After reading Segal's Body Matters: Cultural Inscriptions and Schiebinger's Taxonomy for Human Beings, the truly warped nature of a few societal norms regarding sex have become clear. Segal notes the insecurities that frequently envelope discourses about the female and male sex organs and the ease with which inaccurate norms are constructed. Segal combats the myth of the powerful penis and the unquenchable, perpetually available male sex drive. By including this accepted falsehood of male sexuality, Segal effectively debunks it as "a load of old codswallop." Belief in such a myth does nothing but provide an excuse for some men and a source of anxiety for the rest. Segal notes that male impotency is not at all uncommon and that the prevalence of premature ejaculation is high. Exposing the truth about masculine sexuality will help eliminate the myth pertaining to the superactive role of the penis in sex. This in turn could help illustrate the vital importance of the female sex organs and eliminate the notions of feminine passivity.

I think the "viva Viagra" commercial which we watched in class might cater to insecure men who are striving to reach a fantasmal ideal. By presenting the product within such a positive and spirited environment, the commercial only furthers and endorses the idealogy that, for a man to be normal he must have a strong sex drive. The fact that Viagra is a product that people are familiar with allows the commercial to focus on a comfortable setting. The ad does not even mention ED. The Lyriana ad, in comparison, focuses extensively on female sexual dysfunction and assumes that the viewer is unfamiliar with the condition. This fundamental difference may be the reason as to why these similar products take completely different advertisement approaches.

Schiebinger presents another strangely accepted norm within Linnaeus' term Mammalia. Here the abnormality is that this term which describes the taxonomic family to which we as humans belong, refers to a trait that only females of our family possess. And although at the time there may have been cultural, political, and definite medical attention on the breast, the reason as to why this term has stuck when there were other acceptable options is strange.