Zia Lennox, is she a sexaholic?

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I dont think Zia is an sexaholic, she did go without having any for all the time that she was with Bryce. I think that she was experiencing insecurities about herself because Bryce wouldn't have sex with her which led her to Baxter who was so passionate.

Bryce loved her and cared for her. And that was openly done. An anxious woman changed into an open one due to that love. The only moment Bryce turned away was when she opened herself to have sex with him. She refused it only because of his respect to her body. If that made her to feel some insecurity, she may not have understood his love to her. Otherwise how could she give her body to another man so easily? Or else she have to be a sexaholic. What do you think?

[Dustin Stopher]

I wouldn’t say she’s a sexaholic. While she definitely enjoys sex (as most people do), she’s not consumed by her sexual desires. She maintains her relationship with Bryce despite a lack of sexual intimacy for a long period of time, and when she does cheat on him for Baxter, she was never the one initiating the sex. On numerous occasions, her sex with him was a result of her trying to break things off or keeping him from hurting her, to which he responded by taking advantage of her sexually. All things considered, though she may internalize the guilt of having an affair, her sexual forays are not entirely or even primarily her fault.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I loved Zia personally though I can admit she was very flawed. I think she was a victim of her past and tried to overcome that in the wrong way.

Zia had a difficult childhood, and maybe that was the reason for her anxiety disorder. And we do not see any attempt of her to overcome that until she met Bryce. Then suddenly she is way forward, and in their relationship also she is the one who went for sex, not Bryce. And when Bryce refused that she turned towards Baxter. Still we do not see any difference in her character qualities other than her increased sexual desires and frequent sexual encounters. I like to put it more towards being a sex-addict than trying to overcome her issues in her past.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Zia is not a sexaholic. She simply has a high sexual libido, and is very confident in her sexuality. She has two very attractive men in her life and simply stays true to her character.

She may have stayed true to her character, but she could not stay true to her lover. Having a high llibido is something else, and she should have coaxed her lover to fulfill her needs. But she chose to go towards Baxter to fulfill her needs. Can we actually say she had two men in her life? I don't think so. Yes, there were two men, one in her life and one in her sexually bent mind, and that one used her body to the maximum. I would like to say Zia was a victim of her mind rather than she remained true to her character.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I find it quite difficult to answer your questions. What I see is that the author, either intentionally or unintentionally, made Zia's character inconsistent. The introvert (as others see her) who suffered from anxiety disorder suddenly becomes confident enough to get into a love triangle when her sexual needs arise. Suddenly an introvert became a phlegmatic person, which is quite unusual.

I too see that incoherent character development. What Zia became later is completely opposite to what she was (or as decribed) at the beginning. The only possibility that I can agree is that she may have harboured all her sexual thoughts for some time, but could not act upon them due to her anxiety. Bryce was a good treatment for her issue and then her inner desires seems to surface. But Bryce could not realize that and Zia ended up sleeping with another man.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

This was a steamy book. But I wouldn’t go as far as saying she was a sexaholic. Anxiety definitely helped with her actions and she was clearly not lacking confidence and assertiveness.

I don't get it. How anxiety helped her? We see that she being alone at her office (Jazz was her only friend) with the inability to make new friends. She copes up with her introverted self by being a workaholic. But later when she met Bryce, and then Baxter, we don't see her anxiety at all. As far as I see, her previous workaholic nature was changed into a sexaholic nature, and seemingly it totally cured her anxiety disorder.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Zia Lennox is a Woman that started off very low key and shy. Once she got into a relationship at her job she started feeling like she knew what she wanted. Zia Lennox just wanted to be wanted even if it was a lie.

Zia had difficulties to get into relationships because of her anxiety disorder. Relationship with Bryce helped her to ease herself up. Later on it went up to she being open to Bryce to the level of having sex. I can understand upto that as Bryce was her lover. But at the moment Bryce refused to have sex with her (he did not stop loving her), she turned towards Baxter and had sex with him. How can a socially anxious woman take such a bold move unless she is a sexaholic?

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I believe Zia is just a very confident woman who has embraced her sexuality. She knows what she wants and how she wants to be touched.

Unfortunately, in a patriarchal world where women are vilified for being too sexually adventurous, such ladies may be termed as being sexaholics.

The patriarchal society or whatever we are in, wrong things has to be named as wrong. Following your sexual desires is not a wrong thing. If Zia was not in a serious relationship, she would have been free to sleep with any man, ethically. But what she caused was infidelity, and the underneath purpose was nothing else but her sexual desire. And that is why I named her as a sexaholic.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I don't think she's a sexaholic because the book never discussed her prior love experiences. The book did state that she was not into getting into a serious relationship at the beginning of the book and was more focused on climbing the corporate ladder. I think Zia acted out sexually because her relationship with Bryce was lacking that, so she most likely had this pint-up sexual frustration that made her more aroused than usual.

