Masculinity, Magic & the Meaning of Impotence in Patriarchal Societies of the Past

Bodies in Blue. #3 of 4. Sexual impotence has been a problem since at least the beginnings of recorded history and, since then, people have been striving to cure it. However, the cultural meanings of impotence, (why it matters) and even its definitions, vary wildly over time and space. In Sarah Handley-Cousins’s new book Bodies in Blue, she recounts the stories of Civil War veterans with uro-genital injuries. She describes the non-visible disabilities they experienced, the sexual dysfunction they suffered, and how these realities shaped their performance of masculinity in postbellum American society. In honor of her book’s release, this week’s episode will, with vast chronological and geographical boundaries, explore the cultural history of impotence.

NOTE: This episode is NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

Find Bodies in Blue: Disability in the Civil War North by Sarah Handley-Cousins here.

Find show notes and transcripts here.

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