Written by Michael Thervil
People get older. Men in this case get older. That’s just a fact of life and it is what it is. However, the one thing that we have to come to terms with as men is that as we age, we may not have the same sexual prowess that we once had when we were younger. It’s a difficult fact of life to accept but again – it is what it is. For the average man, between working, social commitments, living up to societal expectations, poor diet, poor exercise if any, and the adverse impact it has on the sex lives of men in terms of performance can be daunting. Furthermore, for those men that have children their situation is often compounded and that in itself can further increase the likelihood of men who fall into that category to suffer from performance anxiety.
Oftentimes because of the way men are living in developed nations, instead of resisting the social norms and expectations of what a man should do and be to a certain extent, the health of men began to decline. What many men (and many wives) won’t admit to is the fact that in order for many men to sexually perform they tend to rely on “male enhancing” supplements and at times gadgets such as “cock rings” to help them perform better sexually. In short, this can be considered as “cheating the system” in a way because many men have either failed or sacrificed both their health and sexual health in exchange for being able to survive or live in a world that mostly neglects them.
Other factors that play a role in the decline of men being able to adequately perform sexually are things like diabetes, smoking, being overweight, psychological distress, high blood pressure, hypertension, stress, clogged blood vessels, depression, alcohol use, and high cholesterol – all of which disproportionately affect Black American Men more so than any other ethnic group in America. By this very notion it could be safe to say that more American Black Men suffer from erectile dysfunction more than any other ethnic group of men. In an article written by American Urological Association entitled: “Associations Between Race and Erectile Dysfunction Treatment Patterns” they found the following:
“During the observation period, 810,916 men were identified who met the inclusion criteria. After matching for demographic, clinical and health care utilization factors, differences in ED treatment persisted between racial groups. Compared to Caucasians, Asian and Hispanic men had a significantly lower probability of undergoing any ED treatment, while African Americans had a higher probability of ED treatment. African American and Hispanic men had higher probabilities to undergo surgical treatment for ED than Caucasian men.”
But we know the symptoms – and we know the excuses; but what can men in America actually do about it.
Well, the first thing is prioritizing their health. Maybe we just may need to ease up on “chasing the bag” (chasing money). Maybe we need to pull back a bit more from certain social norms and expectations such as excessive working. In the case of Black American Men – the thing they might want to consider is taking a step back from trying to please everyone which will help alleviate a lot of the stressors that make their lives hard. As Dennis Spurling would say to American Black Men – “you’re just too god damn nice”.
Another thing older men can do is start talking to younger men about the issue, thus bringing awareness to the issue at an earlier age. The old saying is: “If you know better than you do better”. It can be said if younger men know the risk well ahead of time, they can alter the course of their lives by changing their patterns of behavior thus avoiding having to deal with sexual performance issues as they age. Another obvious thing that men can do is spend more time exercising, and less time eating the perpetual bad food that America and oftentimes the food that the women in their lives tend to serve.
Another thing that many people don’t consider is the role poverty plays. The impoverished communities in America tend to lack the resources that will help keep people in those communities healthy. However, in the same breath you can’t expect people who are conditioned to live in poverty to appreciate the care it takes to maintain the facilities that could be built to maximize their health and fitness. That’s a topic for another article.
When it's all said and done, and the smoke clears – men in America have to not only take better care of their health. But more specifically they have to take better care of their sexual health the more they age as men. These are simply the facts of life – and there’s no getting around it.
Sources:
American Urology Association
The Root
Black Men In America
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