A pill for pleasure

Viagra, now introduced in the Indian market, has been touted as the cure for male impotency. It can be, provided an effort is made to establish an emotional relationship before the pill is taken, writes GAUTAMAN BHASKARAN.

VATSYAYANA, the man who dressed up sex in prose and poetry centuries ago, must be a happier man. Indians, at least many of them, are trying hard to shed the inhibitions that Victorian England clothed them in.

There is, whatever one may say or argue, a refreshingly new approach to one of the most intimate forms of communication between two persons. Sex has outlived its utility as a mere means of procreation: there is an attempt to inject into it a certain playfulness, a certain joy, a certain eroticism.

The most perceptible change seems to have occurred in the woman. She is no longer a passive partner. Fina Torres' "Woman on Top" is a film, now running in India, that aptly sums up Penelope Cruz's misery when she finds her celluloid husband dejected and depressed after her night of passionate initiative.

Such girlish exuberance has - off the screen - added to the complexity of the man-woman relationship. The male, taught and looked upon to perform from the womb to the tomb, now finds himself outwitted by the female's sexual energy. Perplexed, he wants to do better, to stay one-up on her. And, the so-called magic pill, Viagra, appears to have arrived as the answer to all his fears. It is named Penagra or Edegra or Caverta or Androz or Rezume (the drug is Sildenafil Citrate) by different manufacturers in India. The media, of course, has been trumpeting loudly about the medicine's ability to arouse a man.

Dr. D. Narayana Reddy, an expert in sexual medicine and, beyond that, a keen psychologist and sociologist, agrees with this - though with reservations. "Till now, pharmaceutical companies were not bothered about male or female sexual problems. They were only looking at antibiotics, life-saving prescriptions, hormones and so on. Today, they have begun to take an interest in lifestyle medication."

What is more, the kind of hype that Viagra attracted - unparalleled in medical history - in the print and the visual media, "pushed sex out of the closet". After all, nobody can talk about this tablet in isolation, whose singular strength lies in addressing physical impotency in man.

In fact, Viagra's success story has encouraged research into female sexual dysfunctions: many firms are pumping in money to develop gadgets to help diagnose these, and, perhaps, later to find a cure for them.

But Dr. Reddy would rather temper his optimism with a note of caution. He regrets that "Viagra has separated the emotional aspect from the physical. Undue emphasis is being laid on physical prowess, whereas the key to good sex lies in the emotional health of a relationship. The new thinking that places the body over the mind is bad for mankind in the long run."

Already, sexual intercourse is becoming increasingly mechanical with the kind of jet-set existence we happen to lead. "Thanks to Viagra, the act will get even more automated."

In the pre-Viagra era, the man had to invest some time in the relationship. But, Viagra has short-circuited that. All one has to do is to swallow a pill, wait for an hour for it to work and then head straight to bed.

Dr. Reddy is afraid that Viagra can well lead to further alienation between the sexes. " There is hardly an advertisement for the drug that talks about a woman's reaction or response, relegating her, in the process, to literally a sleeping companion."

What is even more worrying is the complete lack of honesty in the marketing strategy. "All that it seeks to highlight is the physical cause of erectile insufficiency. But there can be other reasons, the most significant being a psychological disturbance (provoked by a rift in relationship or some stress at the office or low self-esteem), which needs to be looked into before the so- called magic potion can be administered.

"Often, the causes are multiple, which the Viagra campaign seeks to undermine, perhaps much to the comfort of a doctor, who may now be tempted to prescribe the treatment without bothering to diagnose the actual factors responsible for the malady. This certainly bodes ill for the community."

One line of thinking - shared by Dr. Reddy - is that most men fail to get an erection because of their own troubled psyche or a problematic relationship they share with their respective partners. "The main sex organ is not between the thighs, but the ears."

Of course, there are others who think that physical causes - like diabetes or hypertension - are the main culprits, and Viagra will help those impotent because of these. This is what the promoters of Viagra have been going to town with. They have been trying to seduce us into believing that the drug is a cure-all in just about every situation. This is far from the truth. Can Viagra work when there is zero desire or lack of stimulus?

Also, the pro-Viagra group tends to underplay, even ignore, the fact that sex is multi-dimensional: procreational, recreational and relational. "The last is perhaps the most pertinent, and holds the secret to a satisfying sexual encounter. No coitus can be fulfilling unless the man and the woman are happy with each other," Dr. Reddy is firm on this.

The pleasure of sex has its seeds in the human mind, and one which is in turmoil can never hope to achieve bliss in bed, Viagra notwithstanding. On the contrary, it may create a misplaced sense of notion towards sex and relationships.

"Yes, indeed," Dr. Reddy smiles, but adds that just like the many other wonder drugs that the world has invented, Viagra is a useful tool in the hands of a sensible and sensitive physician, who will make an effort to evaluate each patient before signing the prescription. For pleasure, if you please.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Previous : Road to Kamanahalli
Next     : Holistic therapy