A Cultural History -
Yvonne M. Marshall, Ph.D.
University of Southampton
Southampton SO18 1BJ, United Kingdom
ymm[@]soton.ac.uk
Advertisements for Viagra would have us believe that impotence — or at least erectile dysfunction — and the compromises in lifestyle that it leads to could soon be a thing of the past. Almost a decade after the drug went on the market, however, we are still waiting, and Angus McLaren’s historical analysis of impotence indicates that the wait is unlikely to end any time soon. His goal is “to understand the main tendencies that have historically structured representations of masculine sexual inadequacy,” and he shows that what constitutes impotence is culturally and historically variable. It is specific to particular times and places and is not merely a question of biology — regardless of what Pfizer might claim.Understanding what impotence is and what its implications might be for individual men and for society in general requires an understanding of changing models of masculinity. In the Western world, ever since the classical Greek and Roman eras, maleness — a state that is determined by physical, biologic, and genetic makeup — has not been equated with masculinity. As McLaren vividly explains, masculinity is a property that must be acquired, earned, demonstrated, and established. It can be won, or lost and regained, and it hinges on sexual performance.
The precise definition of adequate sexual performance has changed over time, but it has consistently revolved around three key capacities: the abilities to achieve and maintain an erection, to sire children, and to sexually pleasure women (or more recently, men). Where inadequacy is evident, explanations will always be produced, blame will be apportioned, and solutions will be sought. The nature of the explanations, blame, and solutions that are proffered has depended on societal and legal constructions of masculinity. For example, in medieval and early modern Europe, the unfortunate man who was accused of impotence by his spouse might be required to undergo a physical examination and demonstrate in public his ability to have an erection. Similarly, the emergence of Viagra is a culturally directed response to a specific understanding of what impotence is and how it should be dealt with, and it therefore takes its place as McLaren’s most recent example in the long history of attempts to understand impotence.
There is much in this book to interest both the general reader and the specialist medical practitioner. McLaren draws on an extraordinarily wide range of literature and references it closely in detailed endnotes that allow the reader to follow up on specific points of interest. The great strength of the book is the diversity of the material that is brought together and summarized. McLaren is somewhat less successful in constructing a narrative argument to bind all the fascinating case studies and details together in a way that would compel the reader to continue. Some will choose to read this book from cover to cover, but I suspect that many more will productively dip into its wide array of cultural perspectives and historical moments and select those that are most pertinent to their own interests. However readers approach this book, they will not put it down unrewarded.
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