Show description

Rarely, though, do we laugh about impotence or even acknowledge it, for that matter. Impotence is one of the great male fears, and men’s silence about it says far more than does their loquaciousness about other concerns. Literally, according to Webster’s, impotence has three basic meanings: “a) a lack of physical strength; weakness; b) lack of effectiveness; helplessness; c) lack of ability to engage in sexual intercourse: said of males” (731). Without an erection a man is weak and thus helpless as a lover.

5 Although during the 1990s many other issues emerged in feminist theory, the penis as a tool and as a weapon of sexual dominance invites additional analysis. The phallic image of the pencil as a long, slender, erect tube with inner workings that extrude from a small opening at the tip resonates with symbolic meaning. Through the pencil men ejaculate lead as the written word and a source of power, and through their penises men ejaculate sperm, an even more profound symbol of their power. A colloquial expression originating in the 1900s, “lead in your pencil” emerged just at a time when women were beginning to gain access to education.

The goal can be either victory or efficiency, but in either case the penis becomes an effective mechanism for accomplishing a task. The penis as a tool has its own significance, and Paul Hoch elucidates this well when he observes, To the extent that men see woman as nothing more than a sex object, they objectify their own sexuality as well. ” Manhood becomes “stickmanship,” love becomes “screwing,” and men begin to take on roles of machinery. ” (18) As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, the extent to which men view their bodies as machines in need of mechanical repair and maintenance becomes apparent when we consider that of the very few books available on men’s health, two are subtitled An Owner’s Manual (Diagram Group; Gilbaugh).