Viagra for women: striking a blow for feminism?
The Times today has an intriguing article on Viagra's potential for women:
The long search for the female equivalent of Viagra has led researchers to . . . Viagra.
In a small study of 98 women published today, the little blue pill helped women whose sexual performance had flagged as a side effect of taking antidepressants, known as SSRIs -- a very specific finding that could open a new use for the male impotence drug.
For those who believe men and women can't achieve equality without comparable considerations of their sexual needs, this study takes it one step further:
Dr. Irwin Goldstein, director of sexual medicine at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego, who has prescribed Viagra for some of his female patients, said the new research suggests that "however you think about men and women, there are a lot of similarities."
Exactly what those similiarities are, though, has yet to be determined. Which raises the question: Can men and women achieve equality as long as there are two sets of sexual standards and practices?
Swati Pandey wrote about the tricky nature of judging male-female equality by sex. Following Reuter's trip with two sex tourists to Africa -- who happen to be older white women -- she observed:
Responses to the female sex tourism trend vary from disgust to vague unease. No one’s willing to make this out as a victory for feminism, even if it’s a case of women acknowledging sexual desires and having purses of their own to gratify them. (Heidi Fleiss would be proud, and possibly annoyed that her future clientele can find the frisson they seek for cheap overseas.) And it's older women at that—not the ones who are usually chided for "having sex like men."
Back to Viagra for women:
You quote Swati Pandy as saying, "Responses to the female sex tourism trend vary from disgust to vague unease. No one’s willing to make this out as a victory for feminism ... "
Actually I've written an entire book, "Romance on the Road: Traveling Women Who Love Foreign Men," that does see this as a qualified victory for feminism.
Posted by: Jeannette Belliveau | July 24, 2008 at 08:20 AM
As a man, I'm all in favor of a "female Viagra." I just don't believe it represents a blow for sexual equality.
There is a big difference between Viagra and any female equivalent. Viagra boosts sexual performance whereas any "female Viagra" would be designed primarily to increase libido.
If a woman's libido is flagging, there may be important underlying psychological, emotional or physical causes. From the woman's perspective, it may be better to deal with these issues than to drug herself into being a willing sexual partner.
Posted by: James Patterson | July 26, 2008 at 03:56 PM
That sure is good news to me!! After our daughter was born my wife had a very bad postpartum disorder. She still has to take medication to this day (2yrs later) to suppress her depression and mania. I love my wife and it's true the side effect of taking antidepressants and other meds is that your sexual appetite dwindles...(I'm now used to having sex once or twice a month). I get by by being the best dad and husband I can be. But, not have sex more often is really starting to get to me (never really been into masterbation...like the real thing) maybe this is the boost that my wife and I both need!
Posted by: Mark | December 29, 2008 at 07:23 AM