Sexual Dysfunction and Gun Ownership in America: When Hard Data Meet a Limp Theory

Abstract

Although there has been no direct empirical evidence linking sexual dysfunction (SD) with gun ownership, speculation has been widespread and persistent for decades. In this paper, we formally examine the association between SD and gun ownership. Our primary hypothesis, derived from the psychosexual theory of gun ownership, asserts that men experiencing SD are more likely to personally own guns than other men. To test this hypothesis, we used recently collected data from the 2021 Crime, Health, and Politics Survey (CHAPS), a national probability sample of 780 men, and binary logistic regression to model gun ownership as a function of SD. Our key finding is that men experiencing SD are no more likely to own guns than men without SD. This interpretation was supported across several indicators of SD (performance anxiety, erection trouble, and ED medication) and gun ownership (personal gun ownership, purchasing a gun during the pandemic, and keeping a gun in one’s bedroom). To our knowledge, we are the first to have directly tested the association between SD and gun ownership in America. Our findings are important because they contribute to our understanding of factors associated with gun ownership by challenging the belief that phallic symbolism and masculinity somehow drive men with SD to purchase guns. Our results also remind us of the perils of gun culture rhetoric, which, in this case, function to discredit gun owners and to further stigmatize men with ED. We conclude by calling for more evidence-based discussions of SD and guns in society.

Modeling recent gun purchases: A social epidemiology of the pandemic arms race

“…According to Table 1 , 6% of respondents reported purchasing a gun during the pandemic. This percentage is similar to recent reports that range from 6.5% (national sample of women and men) to 8% (national sample of men) ( Hill et al, 2021 , Tavernise, 2021 ). Most respondents were 35 years of age or older (65%).…”

“…Although our findings for sex, educational attainment, unemployment status, political affiliation, and region of residence are generally consistent with previous studies of pre-pandemic gun ownership, the null patterns for race/ethnicity, household income, marital status, and the presence of children are inconsistent with previous research ( Azrael et al, 2017 , Dowd-Arrow et al, 2019 , Ellison, 1991 , Ellison et al, 2021 , Goss, 2017 , Hepburn et al, 2007 , Kelley and Ellison, 2021 , Legault, 2008 , Mencken and Froese, 2019 , O’Connor and Lizotte, 1978 , Parker et al, 2017 , Smith et al, 2019 , Vegter and Kelley, 2020 ). Our results for age, race, and southern residence are consistent with recent research on pandemic gun purchases, and our findings for education and employment are inconsistent with this work ( Hill et al, 2021 ). To our knowledge, our examination of nativity status and religious change is unprecedented in the literature.…”

Do Men and Women Integrate Guns into Risky Health Lifestyles in Young Adulthood?

“…As Stroud (2012) notes, "Because guns are so lethal, they imbue their users with traits associated with masculinity-control and power." Other scholars have similarly argued that guns are important symbols of masculinity (Connell 1995;Gibson 1994;Hill et al 2021b;Melzer 2009). Stange and Oyster (2000:22) explain, "In [men's hands], the gun has served a symbolic function that exceeds any practical utility.…”

Pictures of you: God images, gun ownership, and empowerment in the United States

“…Work by Buttrick (2020, p. 847) advances this perspective, arguing that, "[a]lthough guns may make their owners feel better in the moment, they cannot address the fundamental sources of gun owners' threat and instead reinforce those threatening beliefs; consequently, protective gun owners use their guns to attempt to cope with ever-increasing stress and are unable to divest from the gun culture that has become so central to their identity." The fact that gun ownership is unrelated to happiness, life satisfaction, and better sleep outcomes in national studies of Americans suggests that we may have overestimated the feelings of safety, power, and pleasure that is actually derived from owning guns (Hill et al 2020a(Hill et al , 2020b(Hill et al , 2021a(Hill et al , 2021b(Hill et al , 2022.…”