Remaking the real man: Erectile dysfunction palliatives and the social re-construction of the male Heterosexual life cycle

The popularity of impotence or erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs and the powerful imagery of their promotional campaigns may be a significant contributor to the social reconstruction of male sexuality and aging in general, and popular understandings of the male heterosexual in particular. This is note-worthy given that the heterosexual male is a demographic that has, historically, been quite resistant to the whims of the psycho-medical establishment. Given men’s psychological and physiological makeup, the emerging social expectations of male sexuality may be wholly unrealistic, with its matter-overmind rhetoric. Examining the language and imagery of several ED drug campaigns, and considering some popular therapeutic, and academic discourse on the subject, the paper considers some of the expectations facing men in our society today that have recently been generated by the sexual pharmacology industry. The analysis suggests how these new expectations potentially liberate and constrain men in various ways, solidifies a male ethos that focuses almost exclusively on the physical component, and thereby displaces men from the context of the romantic relationship.