A New Pill For “Female Problems”

by Catie Colliton

The FDA is deciding on whether or not to endorse the latest medication for lady problems: flibanserin. Dubbed the “pink Viagra,” this pill does what the little blue pill did for men in increasing their sex drive, supposedly.

The medication alters the chemicals in a woman’s brain into thinking more sexual thoughts, and apparently the German manufacturers are not sure how they came upon this potential gold mine of a pill (an estimated $2 billion market in the US). Originally, flibanserin was designed to treat depression but failed. According to an article in the Washington Post, flibanserin increased the number of sexually satisfying experiences from 2.7 to 4.5 in a month in a study of women ages 18 to 50. The control group also experienced an increase— 3.7 sexually satisfying experiences— despite the pill’s extremely “unsexy” name.

There is a lot of debate around this new lady-satisfier, like if flibanserin is just another way to medicate people and contribute to the growing pharmaceutical industry, or if women really are losing their libido and need a quick fix. As Susan Bennett, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, asks, “Is it really a problem, or is it the societal message of what they’re supposed to be experiencing, or pressure from a partner, or changes in themselves?”

Other important questions to ask: Will it be covered by health insurance like Viagra, or will it be shunned (by some companies) like birth control unless you have a medical problem that requires it? Will it have a cute and discreet packaging like other lady-targeted products because we don’t want anyone knowing we have a problem “down there”?

What do you think?

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