Meaning of Madonna-whore complex | Babel Free

Definitions

A complex said to develop in men who see women as either saintly "Madonnas" or debased prostitutes, potentially leading to the inability to maintain sexual arousal within a committed, loving relationship.

Examples

“‘Who’s That Knocking at My Door?’ [1967] was a film that dealt with a simple theme, one basic idea—a young guy trying to deal⟳ with his madonna-whore complex about women—plus a slight indication of what Little Italy was like⟳.”

“The female nurse, however, still fulfils a public stereotype, according to the nurses The Sydney Morning Herald spoke to. She suffers from the Madonna-whore complex – she is a Madonna in the ward because she “helps” people, but socially she’s a Nurse and everybody’s heard of nurses’ parties, haven’t they?”

“The analyst clarifies the enactments into reality of a defensive dissociation of the intimate object from the sexual object, a classic Madonna-and-Whore complex.”

““Just got here. Saw⟳ the light⟳ on my way up to the loo—then I saw⟳ your fat arse sticking up investigating Nanny’s drawers so I thought I’d pop in. I see⟳ her taste⟳ in quasi-nun’s outfits hasn’t changed since 1985,” she observed, flicking through the hangers. “Think⟳ she’s got a Madonna and whore complex?””

“Under the Madonna-whore complexes that plagued me and most boys, there was a deep Christian fear of ourselves as animals, creatures of flesh more than spirit.”

“As we’re well into the 21st century, we might have⟳ hoped that all of that Freudian hooey about the Madonna-Whore Complex could have⟳ been ditched by now, but [Rena] Priest’s work⟳ suggests that our society is still impacted by those archetypes.”

“Like⟳ other expressions of Madonna-whore complexes, there is an idea that bad things don’t happen⟳ to good girls.”

CEFR level