Is female sexual dysfunction myth or fact?

[rhino47]

http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/20030005204113_health_news.shtml

Female Sexual Dysfunction A "Corporate Creation"

Drug companies are sponsoring creation of a new medical disorder known as female sexual dysfunction in order to build markets for drugs among women, despite controversy surrounding the medicalisation of sexual problems, finds an article in this week's British Medical Journal.

Over the past six years, researchers with close ties to the pharmaceutical industry have been developing and defining the new disorder at company sponsored meetings, writes journalist, Ray Moynihan.


After watching 20/20 tonight I did a little google time.I was
surprised at the overwhelming info on male sexual dysfunction and found hundred of thousands of pages.By comparison I found alot less
information on female sexual dysfunction.I did run across the afore mentioned article stating that its a myth cooked up by pharm companies.I however feel that female sexual dysfunction is a very real and undertreated disorder that needs more research.

Imnformative page about it.

http://www.hmc.psu.edu/healthinfo/f/fsd.htm

Female Sexual Dysfunction
What is it?
Female sexual dysfunction is a lack of interest in sexual activity, repeated failure to attain or maintain sexual excitement, inability to attain an orgasm following sufficient arousal, pain during intercourse, involuntary vaginal spasms that interfere with penetration and genital pain following stimulation.

Who gets it?
A 1999 study indicated that forty-three percent of American women experience sexual dysfunction. Women who are more likely to suffer from female sexual dysfunction include those who are single, less educated, have physical or mental health problems, have undergone recent social or economic setbacks, or were dissatisfied with their relationship with a sexual partner

[Demeter]

1. Dysfunction is in the eye of the beholder

It is ridiculous to postulate a physical or mental disorder in a person's sexual functioning when the whole society and economy and relations between the sexes are imploding with the revolution in connection. When nothing is stable, why blame the woman?

[slinkerwink]

2. yes, it is real....and it lies in lack of education about female anatomy

believe it or not, there are plenty of women that don't know the name of their clitorises. Also, there are plenty of women that have been unable to orgasm.

[madmax]

10. We're suppose to name them?

sheesh no wonder! :spank:


Hi Slinkerwink :hi:

[RedEarth]

21. lol....I'm glad you said that and not a male...

but you did take the words right out of my mouth....lol

[ramapo]

3. Fact

They're as screwed up as most of us men...

[Bertha Venation]

4. speaking from my own experience:

As a diagnosis or medical malady, it's bunk.

As a fact of life, it's called no libido. (Hey doc: can you say that? "No libido." Very good!)

It comes (pun intended) and goes with hormonal changes, depression, other real health problems, etc. And it's miserable.

Anyone trying to make money off of the misery of a woman w/ no libido is a prick.

[Nevernose]

7. Was that a pun?

If so, it was a very good one...

"Anyone trying to make money off of the misery of a woman w/ no libido is a prick."

[Bertha Venation]

8. Nope. You get the credit for recognizing that one.

Give that man a cigar!

That was a pun. ;)

[eaprez]

5. No Dysfunction Here

Perhaps the lack of interest in sexual activity is not a dysfunction at all but something that could/would quickly be remedied with a new partner!!!!!!

[foreigncorrespondent]

15. Not everyone is this world...

...ants to change the person they are sleeping with.

A lot of the time, when sex is absent from a relationship it is because of other factors which are causing the lack of desire to make love.

Changing partners is just an easy way out, and a way of not dealing with the real issues.

[eaprez]

17. My point was

....perhaps the partner IS the issue!!!!!

[eaprez]

6. You Also May Wish To Consider

...that this is a dysfunction created by the pharmaceutical industry in order to create another market and make lots of money!

[corporatewhore]

9. we should be thankful the pharm corps only makeup pretend diseases rather

than release real ones so we would have to by their products

[NuckinFutz]

14. who says they aren't?

eom

[CHIMO]

11. It May

Only be a dysfunction until it becomes the norm. Just think of all the drugs that could be provided then to be normal.

[pink_poodle]

12. Yeah, it's called boredom. It's also called.......................

fed up at being taken for granted, having to look at a guy who is a slob or who is a womanizer or a man's-man sports jock, or a guy who is just Mr. Mood Swings - any of these (plus other such traits) will do it.

[pink_poodle]

13. Sorry, I should be more fair. Yes, the companys do................

make up diseases and problems in order to sell drugs so they get rich. Definitely. Also, there are a lot of women out there who are messed up just like there are men who are messed up.

What bugs me is when you are a person who really likes to have fun but the guy is one of the things I mentioned, or one of those jerks who thinks he is God's gift to womankind......real turn offs.

[maxsolomon]

19. yep, its always the man

don't take responsibility for your own sexuality.

