Generational Differences in Mexican Men’s Ideas of Age-Appropriate Sex and Viagra Use

Abstract

Mexican men of different generations, exposed to different cultural ideas about sex, manliness and marriage, often hold divergent ideas about how men’s sexuality should change over the life course. Based on 250 interviews with male urology patients at an urban Mexican hospital, this article reveals differences in self-identified older and younger men’s ideas of age-appropriate sexuality and pursuit of sexual health interventions. Older men frequently expected youthful promiscuity to give way to a family-focused older age and saw decreasing erectile function as a ‘‘natural’’ embodiment of this shift. Conversely, younger men who strove to be different than their once-womanizing fathers often saw decreased erectile function as a relationship-threatening medical problem appropriate for erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment. Despite the fact that ED drugs may facilitate sexual penetration that could be associated with ‘‘macho’’ sexuality, they were viewed most positively by younger study participants seeking to avoid machismo by pursuing affective marital sex.