prior

In Period One, three out of the ten articles (P1.2, P1.3, and P1.4) directly discussed ‘sex addiction’ while the other seven did not mention the concept at all. In Period Two, six out of the ten articles (P2.1, P2.2, P2.3, P2.4, P2.5, and P2.7) directly discussed ‘sex addiction’ while the other four did not mention the concept at all. Given that the search term “sex addiction” was used, this is a curious finding which is discussed further below.

In Period One where the articles directly mention ‘sex addiction’, they did so without making any ontological claims about the validity or truthfulness of its existence nor did they analyze of describe what ‘sex addiction’ is. For example, article P1.2 talks about ‘sex addiction’ in a speculative way by stating “Last week, reputable Web sites reported that semi-reputable Web sites had reported that Tiger Woods entered a Mississippi clinic for sex-addiction rehab” (Wright, 2010). Article P1.3 uses the term in reference to a treatment center that Tiger Woods allegedly attended and Article P1. 4 uses the term in reference to books written by an author on the topic.

In Period Two, the existence of ‘sex addiction’ was verified by the way in which the authors of six of the articles (P2.1, P2.2, P2.3, P2.4, P2.5, and P2.7) discussed the concept directly and by naming experts in the field. For example, in article P2.1 Parker-Pope (2010) positions Donald G. McNeil Jr. (a reporter from Science Times) as an expert, and in article P2.4 New York Times (2010a) Dr. David Drew Pinsky, an American media personality and addiction medicine specialist, answers questions about ‘sex addiction and its supposed opposite number ‘sexual anorexia’.Footnote 4 Further evidence supporting this theme comes from the fact that three out of ten headlines from the articles reviewed from Period Two directly mention ‘sex addiction’: “How Sex Addition is Treated” (Parker-Pope, 2010); “Is Sexual Anorexia the Flipside of Sex Addiction” (New York Times, 2010a); “When Your Partner is a Sex Addict” (New York Times, 2010b).

Finding 2: ‘Sex Addiction’ is a Constructed as Male Problem and is Regarded as an Underlying Reason their Extramarital Affairs

In both Period One and Period Two, with the exception of one case (New York Times, 2010b), ‘sex addiction’ was discursively constructed as a condition that belonged to promiscuous men who had been caught having extra-marital affairs. For example, in article P1.2, Wright (2010) states that South Carolina’s Governor Mark Sanford was rebuked by the legislature for “bringing “disgrace and shame” to the state via his extramarital affair with an Argentine journalist” (paragraph 1). In article P2.3 Slutsky (2010) remarks, “when such individuals are “caught,” the remorse they express while seemingly genuine at the time of the crisis is often short-lived” (paragraph 2) and in article P2.2, McNeill Jnr. (2010) writes, “the very idea that someone can be addicted to sex is controversial and inevitably leads to chuckles and jokes. Those [men] claiming [sex] addiction may be accused of seeking a medical excuse for simple promiscuity” (paragraph 5). In addition, these promiscuous men were painted as having fallen from grace and as being the victims (as opposed to the women who were cheated on) for example, “After all, Woods and Sanford and Letterman weren’t just victims of their libidos” (Wright, 2010, paragraph 3).

Article P2.7 (Leland, 2010) was the only article from either period that discussed female ‘sex addiction’ and did so in the context of an addiction to pornography rather than sex acts that involved other people.

Finding 3: In Period One, ‘Sex Addiction’ was Discursively Positioned as a Social Problem

None of the articles reviewed from Period One discussed ‘sex addiction’ as a medical or psychiatric issue. Where ‘sex addiction’ was directly referenced it was done so in regard to interpersonal relationships, specifically marriage and extramarital affairs. In article P1.2, Wright (2010) discusses the extramarital affairs of Tiger Woods, Governor Mark Sanford, and David Letterman and in article P1.2 Sandomir (2010) tells the story of Steve Phillips a baseball analyst who was fired from ESPN “after his affair with a network production assistant became public knowledge” (paragraph 1).

In the seven articles from Period One that did not mention ‘sex addiction’ directly, but that appeared following the use of the search term “sex-addiction” (articles P1.1, P1.5, P1.6, P1.7, P1.8, P1.9, and P1.10), social and legal issues were the focus of attention including rape, sex work, religion, murder, recreational drug use, and alcohol misuse.

Finding 4: In Period Two, ‘sex addiction’ was discursively positioned as a medical problem

In Period Two, ‘sex addiction’ continued to be positioned as a social problem but was also positioned as a medical problem. This is evidenced by the data sheet in appendix two which shows that twelve of the articles were categorized by nytimes.com as ‘health’ compared to zero categorized as health in Period One.

