Congratulations, it’s a pill! The Food and Drug Administration approved the little pink pill Addyi, which many are touting as “the female Viagra.” While this might be a victory for women’s health, gender equality and horny or, more accurately, wishing-they-were-horny women everywhere, it’s important to know the vast differences between Viagra and Addyi.
Firstly, it’s not Viagra. Like, at all.
Remember that episode of “Sex and the City” in which Samantha recreationally took Viagra and then got hooked on it? So, this isn’t like that. Samantha’s “thing” on the show was her over-the-top libido. She (and other women) can take Viagra to soup up her blood flow for increased arousal and a potentially more intense sexual experience.
Unlike Viagra, Addyi’s not a pill women take as-needed around 30 minutes before sex—it’s a daily pill. According to the FDA, across three trials, “meaningful improvements in satisfying sexual events, sexual desire or distress” were reported by about 10 percent more women who took Addyi than those who took a placebo. Plus, it takes two to four weeks to start working.
In addition to all of that, Addyi targets the mind rather than the genitals of those taking it. In short, it targets desire rather than arousal.
That’s…less than fair.
One thing is for sure—the approval of the pill is evidence that the government is placing women’s sexual desire into a psychological category rather than a physiological one.
Sigh.
Women taking Addyi should avoid drinking alcohol, they say, as it lessens the effects of the medicine and can cause severe low blood pressure, which can in turn cause fainting spells. And it can interfere with other medications, so watch out.
It also can cause insomnia, fatigue and dry mouth.
This all sounds very sexy, doesn’t it?
The most important warning I’m reading is that the pill is not a therapist, so if a woman is in a bad relationship, has depression or truly has no interest in having an interest in sex, this is probably not the cure-all.
With all that said, though, one in 10 women experiences hypoactive sexual desire disorder. And those who have undergone recent hormonal shifts may look to Addyi to rejuvenate a part of themselves that they lost and help put that sexual spark back in their relationships, which is a beautiful thing.
So, let me get this right—the FDA doesn’t think that men go through these same situations in their lives? Men don’t get depressed, get into the wrong relationships and lose their sexual desires?
Come on, now. Here’s a thought: Make a Viagra for men AND women, and make an Addyi for men AND women. Then, those who have a hard time getting aroused can get aroused, and those who have a decreased sexual desire can get a sexual desire. That’s the fair thing, not this.
Jessica Cantarelli is Metromix editor.
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