Letters to the Editor
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larrfirr
You don't think this has to do with social attitudes towards male homosexuality?
A good question - a leading question, that generates more questions.
Social attitudes have everything to do with it because they directly affect sexual psychology, and that isn't something that can be studied in a lab. In particular, female sexual psychology is heavily influenced not only by how she feels about herself but how she feels about her prospective mate, especially her romantic illusions about him. Psychological comfort is important. Mood is important. And it is important to remember that women like a romantic setting, and that is more difficult to produce in a clinical setting than in the hot tub, although it can be done.
Remarkably, other things that are more amenable to study in a lab, like relative and cyclical hormonal levels or physical conditioning, aren't even mentioned in the article. Instead they bring up viagra, which is overrated and dangerous: it's preposterous that they couldn't find a guy who couldn't keep it up for one minute without it. Any normal male between the ages of 14 and 40 should be expected to keep it up indefinitely, given a little coaching from, say, Denise Milani.
Social and personal expectations are also important, insofar as these usually lead to self-limitation and dissatisfaction rather than elevation and apotheosis. Those who are into sexual tantrism know that very normal women can be about ten times as sexual as they're generally expected to be. Techniques have long been established for reaching the higher plateaus with practice, but most people aren't even aware of the benefits of yoga, much less tantra.