Why Do Men Get Wood When They’re Angry?

And when does it stop being funny?

Courtesy of Pixabay.

“Break up to make up, that’s all we do,” The Stylistics, 1972

I keep remembering the episode of “Two and a Half Men” where Charlie’s housekeeper, Bertha, comes in his bedroom. She looks down at his budging shorts and says, “I hope that’s not for me.”

While a great line—especially for a housekeeper—it also brings to mind one of men’s recurring fears. Why do we get erections at inopportune times? And when does it stop being funny?

In Charlie’s case, we can’t imagine him having a sexual interest in Bertha. So why the flamethrower when she walks in the room? Could it be an unrealized attraction? Or was the erection from something — or someone — that happened before she walked in the bedroom?

Can sexual arousal and fear of axe murderers cause the same stiffy?

During his dream state, for instance, Charlie might very well have been imagining sex. Or he could’ve been having sex while a jealous husband was raising an axe over his head. Can sexual arousal and fear of axe murderers cause the same stiffy?

Apparently they can, and often do with some regularity. “Morning wood” is so common, in fact, sometimes we forget it’s nothing more…