As a noun, desire is a strong feeling of wanting something or someone. As a verb, to desire means to strongly wish for or long for something.
From Old French "desir" and Latin "desiderare," possibly linked to "sidus" meaning "star," suggesting longing for something missing or far away, like a star. Over time it came to mean any strong wish or craving.
The possible connection to "stars" hints that desire is about reaching for what feels distant or out of reach. Many ads and stories are built not on facts, but on carefully triggering and shaping our desires.
Discourses of desire have been heavily gendered, often portraying men's desire as active and women's as passive or suspect, and erasing queer and gender-diverse desires. Language about desire has also been used to police women's sexuality and justify violence.
Use 'desire' neutrally for all genders and orientations; avoid reinforcing stereotypes about whose desires are normal, excessive, or negligible.
["want","wish for","longing (contextual)"]
Acknowledge scholarship and activism—often led by women and LGBTQ+ people—that challenged narrow, gendered views of desire.
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