Patriarchy and Men

If you think being a man in a profoundly patriarchal society is easy, think again. I’ve been listening to the Russian radio again and I almost choked on my pomegranate juice when I heard a man announce in a very intimidating and tragic voice:

“Does it sometimes take you more than ten minutes after you’ve had sex to prepare for the next sex act?? If so, you have erectile dysfunction! And you need to take care of it now, before things get worse!”

By things getting worse, the radio host must have meant that it takes some people – oh, horror! – as much as 20 minutes to prepare for the next sex act. And those who need a couple of hours (or days) must be hopeless invalids.

Seriously, is there anybody older than 18 who never needs more than 10 minutes between sex acts?

And I’m not even starting on the issue of how many people have trouble finding any partner, let alone one who’d be willing to go again ten minutes after sex.

Even people who are extremely healthy can be bullied straight into an erectile dysfunction by such announcements if they hear them often enough.

13 thoughts on “Patriarchy and Men

  1. EEK! Patriarchy of this variety definitely hurts everyone. And to be completely honest. . . I don’t know if my lady’s bits are ready for sex 10 minutes later. A few hours (or days) to recouperate is just fine with me.

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    1. Sarcastic?? In Russia, all men are drafted into the army where the mortality rate and the numbers of rapes and torture they suffer are horrifyingly high. Men in Russia get to retire five years later than women. Their life expectancy is 12 years lower than female!

      This is the horrible price of patriarchy that men pay.

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      1. Thanks.

        The reason I was asking was because there are those who actually make statements like that about men that really are dripping with sarcasm. As if to actually say, “You see men have it so easy the complications of their sex lives counts as oppression”. Sorry for doubting you.

        Their life expectancy is 12 years lower than female!
        Damn. The difference is 7 here in the States and I thought that was bad.

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        1. My father-in-law, ex-father-in-law, my father’s best friend, his other friend, his thesis director, my friend’s father – all of these men did not live to see 50. And being pushed to perform, always perform and keep performing (professionally, financially, athletically, etc., etc.) is, in my opinion, a huge part of that.

          I also need to write a separate post on the damage that being pushed to perform sexually with every partner and in every circumstance does to men. This is a very serious issue.

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  2. That’s even worse than ED commercials in the US that show an older husband and wife eyeing each other awkwardly, and treating it as “the elephant in the room” which only Viagra can chase away.

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  3. Seriously, is there anybody older than 18 who never needs more than 10 minutes between sex acts?(Clarissa)

    Suddenly I feel very nostalgic. 🙂

    Ah, the big, bad patriarchy. I keep forgetting, if we had a matriarchy we would never have any wars, just really intense negotiations every 28 days. 😉

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