# extremely stupid gay question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-stupid-gay-question/147870 "2003-01-11T01:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-stupid-gay-question/147870/1 "2003-01-11T01:00:23Z")
Okay, I had to ask because with all the publicity surrounding Viagra and the constant stream of testimonials from men and their female partners, I haven’t heard anything from the gay community regarding the problems of impotence. When googling, I’ve failed to come up with anything relevant regarding homosexual impotence. Am I onto something here? Could impotence among heteros merely be a sign of misorientation while gays have listened to themselves correctly? But the first question is " Is impotence as prevalent in the gay community as much as it is among the hetero male community?" ---
**Author:** ![xenothrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/7ab992/32.png) [@xenothrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenothrope)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-stupid-gay-question/147870/2 "2003-01-11T01:38:42Z")
well see, if your hypothesis were true (simply misplaced sexual orientation) then viagra wouldnt work. why? simple, all viarga does is increase the flow of blood in the body thus allowing men who have poor blood flow (in otherwords cant get hard) to allow the blood to engorge the penis and become hard. viagra doesnt really cause arousal it simply ‘allows’ men to get rigid. Kinda like how eating protien doesnt cause you to build muscle but it allows it to beome easier. hope this answeres your question x-out ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Dickerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Scott\_Dickerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Dickerson)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-stupid-gay-question/147870/3 "2003-01-11T02:02:51Z")
" Is impotence as prevalent in the gay community as much as it is among the hetero male community?" Yes. The physiological and (sometimes) psychological causal factors are exactly the same. You may hear less about it because the Viagra people aren’t really anxious to see their golden…er, goose…connected to a minority that many Americans still feel “funny” about. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-stupid-gay-question/147870/4 "2003-01-11T02:12:44Z")
Rates of impotence among healthy gay men are roughly the same as the rates among those of healthy straight men, according to the only study I was able to find. In case you “wondered but were afraid to ask”\*, “bottoms” are no more or less likely to develop prostate cancer than straight peers either. “Viagra Abuse” seems to be more common among gay men, though, according to one study. \*(don’t EVER quote the book of that title to a gay man if you don’t want to get into a screaming match- it’s probably the most homophobic piece of crap ever written not to be published by a church) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-stupid-gay-question/147870/5 "2003-01-11T03:06:38Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Sampiro \* > \*\*Rates of impotence among healthy gay men are roughly the same as the rates among those of healthy straight men, according to the only study I was able to find. In case you “wondered but were afraid to ask”_, “bottoms” are no more or less likely to develop prostate cancer than straight peers either. > “Viagra Abuse” seems to be more common among gay men, though, according to one study. > > \*(don’t EVER quote the book of that title to a gay man if you don’t want to get into a screaming match- it’s probably the most homophobic piece of crap ever written not to be published by a church) \*\* I must have missed what you are referring to. What book title? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-stupid-gay-question/147870/6 "2003-01-11T03:33:35Z")
Assumably “Everything You Want to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask.” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-stupid-gay-question/147870/7 "2003-01-11T05:58:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Speaker for the Dead \* > \*\*Assumably “Everything You Want to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask.” \*\* Which, as I said over in Cafe Society, I did not burn, but did throw out the window.