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Condoms and the Making of "Testosterone Man"

A Cultural Analysis of the Male Sex Drive in AIDS Research on Safer Heterosex

Australian National University

Heterosexual men's apparent aversion to wearing condoms in AIDS culture has lead a range of analysts and researchers to ask why this is the case. Many feminists have suggested that the answer to this question lies in the way the practice of unsafe heterosex—without condoms—is key for the constitution of a hegemonic heterosexual masculine self-identity. Moreover, it is often argued that what is at issue for understanding the practice of unsafe heterosex is the male sex drive discourse. Conversely, it is usually assumed that the cultural phenomena of the male sex drive—as a spontaneous, uninterruptible, powerful, hydraulic force—is radically challenged by the object of the condom, an object which is perceived to disrupt the natural performance of the male sex drive. In this article, the author questions the male sex drive-unsafe heterosex thesis through a reinterpretation of AIDS research findings on the practice of safer heterosex with condoms.

Key Words: AIDS culture • heterosexuality • safer (hetero)sex campaigns • the condom • feminist theory and the male sex drive discourse

Men and Masculinities, Vol. 3, No. 2, 152-167 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/1097184X00003002002


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