“There have been many research looking into the masculinity and sexual health of European and American men but no proper one has been carried out on Asian men yet,” she said.

The research was divided into three parts: men’s attitude towards life events, sexual behaviour and their attitude towards erectile dysfunction.

The findings, nevertheless, reinforced the male stereotypes in the individual participating countries, specifically in their concept of masculinity: the Taiwanese and Japanese quoted being a man of honour as the most important quality, the Chinese defined it as having control over one’s life while for South Koreans, it was having an active sex life.

A common characteristic among all Asian men, however, was their inability to express themselves, especially when it comes to sexual health, she said,

“A part of the male personality is not to show emotions. They cannot cry or show that they have problems. They won’t even talk about their sex problems unless they are in excruciating pain. Often, they need women to push them to open up.”

Said Prof Sarinah, the research revealed that importance of career and financial status seem to decrease with age for men, while physical attractiveness, sexual performance and success with women will increase as they get older.

However, she noted, no research has been carried out on how the older men channel their increased sexuality.