According to i09, a new study gives some insight into the granddaddy of all dysfunctions — erectile dysfunction. Apparently, men whose wives or girlfriends have close relationships with their male friends are more likely to experience the much maligned malady.
Is it because these men become afraid that their friends will steal their girl? Not so, says Science. It’s the interference in their social networks that are causing the trouble. Apparently men need to have uninterrupted access to his guy friends or else he can’t get it up.
What the hell? I don’t know about you guys, but nothing gets me hard like poker night with the boys. Right?
In all seriousness, though, researchers at the University of Chicago and Cornell found that 92% of the men interviewed who experienced this kind of “social interference” from their partners also experienced erectile dysfunction. That’s a hard number to ignore.
Supposing that this is true, what is the real issue? Is it harder for men to talk about their sexual relationships with men who are also friends with their wives or girlfriends? Yeah, probably. Does bragging about sexual encounters in some way increase arousal? Probably. Are men less likely to talk about their attraction to other women if they’re afraid that they’re friends might tell their wives or girlfriends? Definitely.
Whether or not any of that affects erectile dysfunction, I have no idea, but it’s interesting to consider that our sex lives are about more than just having sex. How we talk about sex affects how we think about sex and how we think about sex affects how we have sex. So, if we feel at all constrained in the way that we talk to our male friends about sex, it is conceivable that this would have a negative impact in the bedroom.
What do you guys think? Do a man’s relationships with his friends affect his sexual performance? Is it too weird to even think about? Let us know in the comments.