Actually the book discussed about her prior experiences in relationships, and they were not much successful due to her anxiety issue. So she decided to focus on her professional growth because it gives her a value as well as an excuse to avoid social interactions by showing herself as a workaholic. Relationship with Bryce let her to put away her anxiety, and using that she went to Baxter just to fulfill her sexual desires. What can we call her other than sexaholic then?

[Maddie Atkinson]

Sex can be incredibly empowering for women, so I do not think that sexaholic is the correct word. She may be introverted but women like to have sex as much as men and if they are comfortable with someone then we are willing to let the introvertedness go and embrace our sexuality, even those who have social anxiety. I think that is more like what Zia's character is like, sexaholic is never really the correct term to describe anyone.

Zia was loved and respected by Bryce. He did not had sex with her but that was her choice, and Zia did not conveyed her needs to him as well. Maybe that was because of her anxiety. Yet she could overcome her anxiety and go towards Baxter to fulfill her sexual needs. Maybe that is not what sexaholics do. But that is not how sexually empowered female should act as well, by cheating her lover.

With all due respect, I think you need to do more research into what being sexaholic means, and also what sexual empowerment means for women. Men are not entitled to sex from women, if she said no then she said no. I can't remember everything from the book, but if she has sex with someone else that is her burden to bare. However, this is never seen as scandalous when men do the same. Control sex and sexuality is what sexual empowerment is for women.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Zia is not a sexoholic. She is a young and healthy person, whose partner wouldn't have sex with her. So, she met another person and satisfied her sexual needs. If she was a sexoholic she'd be having sex with every other character.

Having a relationship should mean something to any sane mind, and if Zia is healthy and young, as you say, that applies to her too. Is it wise or ethical to turn towards some other male just because your partner refused to have pre-marital sex with you? Zia, who could not even make new friends because of her anxiety could be naked in front of a stranger just for the purpose of fulfilling her sexual needs. Give me a name other than sexaholic to call her.

[Stephanie Runyon]

Zia is not a sexoholic. She is a young and healthy person, whose partner wouldn't have sex with her. So, she met another person and satisfied her sexual needs. If she was a sexoholic she'd be having sex with every other character.

Having a relationship should mean something to any sane mind, and if Zia is healthy and young, as you say, that applies to her too. Is it wise or ethical to turn towards some other male just because your partner refused to have pre-marital sex with you? Zia, who could not even make new friends because of her anxiety could be naked in front of a stranger just for the purpose of fulfilling her sexual needs. Give me a name other than sexaholic to call her.

Zia failed to prove female empowerment because she was weak minded. She failed to see the red flags in both relationships. Both men invited her back to their apartments. Both times she accepted and literally seemed open to engaging in sexual activity. Had she continued with Baxter, she would have become a prisoner to his "breeding" idea. But with Bryce he also controlled her financially and emotionally.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Zia executed her character flawlessly. I like that despite being entangled in a love triangle, she gave her body to both the men fully. I would not call her a sexaholic; I'd say she's passionate.

I don't get it. Getting entangled in a love triangle itself was wrong. So how can we say her character execution was flawless? It is not that she gave herself fully to both men, but went from one man to another when she did not get her sexual desires satisfied by one man. Yes, she is passionate, but going from her lover to another man to just satisfy her body makes her something more than a passionate woman. How about we call her a lustful one?

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I'm Ambivert. I'm antisocial and I love sex too. Does it make me sexaholic? No.

I think Zia is just someone who very much enthrust herself in the pleasure of sex to distract herself from work stress.

Her introverted and anti-social nature were just mentioned by her family to describe her behaviours. But what she really had was anxiety disorder. She was socially anxious. So she chose to dedicate her time to her profession in order to avoid any company. But when she finally could ease up to a man her sexual desires surfaced, but were rejected by her lover. And at that moment that previously socially awkward lady decided to simply go to another man and fulfill her lust, and she did it very often. And that makes her a sexaholic.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I think sexaholic is not an appropriate description of Zia. I think she is aware of her needs and not afraid to indulge herself. Additionally, focusing on the physical helps to cope with anxiety disorder. Physical expression is tangible. So focusing on the physical aspect of her relations may have reduces the stress and anxiety that comes with trying to understand and uncover a person's secrets, intentions, and character.

We do not see her sexual advancements as anxiety driven ones. The girl who could not even look straight at a stranger suddenly became very open after the relationship with Bryce. So if we assume that the author did not forget Zia's anxiety disorder, then by the time she expected sex from Bryce her anxiety should have been cured. Then we cannot say she needed physical intimacy to relive her anxiety, and her turning towards Baxter should solely depend on her need to satisfy her sexual urges. So I think she can be named a sexaholic.