New medication, Addyi for women with low sexual desire continues to cause controversy.
Now that the FDA has approved the first medication to try to help with low sexual desire in women, one might think that there would be a resounding celebration, yet there continues to be disagreement between all kinds of providers and therapists. I, for one, view the approval of flibanserin (brand name -Addyi) being a positive move for women’s sexuality and I’m going to give three reasons why. This is the first of a 3-part post to answer just why flibanserin is a positive step for women’s sexuality.
Women’s sexuality has been both devalued and underestimated.
It is an understatement to say that women’s sexuality has been devalued over the centuries – reduced to wifely duties or worse, immodest or lustful thoughts to be pushed away. The romantic ideal of sexual desire naturally springing forth from true love is not much better, but at least it allows for “acceptable” rationalization of a woman’s sexual urges in some cases, even if she may be confused as to whom they are attached.
Attention focused on improving low sexual desire in women highlights how important it is.
The first thing that the approval of flibanserin does is to validate women’s sexuality. It may seem obvious to some, but having sexual desire and satisfying sexual experiences are important to women. The fact that this is given attention in the form of research dollars and advertising sends a message to both men and women that women’s sexuality deserves to be vibrant and alive. Certain people will comment that pharmaceutical companies only care about how much money is to be made (which I agree with, by the way) – but that is also an indication of the existence of this issue for many women, and a statement that living without sexual desire is unnecessary and even debilitating, therefore worthy of treatment.
Our system is horribly flawed, but until something better is created, treatment options operate under the confines of the system.
The largest objection to the FDA approval of flibanserin (Addyi) for low sexual desire is that the movement has ‘medicalized’ low sexual desire. With that comes the fear that women’s libido will be reduced to a ‘chemical imbalance’ to be treated only with medication. It’s true that Western medicine’s reductionist character encourages such behavior – both on the side of providers and patients. There will always be those people who foolishly run after a ‘quick fix’ or those people (again – providers along with patients) who don’t want to put in the effort to get at the root of the problem and improve it through those avenues. (I will address this in Parts 2 and 3) But then there are others who understand that any medication is just part of a larger treatment plan, and that it will only be indicated in some cases, not all.
Women’s sexuality deserves attention in positive and non-biased ways.
Whether a woman will use this medication in the future or not, the approval of flibanserin sends the message that it is perfectly reasonable and normal for women to want to have sexual desire. It shines a light on the oppressive and harmful view that suggests that women don’t have sexual desire as strongly as men, or that it naturally disappears over time, or even that “good girls” don’t think that way. It’s about time people started opening their eyes to the real beauty and life-affirming power of women’s sexual energy and desire. And although I always see medication as a last resort after lifestyle changes and optimization of health and relationships, I see this approval of flibanserin as a salute to this important endeavor.
