17 Lies We Need to Stop Teaching Boys About Sex — Everyday Feminism
13. A Boner Always Means a Guy Wants Sex (And Vice Versa)
Guys can become hard at random times for random reasons, especially throughout puberty. Spontaneous erections might be embarrassing, but they’re normal, and sometimes have nothing to do with how aroused someone is.
The most common example is nocturnal penile tumescence — a.k.a. morning wood — which happens after the brain enters REM sleep, and isn’t tied to the sexiness of your dreams.
On the flip side, not getting hard doesn’t necessarily mean a man isn’t into getting down. Alcohol and pot can temper things, for example. Erectile dysfunction is also very common, affecting 15 to 30 million men in the US.
Moral of the story: Desire is more complicated than the physical evidence lets on.
More: 17 Lies We Need to Stop Teaching Boys About Sex — Everyday Feminism