In a recent article published on psychologized.org, studies have shown an increase in men on erectile dysfunction medications when they are in marriages of lower income in comparison to their spouses. In layman’s terms, when men earn less than their wives at work, they are more likely to wind up on erectile dysfunction meds. The study was based in Denmark and reportedly found a clear link between men’s salaries and their sexual performance (or lack thereof). The larger the gap, the higher the chances of performance issues.
The Study. According to the article, the study was conducted in Denmark over a 10-year period and included over 200,000 participants. It was headed up by professor Lamar Pierce and studied the correlations between married couples’ pay gaps and sexual performance issues. The report showed several interesting facts.
Initial Reported Results. The study, which was done between 1996 and 2006, took a look at more than simply sexual performance of married couples. It also took a look at sleeping patterns and overall marital happiness. What they found was “men who earned less than their wives were more likely to use erectile dysfunction medication,” according to the article.
Sleeping Disorders. In addition to sexual dysfunction among men, the study also showed the women suffered health issues. “This research also showed that the women in these relationships were more prone to sleeping and stress related disorders,” the article states. The interesting findings left researchers to decipher what was happening in the marital dynamic.
Open to Interpretation. The issue with the findings, is that it doesn’t clarify the specifics of the individual cases. While the article claims you could obviously look at the direct result of the pay gap, there is also another avenue to consider when looking at the results: men who are in relationships where their partners are the primary breadwinner may be more comfortable seeking help.
The Specifics. “You could see it in the obvious way, that men who earn less than their wives are more prone to erectile dysfunction. Or you could look at it from another angle and think that those men are more comfortable in themselves to go and seek help for a genuine problem,” the article explains. So either, men who earn less than their spouses are emasculated or they are enlightened.
Emasculated or Enlightened? So which is it? Unfortunately, there’s no definitive answer, but scientists involved in the study tend to lean more toward the former, more obvious, answer. “The obvious conclusion is further supported by the fact that almost all of the cases where men used erectile dysfunction medication were in marriages where the men had married at a time when their wages were more than their partners,” it states.
Emasculated It Is. Due to the surrounding factors included in the information the researchers had in front of them, the most accepted answer is that men who make less than their wives in their professional lives, are left feeling emasculated. To the point that they actually need to seek medical help and medication to eradicate the issues.
Further Proof. The proof didn’t stop with the overall findings either. Additional information in the studies showed even more evidence supporting the emasculation theory. Evidence showed the greater the pay gap between husband and wife, with the wife being the breadwinner, the greater frequency men reported needed ED medications.
Income Disparity. “As the income disparity between the couple increased, so did the amount of medication required (for men). This is further support for the lack of pay causing bedroom malfunctions,” the study reported. The majority of researchers seem to back this finding, though as before, there is still another possible explanation.
Alternate Possibility. Playing devil’s advocate, there is still an alternate explanation for the correlating relationship between financial ratios and medication levels, and it lies in the finances themselves. It is possible that the higher pay scale a woman enters, the better the family’s financial situation is overall – which frees up finances for other things such as additional ED medications for extra romps.
Age Definition. Another angle is that the participants’ ages were not defined in the study findings. A correlation between increased wages and increased medication needs could also simply be a measure of age. The older we get, the more experienced we are and the more our salaries increase to reflect the experience. By the same token, the more we age, the more “help” we need in the form of medication. So the increase factor, we aren’t necessarily buying.
Evolutionary Evidence. According to the study, however, the findings are simply backing an evolutionary biological instinct. “If you take a look at this study from an evolutionary psychology perspective then the results are expected,” it explains.
Breadwinners. The study explains that since men have been evolutionally designed to be the breadwinners of the family, it’s inbred in them to be the biggest earner financially. So if men are no longer the “breadwinner” it leaves them feeling like a failure and less of a man. Those feelings lead to an inability to perform sexually.
Male Instinct. “Men have evolved to be the ‘breadwinners’ of the household and if they have trouble fulfilling that role then they may find it difficult to feel masculine in other areas of their life,” the article explains. While this seems to be a widely accepted explanation of male evolutionary expectations, we aren’t as convinced.
Modern Attitudes. The article closes by stating we should consider the potential “damaging psychological effect on the males of the species” by living in a western culture in which women are more frequently bringing home larger paychecks than their husbands. Somehow, over the millions of years of evolution that has taken place, I think the male ego will be able to adapt to women bringing home the bacon just fine. Put your big girl panties on, guys. Come on.
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