title: A matter of sexual confidence: young men's non-prescription use of Viagra in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
abstract: This paper examines the non-prescription use of the sexual enhancement drug Viagra by young men in Addis Ababa. Data was collected through repeated in-depth interviews with 14 Viagra users - heterosexual men between the ages of 21 and 35 - and focus-group discussions with 21 male and 22 female university students. Study participants turned to Viagra to impress lovers, as a 'support mechanism' when feeling weak or tired, to counteract the effects of chewing the stimulant plant khat and to satisfy what they perceived as a psychological 'addiction'. More generally, young men used Viagra to quell anxieties about what they perceived as women's growing expectations about their sexual performance - informed by changing gender relations and sexual expectations, constructions of masculinity that emphasise sexual prowess, and a misreading of women's sexual desires largely fuelled by the emergence of pornography as a new standard for sexual performance. While some men gained sexual confidence by using Viagra, others - particularly those who used Viagra regularly - paradoxically experienced feelings of loss of manhood.
authors.affiliation: a Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research , University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rosalijn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Both
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D057228:Masculinity; D008571:Men / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate
keywords: Ethiopia; Viagra; gender; masculinity; pharmaceuticals; sexuality