Once upon a time, 17 years ago, medical researchers who were trying to concoct a drug for hypertension and heart-related chest pain, accidentally struck “oil”. The drug did not do anything for either ailment but some kind of pressure was certainly turned on, resulting in the rise of many troubled male anatomical flags (bring on the trumpet sounds!).
“Viagra,” as it came to be called, was the blue pharmacological plumber that saved many Adams struck with an abundance of desire but plagued by an inadequate flow in their hydraulic system. Amusing as it may be for many, its manufacturer most likely would not mind the jokes. In 2014 alone, worldwide revenues from Viagra sales earned its manufacturer $1.6 billion.
Judging from the overwhelming reception to the blue pill’s power to raise male biological swords, one would be tempted to ask if a similar problem inhabited some Eves. After all, male urgencies seemed to attract more attention from medical science, that for most of history, the template used to study human body parts, have been male.
So what is this pink pill that will be released in October touted to benefit Eves?
It is not for all Eves. Flibanserin, its generic name, is for those who have not yet reached menopause and who have been diagnosed to have a disorder, which is characterized by an absence of desire and arousal. To be prescribed the drug which comes in 100 mg pills, the “desire void” must have persisted for at least 6 months, caused “significant distress” and “not be related to partners, relationship, medical, cultural or religious factors, body image, depression or other stressors.” In other words, it is for Eves who cannot summon the surge of sea within her when she wants to. It is not for those times where Adam himself is really the cause of Eve’s “uncoaxable” desire. And women, we all know the proportion of those times.
For Adams, their Houston mission control (brain) and their rocket (their other “brain”) need not necessarily be bridged in order for sparks to fly. Their rockets sort of have a system that can go at it alone without a countdown from Houston. And Adams, do not be so sensitive as it is not really not a diminution to refer to it as “plumbing” when you consider what it takes for Eve’s sexual anima to surge and soar. For Eves, everything – from smell, to words, to light, to touch, and even to the memory embedded in her head 7.5 years ago – would have to be in their proper “place” for the event to be a success.
That is probably one of the reasons why it took medical science a while to do something for Eves with these kinds of “troubles.” While for Adam, it is just getting to know “plumbing,” figuring out what makes Eve tick is akin to massive “event-organizing.” They had to really get to her brain.
And this is what flibanserin does to the Eve who takes it. It gets into her brain to “play” around with the messengers in her brain, dopamine and serotonin, known as “neurotransmitters,” priming them to pick up their act when it is time for the “event.” And because it acts on the brain, it takes a while to kick-in so the pill has to be taken everyday. And again because it is the brain and the brain is more mysterious than the universe, it does not always work. This is not the case for Adams, as for them, it is just like a switch, which you just flip right before you to turn something on.
Is some amount of gratitude in order? Imagine, medical science only took 17 years since Viagra to show that they do think about Eve’s inner world. They apparently thought in their brilliantly caged minds, that all Eves had to do, was to be at the receiving end of the male piping. It was only in the 20th century that physicians acknowledged (imagine their surprise) that women did actually have desires and experienced pleasures of their own.
In fact, in 1857, a doctor – whose name made me think there may be a god of comedy – Dr. Charles Locock, associated epilepsy with an “illness” they named “hysteria” that manifested as excessive sexual excitability. He considered treating them with bromide, observed then to reduce libido. “Desire” in women was considered to be alien to the female biology and pscyhe. Imagine if he did commercialize his treatment for women’s “misplaced” pleasure and desire and named it after him. I don’t know if it will work but am pretty sure many bottles will shake and drop from uncontrollable laughter.
I even discovered that the vibrator was not born out of some liberating sexual entrepreneurship but because the male doctors at that magnificently ignorant time needed a technological gadget to aid them to “treat” female patients who needed to be “relieved” of hysteria. I am continuously amazed at the lengths many Adams in history, particularly in medical science, have gone through to extend their services effectively retarding our understanding of Eve’s biology.
To those who care that they may have been left behind, Eves and Adams alike, I recommend a map. One of my most favorite books is Woman an Intimate Geography by Pulitzer prize-winner Natalie Angier. With it, you will understand that while location is for real estate; for women, it is geography. Be ready for a journey. – Rappler.com
(“Love pills” image courtesy Shutterstock)
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