Men Want to Be Seen As Honorable

Many men say they prefer being seen as honorable, self-reliant and respected than attractive, sexually active or successful with women, U.S. researchers say.

The study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, included interviews with more than 27,000 randomly selected men from: Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and France.

Study author Julia Heiman, director of The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, said regardless of age or nationality, men more frequently ranked good health, harmonious family life and good relationships with their wife or partner as more important to their quality of life than material, self-fulfilling or purely sexual concerns.

The study, part of the Men’s Attitudes to Life Events and Sexuality, or MALES, project, aimed to determine characteristics of masculinity and quality of life in men with and without self-reported erectile dysfunction.

The study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, found that overall, being seen as honorable was considered the most important quality in the construct of masculinity.

“Being seen as a man of honor” was cited as the most important attribute of masculine identity in Spain, Brazil, Mexico, United States and France, while “being in control of your own life” was the most important in Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy.