“Dan” seems at first to perfectly embody that popular object of scorn these days in San Francisco: the privileged tech worker. He’s a developer-turned-manager at a thriving startup, the type of guy you would expect to see dodging protesters at a Google bus stop or evicting low-income tenants in order to build his dream condo. But beyond that veneer of untouchable privilege, there is a soft underbelly. He’s a 40-year-old virgin, and his troubles with women are bad enough that he’s sought out a sex therapist for help.
This is in part a result of techies’ higher-than-average salaries, which allow them to pay for therapy, particularly when it comes to non-traditional counseling that isn’t covered by insurance. There’s something else at play here, though: In general, tech workers are more vulnerable to issues around love and intimacy, according to several local sex therapists I’ve interviewed. The reasons for this are wide-ranging, but in Dan’s particular case, it resulted from being tagged as a prodigy at a young age. He excelled in science and was encouraged to pursue it to the exclusion of all else.
The men, like Dan, who are coming to see her have been hindered by the very thing that allows them to excel in their field. “There is a very strong reinforcement [in tech] on using your brain,” says McGrath. “You brain is what’s of value.” But when it comes to sex, she says, “our brains are bullshit.”
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 01 2015, @04:15AM
Very funny, but any man knows his dick can do more than pee. Nocturnal erection occurs on a nightly basis, and if he doesn't masturbate, he can expect involuntary ejaculation once per fortnight.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday June 01 2015, @04:31AM
Well, maybe... but it's likely these facts have been irrelevant for his valuable brain and he haven't had the time to investigate until he got at the age of 40.
In any case, it is not a problem of affordability, it's a problem of dicks not obeying the control of the brain, so shrinks are needed to negotiate a compromise between the two.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0