Editing Erectile dysfunction (section)

==Anthropology==
Anthropological research presents ED not as a disorder but, as a normal, and sometimes even welcome sign of healthy aging. Wentzell's study of 250 Mexican males in their 50s and 60s found that "most simply did not see decreasing erectile function as a biological pathology".<ref name="Wentzell">{{cite book |vauthors=Wentzell E, Labuski C |title=Cultural Differences and the Practice of Sexual Medicine |chapter=Role of Medical Anthropology in Understanding Cultural Differences in Sexuality |series=Trends in Andrology and Sexual Medicine |date=2020 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |location=Cham |isbn=978-3-030-36221-8 |pages=23–35 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-36222-5_2 |s2cid=214042890 |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-36222-5_2 |access-date=28 August 2021 |archive-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203061427/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-36222-5_2 |url-status=live }}</ref> The males interviewed described the decrease in erectile function "as an aid for aging in socially appropriate ways".<ref name="Wentzell" /> A common theme amongst the interviewees showed that respectable older males shifted their focus toward the domestic sphere into a "second stage of life".<ref name="Wentzell" />  The Mexican males of this generation often pursued sex outside of marriage; decreasing erectile function acted as an aid to overcoming infidelity thus helping to attain the ideal "second stage" of life.<ref name="Wentzell" /> A 56-year-old about to retire from the public health service said he would now "dedicate myself to my wife, the house, gardening, caring for the grandchildren—the Mexican classic".<ref name="Wentzell" /> Wentzell found that treating ED as a pathology was antithetical to the social view these males held of themselves, and their purpose at this stage of their lives.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, anthropologists investigated how common treatments for ED are built upon assumptions of institutionalized social norms. In offering a range of clinical treatments to 'correct' a person's ability to produce an erection, biomedical institutions encourage the public to strive for prolonged sexual function. Anthropologists argue that a biomedical focus places emphasis on the biological processes of fixing the body thereby disregarding holistic ideals of health and aging.<ref name="Farmer">{{cite book |vauthors=Farmer P, Kleinman A, Kim J, Basilico M |title=Reimagining Global Health: An Introduction |date=2013 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-0-520-27197-5 |pages=17–20 |access-date=28 August 2021 |url=https://www.ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy }}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> By relying on a wholly medical approach, Western biomedicine can become blindsided by bodily dysfunctions which can be understood as appropriate functions of age, and not as a medical problem.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wentzell E, Salmerón J |title=Prevalence of erectile dysfunction and its treatment in a Mexican population: distinguishing between erectile function change and dysfunction |journal=Journal of Men's Health |date=2009 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=56–62 |doi=10.1016/j.jomh.2008.09.009 }}</ref> Anthropologists understand that a biosocial approach to ED considers a person's decision to undergo clinical treatment more likely a result of "society, political economy, history, and culture" than a matter of personal choice.<ref name="Farmer"/> In rejecting biomedical treatment for ED, males can challenge common forms of medicalized social control by deviating from what is considered the normal approach to dysfunction.