Often journalists fail to "do" sexuality well when the cover it because they aren't willing to ask basic questions. Like most of us they are uncomfortable enough talking about sex that they're willing to take for granted that we all know what sex is, who has it, why we have it, what it means to be a man or woman and be sexual, etc...
It's one of the simple and refreshing things about Natasha Singer's short piece in the Times today about the new drugs to treat premature ejaculationthat are being pushed through the testing pipelines, each hoping to make it to the FDA approval finish line first (mental note: being fast is good in business, bad in bed).
It was probably Singer's experience covering both the beauty and health care pharma industry that gave her the knowledge and confidence to set aside the how-does-it-work and how-many-people-will-it-cure questions and start by asking; is there an actual illness in need of treatment here? Here's how she breaks it down:
"...creating a blockbuster quality-of-life drug like Viagra involves more than just being innovative or being first. Sometimes it requires a drug maker to create and market a whole new category of disease.
"The template goes something like this: Start with a legitimate quality-of-life issue -- like fitful sleep or shyness -- that does not yet have its own prescription medication and is debilitating to a few people a lot of the time. Next, position the quality-of-life issue as a medical condition with symptoms so common it covers vast numbers of people who had previously not identified themselves as having a health problem, or who thought they were just experiencing an occasional and normal annoyance."
We're used to most journalists completely suspending their critical faculties when covering sexuality. If Singer maintains an interest in bio-medical sex research we'll all be better informed for it.
The bottom line of the piece is that we should all get ready for a lot of carefully managed public discussions about premature ejaculation. Apparently I was six months early in singing the praises of premature ejaculation.
Read More - Sure, It's Treatable. But Is It a Disorder?
Related - Myths About Premature Ejaculation ; What Causes Premature Ejaculation? ; How to Stop Premature Ejaculation
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