[Madrone]

22. Hey! Are you living my life?

lol

[maggrwaggr]

16. male pattern baldness is 100% normal, yet you can spend $$

fighting it.

The size of my nose is 100% natural, yet I can spend thousands of dollars to have a doctor change it.

It's called samsara. Which means a craving for that which you do not have.

"My life would be better if only I had ........( )"

It's what makes the wheels of this economy run.

Fear that you're missing something.

[Robb]

18. My understanding is that

99% of sexual dysfunction is a result of another physical or mental issue, that "sexual dysfunction" is usually a symptom, not a disease in itself.

There are exceptions, but they are not the norm. I would mostly equate treating sexual dysfunction by itself to treating "not liking to jog" without considering underlying issues (bad knees, etc.). :shrug:

[SOS]

20. American pharmaceutical companies

are busy finding "conditions" that require expensive long-term treatment with their products.

If you are an American with erectile dysfunction/no libido, hair loss, elevated cholesterol, gas, heartburn, irritable colon, allergies, achy joints and foot fungus, Big Pharma can "treat" you for about $10,000 a year.

On the other hand, if you have HIV, cancer, Parkinsons, Lupus,
MS...well, sorry Big Pharma doesn't have much for you.
But don't worry...they're "working on the cure". :eyes:

[kskiska]

23. Way back in the early 60s or so it was called "Frigidity"

and there was a lot of talk about "frigid" women for a while. Then it all went away and no one worried about it for a while. Some people are just more interested in sex than others, male and female.

[davsand]

24. A couple points here:

We all tend to view sexuality as something that has GOT to be at a fever pitch 24/7 and that just isn't real for a variety of reasons.

It can be boredom (OK--so how many of us take the time to wrap up in saran wrap, put on high heeled boots, and greet him at the door with a glass of wine in hand?) but THAT goes both ways. He may be just as bored as you are. We all tend to forget that we get back everything we put into any relationship.

It can be exhaustion. Not to put too fine a point on this, but you try working full time, keeping a house clean enough that the Public Health Dept doesn't condemn it, keeping everyone fed and wearing clean clothing, balancing the demands of kids AND hubby, and staying sane 100% of the time... It is an unreal expectation to think that I'm gonna be Superwoman all day and THEN I'm gonna climb in the sack with my husband for a few hours of sweaty fun and thundering orgasms.

Maybe things haven't been 100% cordial lately. Come on--admit it--we ALL have times when maybe the mortgage is due and his family is coming to visit, your boss is climbing up your skirts, and your kid's teacher needs to be booted in the ass. Couples tend to "discuss" that kind of stuff--and sometimes it can make it really difficult to feel like you even want them in the same room--let alone swapping body fluids with you...

Maybe you are just too overloaded to be interested. Maybe you BOTH are just too damn physically exhausted to be interested in much more than some sleep. Maybe your hormones are outta whack from the Pill, or pregnancy, or nursing, or perimenopause or menopause. Maybe you have a headache or his back hurts...

The reasons why sex may not happen or may be less than stellar when it does happen are just WAY too plentiful to ever say that lack of arousal is some kind of dysfunction as a general rule.

Now, IF you are feeling that way 100% of the time, and you NEVER have any positive experiences--then maybe it IS a valid issue to look at, but the idea of it being diagnosed in a fifteen minute office visit with a doc is just too stupid for words, IMO. This is so complex that I can't begin to see how diagnosis could be possible.

I hate the idea that we, as a nation, are becoming so chemical in our existence that we can't take a crap or even get laid without a pill to do it. The Drug Corporations have sold us a bill of goods, and we have bought it wholesale.

I never figured myself for some "Earth Mother" nor did I ever figure I'd fall in the "less drugs=better" camp after all I did in the late 70's and 80's. But it looks like I have arrived. I'm just not gonna consider the idea that most of us need to take a pill to enjoy sex.

Laura

[bacchant]

25. Word!

[lapislzi]

26. Inventing medical conditions: how to sell more drugs

Now, I'm not suggesting that there aren't REAL conditions out there that require treatment. If you truly suffer from PMS big time, it's no joke. But so few of us actually do (don't know the stats, but the number is low). However, the drug companies are raking it in by turning everyday problems into medical events. To wit:

Need to pee often? You have a condition. Take this pill.

Are you cranky around the time of your period? You need Prozac.

Not in the mood? Take this pill.

Ordinary people with no medical training see these ads on TV and go running off to their doctors for the magic pills. The drug companies are feeding off people's ignorance by making their routine complaints into crises.

News flash: your period is NOT a medical event. Nor is not being in the mood, or peeing every couple of hours.

[lojasmo]

27. Nope

It's truly rampant It's caused by religious acculturization, and lack of education about sexual anatomy and physiology. The widespread overprescription of SRI medications (prozac and it's ilk) doesn't help either.