Meet the Bermans

Based on their work as co-directors of the Women's Sexual Centre in Boston, Dr Berman and her sister, psychologist Dr Laura Berman, have produced a book combining a psychological and physical approach to sexual dysfunction.

The clinic was the realisation of a long-time dream for the sisters, who had previously swapped notes on their research in this field. Jennifer, as a surgeon and urologist was concerned about the sexual desensitisation women suffered after pelvic surgery and was alarmed at the lack of medical information on female nerve structures that run from the uterus, the clitoris and vagina. 'Surgeons have been operating on men using microscopes to spare sexual function, but none can tell me where similar nerve structures are in women,' she says.

Laura, 32, has always been interested in women's sexual health and believes that sexual power and personal power are inextricably linked. 'That sense of sexual entitlement empowers a woman in all areas of her life and balances her,' she says. 'We have made great advances in the work-place, in family life and financially, but the majority of women are not satisfied sexually. When women feel entitled to sexual fulfilment that's when we'll see a woman in the White House. Sex is the way forward.'