It's a little pink pill -- and it's targeted at ending dead bedrooms around the globe.
It's a little pink pill -- and it's targeted at ending dead bedrooms around the globe. The new "female viagra" has undergone a 12-week study with over 200 women who were diagnosed with what is known as "female sexual arousal disorder." The drug, dubbed Sildenafil, is coming to market in 2016 and may be able to help some 50 million women in the country who experience some sexual dysfunction. But could it be too much of an "easy button" to sex?
Not for the naturally disinclined.
Female sexual arousal disorder is estimated to effect approximately 10% of the adult female population and an incredible 40% of women in the country report some sexual dysfunction. But female sexual disorder is rather specific: it is defined as a loss of sexual desire following regular sexual need. If you haven't ever had a high libido in the past, this little pink pill won't tickle your little pink pill, and it's not going to affect those with asexuality. Sildenafil designed to help those who have had natural periods of high sexuality, not to alter the sexual desires of those who have naturally low libido. But that raises another question...
Getting all hot and bothered.
How does the pill work? The female sex pill essentially works by increasing blood flow to the genitals -- very similar to the male viagra pill. This can safely mimic arousal to the extent that the individual does become aroused. In terms of sexual dysfunction, many women reported a failure to become initially aroused or a failure to remain wet, which could cause physical injury during the sex act -- and no one wants that. The female sex pill can be taken either as needed or regularly to more readily achieve arousal and thus to facilitate a better sex life.
During sex arousal instigates specific physical changes in a woman's body. Not only is there additional "lubrication," but the vaginal canal itself widens and the cervix lifts upwards to accommodate the sex act itself. Until now, there was no way to help in stimulating that type of physical arousal. And for that matter, many men haven't even understood it. And that's the problem.
Most women have a different type of arousal than men. Instead of it being purely physical, there's a strong emotional and psychological component. In other words, if she isn't feeling it, she isn't feeling it. Essentially...
It's not going to deal with your issues for you.
The danger with a "female viagra" is that it could disincline partners to even try to get their mate in the mood. Since female sexuality isn't as "on and off" as an erection, the worry is that the female viagra will be a "pop it and forget it" easy button for sex. Most women can't even have an orgasm during vaginal sex; creating a pill that purely facilitates vaginal sex may not actually give the woman much additional sexual enjoyment.
Despite being more than 50% of the population, many women are mystified by their own orgasms, and their partners are equally confused. Thus, the female viagra might be able to get women in the mood -- but it's not going to get them all the way there, and it's certainly not going to address preexisting conditions in the bedroom.
For many women, difficulty with arousal may not be physical but instead psychological. Sex therapists and general individual counselors can often help women work through their issues. For marital "dead bedrooms," marriage counseling can also be the answer. But for those who genuinely can't get aroused even when they want to, the little pink pill may be the perfect solution.