The Nervous Testicle

Abstract

The French press of the Belle Époque abounded with ads promising their readers mental invigoration through testicular beautification. Where did this link between the appearance of men’s nether regions and mental health come from? This article examines the reasons behind French physicians’ belief, at the eve of the 20th century, that in/sanity and testicular health were correlated. The first part reveals how, in the psychiatric field, certain organicist views led to the idea that inspecting testicles was key to understanding the male psyche. The second part explores how urologists integrated these findings when they treated “false urinary” patients—patients who suffered from mixed symptoms that associated testicular and mental ailments. Perceptions of “testicular angst” therefore prompted a dialogue between two seemingly distant fields—urology and psychiatry—and contributed to shaping new representations of manhood that stressed the vulnerability of male bodies and minds rather than the fortitude of the “stronger sex”.