Specifically, article P2.1 makes reference to a treatment clinic that Tiger Woods allegedly attended to rid himself of ‘sex addiction’, P2.2 discussed a 12-Step program to treat ‘sex addiction’, article P2.4 connects ‘sex addiction’ to a psychiatrically defined diagnosis (Anorexia Nervosa), and article P2.7 tells the story of Crystal Renaud a ‘sex addict’ in recovery “who is taking a DVD course in sexual addiction counseling from the American Association of Christian Counselors” and who runs a website and support group called Victory Over Porn Addiction (paragraph 7).

Discussion

Between Period One and Period Two, there was an increase of 11.63% in the number of articles found on nytimes.com using the search term “sex-addiction” and a 100% increase in the number of articles directly discussing ‘sex addiction’. It is not possible to tell if this data, along with a 300% increase (i.e., zero to three) in the use of the words “sex” and “addiction” in the headlines of these articles, could be considered statistically significant. With that said, this data does pay credence to Stern’s (2010) claim that Tiger Woods placed ‘sex addiction’ in the spotlight and the notion that ‘sex addiction’ is discursively constructed.

It is also important to consider the categorization data and the fact that in Period One no articles were categorized under health, yet in Period Two twelve (22%) of them were. The author understands this to represent a shift in the way in which ‘sex addiction’ was being discussed within, and discursively constructed by, the media i.e., that it was being increasingly thought of as a medical issue as well as a social issue. A conclusion supported by Reay’s (2018) assertion that the medicalization of out-of-control sexual behavior has a necessary part of the invention and growth of the condition known as ‘sex addiction’, outlined above.

The findings of this paper support the prevailing discussions outlined in the literature review, that ‘sex addiction’ is predominantly constructed as being a male problem. Accordingly, this author agrees with Kafka (2010) insomuch as the establishment of a formal psychiatric diagnosis of Hypersexual Disorder might help to shine a light on the broader picture of out-of-control sexual behavior (i.e., move the discussion beyond men’s extra martial affairs and consensual sex with an other) and to include ‘sex addiction’ that does not involve other people and the ways in which ‘sex addiction’ affects women.

Given that 55% of the articles reviewed across both periods did not directly mention or discuss ‘sex addiction’ even though the search term used was ‘sex-addiction’, this possibly identifies that the nytimes.com have embedded this term into their keywords.Footnote 5 For example, in the case of article P1.1 (which did not mention ‘sex addiction’ at all), the content served discussed murder, sex work, and drug addiction. In this article, Robertson (2010) discusses the case of Frankie Richard, a strip-club owner who had a history of (presumably sexual) assault arrests. When speaking of Mr. Richard’s crimes, Robertson says “He admits to being a crack addict and claims to have had sex with most of the victims” (paragraph 11). By serving content to readers about a topic that may be tangentially related to the content that is actually being looked for, this author understands this to imply that the nytimes.com may have played a role in the discursive production of the nature of ‘sex addiction’ and influenced the public perception of ‘sex addiction’.

This paper has shown, through a brief comparison of the first celebrity sex scandal (Rob Lowe) and the most prominent celebrity sex scandal (Tiger Woods) that the media can, and does, have a significant impact on public understanding of ‘sex addiction’. It has also shown how a sexual issue (in this case, ‘sex addiction’) can be discursively produced by the media and that media can reframe a sexual issues as a sexual problem. This paper has not, however, advanced the call from sex researchers for further research into ‘sex addiction’ such that it might amass enough empirical evidence to warrant inclusion in the next edition of the DSM. However, the findings presented in this paper do support the need for further research such that the psychiatric and legal communities can align on a clear definition of ‘sex addiction’ so that it can be treated accordingly and used more appropriately in legislative proceedings.

Conclusion

This paper set out to understand the discursive production of ‘sex addition’ by examining how it was portrayed in the U.S. news in the year before the Tiger Woods story and the year after it. It has been found that ‘sex addiction’ is discursively constructed. This does not necessarily make ‘sex addiction’ any less real in the lives of those who experience out-of-control sexual behavior, but it does confirm the need for a more careful use of language, a more responsible manner in which the term is used and applied, and, as researchers have recommended, further research to substantiate what it is and how it should be treated.

Evidence has been presented that supports Stern’s (2010) assertion that Tiger Woods placed the spotlight on ‘sex addiction’. Moreover, it can be concluded that not only did Woods place the spotlight on it, but he may also have played a significant role in bringing it to the attention of the psychiatric world and in moving it from a socially understood problem to it being a medically understood one.

Finally, while it has been shown that Tiger Woods placed a spotlight on ‘sex addiction’, if this author was to conduct this review again, they would consider using a different date from which to begin their analysis. Given speculation about Woods’ ‘sex addiction’ began on November 25th, 2010, with the revelation of his extramarital affair, thereby making Period One November 24th, 2009, to November 24th, 2010, and Period Two November 26th, 2010 to November 26th, 2011. Perhaps this would have been a better date to start from and may have revealed a different data set and led to different findings and analysis.