-Your
Guide to the Cultural Impact of Emerging Technologies.
Eudoxa Comment October 2003
Politically incorrect pills
by Lene Johansen
The British Medical Journal posted an article this winter where they attacked scientists doing research on female sexual dysfunction and the pharmaceutical companies that founded them. The arguments were based on outdated politics and outdated views on what medical treatment is supposed to achieve.
The accusations was that there is no such condition as female sexual dysfunction or female sexual arousal disorder, that the pharmaceutical industry created an artificial demand for this treatment and that the scientists that conducted research on this had to close ties to the industry and the industry's pockets.
Outdated politics
The pharmaceutical industry has become the poster boys of socialist vilification of free enterprise and property rights because they would not give away their patents to third world countries and because they are global, and that is enough to mark anybody as evil when European socialists cling to anti-globalism; their last and only uniting cause.
The ridiculous concept of artificial demand is only viable in a planned economy, but history and reality has never troubled European Socialists. Nor has offending regular people by suggesting that they are too stupid to figure out what their needs are and how to satisfy them. Their hegemony has actually made people accept this notion, because they never envision themselves being too stupid to make decisions about themselves.
And now these evil, greedy corporations have decided to attack the biggest taboo of socialist feminist: Female sexuality, or rather lack thereof. Did not the pharmaceutical industry pay attention in the 70ties? We decided that frigidity does not exist and women do not have problems with their sexuality. If there should be any problems with female arousal, it is the guys' fault.
Norwegian media grabbed this story quite greedily, because it was about sex and because nobody even knew the products was ready to go to market. Advertising for pharmaceutical products is illegal in Norway and problems in connection with female sexuality are reduced to being about prostitution and rape. Do a search for female, sexuality and problem on the Norwegian government's Health portal and these are the only results that will be returned.
Outdated medical views
Traditional medicine is based on a norm and treatment is restoration of functionality to that norm. It was in a paradigm like this that the whole issue of frigidity became so inflamed as to require a canon law. But times are changing and the fact that BMJ is not able to grasp the new medical paradigm is quite disappointing.
We have seen a change towards a new medicine where the focus is more on what functionality the patient wants to have, regardless of what is the statistical norm. Athletic medicine have been in the forefront of this with their performance enhancement, in America the schools have not only advocated use of Ritalin, but even blackmailed parents into drugging their children to achieve the acceptable temper. Smart food will make you more awake, more relaxed, more regular and more beautiful. Plastic surgery will give you the proper functionality for any job that people will need to look at you and mums and dads all over the world has driven forth reproductive techniques to give their children the right genetic makeup and gender.
The research into female sexual dysfunction aims to alleviate a lack of arousal that the patient perceives as a problem. It is not relevant for her weather or not 80% of the other women on her street have the same lack of arousal; or if the problem is due to hormonal balances, stress, an unaccommodating lifestyle. She would like to be able to enjoy her own sexuality and celebrate her relationship with a partner, but are not able to.
This seems to be a growing concern of women all over the western world as a full time career, family and the rest of their obligations do not leave a lot of time for intimacy and time off. It is sad that BMJ and politically correct socialist journalists cannot respect individuals enough to make these choices for themselves.