‘Sex for life’? Men's counter‐stories on ‘erectile dysfunction’, male sexuality and ageing

Abstract

Discourse on male sexuality in mid-to-later life has exploded in recent years (Gullette 1998). Attention to this topic has been spurred by the advent of (highly profitable) sexuopharmaceutical 'solutions' to erectile changes affecting older men. 'Success' stories abound in the media and in medical literature related to the restoration of faulty erections and ailing sex lives through drugs such as Viagra (sildenafil citrate), Uprima (apomorphine) and Cialis (tadalafil). In this paper we explore some of the ways in which notions about ageing and male sexuality are changing in popular cultural and medical texts in response to the advent of Viagra and the increasing authority of biomedicine in this area. We also demonstrate how the recent biomedical endorsement of 'sex for life' (the imperative to maintain an active youthful masculine [hetero]sexuality -defined in terms of male orgasm through penetrative sex) may be challenged by the very accounts of older men who are, or have been, affected by erectile difficulties and have used drugs like Viagra themselves. We present the perspectives of mid-to-late life heterosexual men in New Zealand whose stories question the contemporary biomedical privileging of erections and intercourse 'at any cost and at any age'. We argue that the current push to identify and treat so-called erectile dysfunction (and restore erections and penetrative sex to relationships) neglects some men's own experiences of alternative modes of relating sexually that they identify as 'normal', 'healthy', 'enjoyable' and 'satisfying' for them and their partners; and undermines their understanding of such changes as positive outcomes of ageing, experience and maturity.

Affirmative old age - the ageing body and feminist theories on difference

“…Studies are increasingly preoccupied with the sexualities of older people, who are reported to continue to be sexually active and more sexually satisfied (Beckman et al 2008;Herbenick et al 2010;Lindau et al 2007). However, as has been pointed out by feminist ageing scholars, sexuality as lifelong and as part of positive ageing is a markedly masculinist and heterosexual discourse in which most of the focus is placed on restoring men's potential for penileÁvaginal penetration (Calasanti & King 2005;Loe 2004;Potts et al 2006). There are clearly also both consumerist and medicalisation aspects of this shift, with the market introduction of sexuopharmaceuticals playing a vital role in the rise of the discourse on sexuality as lifelong (Marshall & Katz 2002).…”

Satisfacción sexual femenina: influencia de la edad y variedad de prácticas sexuales

“…Algunas investigaciones sugieren que las parejas que tienen una mayor frecuencia de afecto, una mayor duración de los juegos previos (Muise, Giang y Impett, 2014) y que participan en una mayor variedad de comportamientos y prácticas sexuales (Gossman et al, 2003;Scwart y Young, 2009), presentan mayor satisfacción y cuentan con menos problemas sexuales, especialmente a edades avanzadas (Hinchliff y Gott, 2008;Muise, Giang y Impett, 2014;Potts, Grace, Vares y Gavey, 2006).…”

Reconceptualizing cultural narratives of mature women's sexuality in the Viagra era

“…We would like to suggest that these changes associated with the medicalization of male sexuality have facilitated the emergence of an 'anti-decline' narrative for men, in which decline is no longer viewed as necessary or 'normal' (see Potts et al 2006). Viagra and other sexuopharmaceuticals have enabled some men 1 to experience the restoration of erections and thus the possibility of 'sex for life'.…”