What It Feels Like to Take the Newly Approved 'Female Viagra

The FDA approved the "female Viagra," prompting some critics to accuse them of pathologizing female sexual disinterest. We spoke to a woman diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder.

Female empowerment is great. Using female empowerment as a marketing tactic is not so great. Where does Addyi--the new drug that's being hailed as "Viagra for women"--stand?

Last night, after previously rejecting the drug twice, the FDA approved Addyi, also known by its generic name flibanserin, for premenopausal women who suffer from what is called hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), categorized by a complete loss of interest in sex, to the extent that it causes distress. This was due, in large part, from pressure from lobbying groups like Even The Score and testimonials to the FDA from women with chronic low sexual desire, all of whom argued that it's time for women to have the same options as men when it comes to managing their sex lives.

When I went to Sprout Pharmaceuticals's pop-up office in Soho (the company is based out of North Carolina), CEO Cindy Whitehead continued to espouse Addyi's feminist narrative. "[Now that the FDA approved the drug] women can finally make the choice for themselves with their healthcare provider whether or not treatment for this common sexual dysfunction is right for them," Whitehead said. But for many feminists, the idea of labeling sexual disinterest as a disorder, and trying to medicate it, is off-putting. I couldn't stop thinking of Addyi as something a Freudian psychoanalyst would prescribe to a depressed 60s housewife who doesn't want her husband's eyes to wander. At what point does a low sex drive drive become a "sexual dysfunction"?

To call Addyi "the female Viagra" is not entirely accurate. Unlike Viagra, which merely regulates physiological arousal by sending blood to the penis, Addyi is a daily pill which works more similarly to an anti-depressant. It effects dopamine and serotonin receptors in order to effectively manufacture desire. (The pill also comes with a list of side effects that includes dizziness, nausea, and fainting.) As several critics have pointed out, it's hard to see how pathologizing low sexual desire could be a feminist win. If desire, by definition, is wanting, why should women agonize over wanting what they don't want?

HSDD effects between 5.4 percent and 13.6% of women and Sprout made sure that they had some of those women on-hand to talk about living with the disorder. Though I knew she would be thoroughly media trained, I spoke to Katherine Campbell, a married mother of two about why she views Addyi as a potential game-changer.