The caption under the stock image -- found under keyword "sexuality" in the Getty Images database -- reads "new research sheds light on female sexual arousal disorder, and leads researchers one step closer to a female Viagra". It accompanies a non-story from ABCNews.com about Pfizer's ongoing attempt to squeeze a little more money utility out of their Viagra brand.
After enough coverage of other drugs under the headline "new female viagra" the marketing folks at Pfizer must have realized that any new sex drug for women is going to be called the Female Viagra so they might as well go with it, despite the fact that all their previous research has failed.
The biggest disappointment in all this coverage are the journalists responsible for it. This particular piece is riddled with inaccuracies and half truths, pulled directly from the press materials and quoted from the mouths of paid talking heads. Viagra hasn't solved men's sexual dysfunction problems, we don't know how much of a role blood flow plays in the subjective experiences of arousal or desire, there is good evidence to make us question the utility of these kinds of animal studies, the list goes on.
I wouldn't mind the seemingly endless supply of these articles if only they offered something other than the same three or four people making the same three or four claims, offering nothing more than a pre-advertisement and mostly missing the point.
Read more - ABCNews.com: Are We a Step Closer to a Viagra for Women?
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Women have problems, that is a given. Whether or not their desire or lack thereof is one that can or should be cured with a pill creme or potion is yet another matter altogether.
If the real problem is a lack of “desire” or “interest” then we are speaking of an attitudinal thing. Women are obviously more capable than men of having sex or performing some sexual service whenever they choose to do so even if they simply need to use a personal lubricant. The lubricant in this case would be the true parallel to Viagra usage in men. It is merely a facilitator. Neither one, as I understand it actually increase sexual desire.
Viagra does not make a man want to have sex so much as it makes him “able” to do so. However, if he is not interested in having sex there is no personal motivation to take the little blue pill. Same thing with a woman, if she is not getting wet she can use a lubricant, allowing her to have sex, but if she is not interested then there is no motivation to use the lubricant.
I believe, that although there are some bona fide pathological sexual dysfunctions both for men and women, the real issues is more relative than that. The real issue is more of an “interest” and “desire” thing, and one must personally choose to be sexual when it is actually easier to simply do something else… like sleep or watch TV.