Viagra plays off and perpetrates normative stereotypes about sex, male sexuality, and male identity to center men’s ability to have sex on their ability to get an erection. Most Viagra advertisements center around a man and a woman or a woman talking about wanting to be intimate with “her man”, yet often use ungendered language. In doing so, they juxtaposed “heteronormativity and hegemonic masculinity with an opening available for ‘alternative lifestyles’” to uphold the “social legitimacy of Viagra as a drug for monogamous, heterosexual couples without simultaneously limiting its potential consumer base. ”(1) Thus, while the advertisements do not limit who can use Viagra, Viagra paints a picture of the common man and male user as being heterosexual, in a monogamous relationship, and masculine. While upholding normative ideas about male identity, Viagra simultaneously also uses this narrative to promote their product. Due to this normative portrayal of men in their ads, “‘real’ sex [is defined as] (hetero)sexual intercourse” where an “erection is [needed] for (vaginal) penetration.” (2) Thus, Viagra advertisements display or allude to a very traditional heterosexual couple to uphold the idea that there is only one way to have sex and it is vaginal and penetrative. If men are unable to have sex in this way, it is because he cannot get an erection and, therefore, is seen as “sexually dysfunctional and in need of medical repair.” (3) Thus, sex is defined and upheld as heterosexual where a man penetrates a woman. Resultantly, men’s ability to have sex and be intimate with their partners centers on their ability to have an erection. Lucky for you, there’s Viagra. ​