A new development has occurred in the past decade which is said to threaten a man’s sexual self-esteem. This is the effect of women’s liberation on men brought up traditionally who believe in the double standard of sexuality. They have learnt that women need sex less than men, but should always be sexually available and relatively submissive.
When a woman asks for equality in sex, when she shows that she is not sexually submissive, when she makes sexual demands on the man, he may see this as a threat to his masculinity. If the couple can talk about their sexuality, the threat recedes, but many vulnerable men cannot. The threat is magnified and the man becomes impotent, to avoid the anxiety of having to perform sexually at a woman’s request.
Many men, however, whose childhood attitudes to, and experiences of, sexuality are identical with those of men who become impotent are able to perform well sexually with a liberated partner. This must mean that anxiety about a woman’s sexuality only causes impotence in men who are especially sensitive or vulnerable about their sexuality.
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