Hidden Anxieties

Male sexuality is often seen as simple and monolithic, the "normal" male appears unchanging and unproblematic. In this study, Leslie Hall examines the historical figure of the sexually "normal" male and addresses the assumptions inherent in this concept. Common male difficulties, the author argues, are concealed by assumptions that desire is crude, insurgent, spontaneous and unproblematic, and are therefore ignored. She explores this view, examining the letters of men who wrote to Marie Stopes, author of "Married Love", seeking help for problems that were otherwise unmentionable. Hall clarifies the concepts of the "normal" male which changed considerably between the late Victorian era and the end of World War II. While examining these evolving ideas, she shows how men, as well as women, were the victims of a repressive climate in relation to their sexuality.