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Masculine Anxieties: Conceptions of Impotence in Late Ottoman Medical Writings
Abstract
Late early and early twentieth century was a period where “modern” conceptions of impotence emerged. While in the earlier times, impotence was associated with religious or supernatural factors, discussions of impotence started to emphasize physiological, biological, and psychological causes with the development of “modern medicine”. Male sexual dysfunctions in general and impotency in particular have also been discussed in detail in print books. Those books handled the reasons and possible remedies of impotency. However, despite their medical scope, the conceptions of impotence also reflected contemporary anxieties of masculinity. In other words, the debates and conceptions of impotence are loaded with notions of manliness and virility. Impotence was seen as the lack or deficiency of manliness and hence a major source of male anxiety. In a very intriguing way, impotence is also associated with obscenity. Almost all the writings on impotence presented excessive sexuality as the main cause of impotence. Those books warned the male audience that excessive sexual activity would lead to the waste of masculine energy and would call for impotency eventually. Besides too much sexual activity, masturbation, and deviance were seen as threats to masculinity. This conception of impotence was a source of male anxiety and made the definition of ideal manliness highly ambiguous. This presentation will examine the conceptions of impotence and the late Ottoman anxieties of masculinity. The conceptions of impotence have remained a highly overlooked area in Ottoman history. This presentation will deal with the questions of ideal masculinity, male anxiety, and male body. Hence it will scrutinize the grey areas between malady and normalcy.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Ottoman Empire
Sub Area
None