Madonna–whore complex

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A Madonna–whore complex (also called a Madonna–mistress complex) is a psychological phenomenon first observed in psychoanalysis, and later applied to feminist critique of broader society. In psychoanalysis, the complex is defined as an inability to maintain sexual arousal within a committed and loving relationship. First identified by Sigmund Freud, who called it psychic impotence, it is a psychological complex that is said to develop in men who see women as either saintly Madonnas or debased whores. Men with this complex desire a sexual partner who has been degraded (whore) while they cannot desire the respected partner (Madonna). Freud wrote, "Where such men love they have no desire, and where they desire they cannot love." Clinical psychologist Uwe Hartmann wrote in 2009 that the complex "is still highly prevalent in today's patients".

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