Journal of European Studies· 2026Q2
Tracing Narratives of Decay in 19th-Century French Colonial Medicine: Aphrodisiacs, Masculinities and Colonial Algeria
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Short summary
19th-century French medical theories linked aphrodisiacs to colonial Algeria, portraying Muslim men as hypersexual yet impotent, and viewing 'Oriental' aphrodisiacs as potential remedies for European male impotence.
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Key points
- French doctors in the 19th century linked aphrodisiacs to colonial Algeria.
- They characterized Algerian Muslim men as simultaneously hypersexual and impotent.
- Aphrodisiacs from 'the Orient' were seen as potential treatments for European male impotence.
- These medical theories intersected with French natalist concerns and justified colonialism.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
During the colonial period, French doctors viewed aphrodisiacs as connected to the French colony of Algeria in two distinct ways: on one hand, they repeated anecdotal evidence of desperate Muslim men contacting French doctors asking for (European) aphrodisiacs, while, on the other hand, they described aphrodisiacs present in France as frequently coming from ‘the Orient’. Aphrodisiacs must thus at once be located within French narratives of Algerian Muslim men being both oversexed and prematurely impotent and within the global trade of exotic, heat-creating substances that could potentially help European men with issues of impotence. While knowledge about the use of aphrodisiacs among Algerians might therefore have been used by certain desperate French men, it was also used as a justification of colonialism. This article introduces readers to 19th-century medical theories on the constructions of Algerian and French masculinities, against the background of natalist fears in France, in the specific context of the demand for and trade in aphrodisiacs.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of European Studies, 2026 · DOI ↗
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