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Madonna-whore complexes

Madonna-whore complexes is the plural of Madonna-whore complex.

Meaning of Madonna-whore complex

Noun

Madonna-whore complex (plural Madonna-whore complexes)

  1. (feminist theory) 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.
    • ‘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.1973 November 18, Gene Siskel, quoting Martin Scorsese, “Along the ‘Streets’ of Little Italy …”, in Chicago Tribune, section 6, page 6

Questions about Madonna-whore complexes

What is Madonna-whore complexes the plural of?
Madonna-whore complexes is the plural of Madonna-whore complex.

Words near Madonna-whore complexes in the dictionary

  1. Madonna piercing
  2. Madonna piercings
  3. Madonna-be
  4. madonna-like
  5. Madonna-whore complex
  6. Madonna-whore complexes
  7. Madonna/whore complex
  8. Madonna/whore complexes
  9. Madonnabe
  10. Madonnabes
  11. Madonnaesque

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Madonna-whore complexes (page history and authors); Madonna-whore complex (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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