By Nadine Moedt (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: March 6, 2013
Sex is up for sale in the world of psychiatry, and pharmaceutical companies are buying in. After a successful campaign promoting the widespread popularity of Viagra as a “cure” for erectile dysfunction, the race to dominate the female sexual disorder market has begun.
According to Dr. Allen Francis in Psychology Today, a recent addition to the list of top 10 most problematic disorders in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) is the Female Sexual Arousal and Female Orgasm Disorder (FSD). The disorder has been portrayed in advertising by pharmaceutical companies as being misleadingly common; every woman is unhappy with her sex life and has a sexual disorder, the campaign suggests and there is a pill to fix her.
FSD is a very real disorder. It is characterized in the DSM 5 as persistent problems with sexual response and an inability to become aroused or orgasm; decreased libido and pain associated with sexual stimulation are both symptoms of FSD. This disorder, however, shouldn’t be placed under the umbrella of easy cures through drugs.
The factors that contribute to FSD are widely varied. Everything from stress and fatigue to a confused gender identity can be a cause of this disorder; childhood sexual abuse and ongoing abusehas been closely linked to sexual dysfunctions. Distorted sexual expectations and beliefs—often due to an overexposure to unrealistic pornography—are another factor.
Curing FSD is much more complicated than simply popping a pill. With any of these cases it would be extremely unhealthy psychologically to simply mask the problem, rather than find help. Speaking to a psychologist or counsellor is the best way to find the root of the problem and solve it there.
What I find irritating is the underlying assumption that if a woman can’t become aroused or reach orgasm, she is at fault and needs some medication to “fix” her. Often the problem isn’t her at all – it’s an issue of communication and trust between a woman and her partner.
The advertisements that exude the belief that the best way to deal with these problems is to seek a magic fix-all are both harmful and misleading. They suggest that you can generalize the female sexual experience. In reality, every woman has individual preferences and different psychologies; it is ridiculous to put the entire female sex together into one broad category.
The Female Sexual Disorder section in the DSM-5 has been overhyped and unethically used. Of course there are some women who could genuinely benefit from drugs that ease this disorder. But it is a small market that is being exploited within an inch of its life at the expense of women who are being told that their unsatisfying sex life is in fact their own physical problem, rather than a problem with their relationship or psychological well being.
The only people pushing these drugs are a nasty mix of greedy, disease-mongering salespeople and lusty, obtuse males.
