“The Essence of the Hard On”

Abstract

The condition known as “impotence” demonstrates the inscription on individual male bodies of a coital imperative: the surface of the male body interfuses with culture to produce the “fiction” of a dysfunctional nonpenetrative male (hetero)sexuality. The impotent man embodies this cultural narrative; his perceived failure to erect his penis and perform (with it) according to dominant phallocratic notions of healthy male heterosexuality infiltrates his flesh, actions, and thoughts. This article employs feminist poststructuralist discursive analysis to investigate the effect of the metonymic relationship between the penis and the phallus on the cultural construction of male “sexual dysfunctions.” It explores the medicalization of male sexuality, focusing on the impact of so-called “erectile dysfunction” on male bodies and lives; in particular, the use of intrapenile injections as a medical intervention for this “disorder.” It is argued that by relinquishing the penis's executive position in sex, male bodies might become differently inscribed, and coded for diverse pleasures beyond the phallus/penis.