Why is there no demand for a female viagra?

There is, it’s called “Viagra.” It is for the female. well not always for the female but you know what I mean.

Viagra doesn’t stimulate the libido. It causes certain muscles to contract, causing blood pressure to build up in certain membrane structures. That’s all.

There is this thing that works pretty damn well, it’s called foreplay, but you can’t find it at most pharmacies for some reason.

The pressure has always and will always be on men to perform (generally speaking). How many men turn down a woman because her vagina is too large? How many women suffer from vagina envy? This unbalanced societal pressure has led to jokes such as: How can you tell if a woman has had an orgasm. Answer: Who cares?

I’ve known lots of females who would welcome such a thing as an on-demand libido stimulant.

Its called chemistry. They dont sell it. It doesnt come in a bottle. Haven’t came across it in a very long long time

As @HungryGuy stated, it is not a libido enhancer. It is for “Erectile Dysfunction“http://www.webmd.com/erectile-dysfunction/default.htm. Best as I can tell, women themselves are not affected by Erectile Dysfunction. But then again, I personally don’t know much about this subject.

Maybe we don’t need it. goofy question

@everephebe For some reason indeed! I’d love to be able to just swing round the drug store, pick me up a box of foreplay…

I had to explain to my husband that him taking a shower and coming to bed is not foreplay.

Well, Viagra treats a specific disorder in men, “erectile dysfunction” as they call it in the commercials, impotence, right? Is there a similar medical condition in women? A drug is generally designed to treat specific medical condition. Does Viagra actually “stimulate the libido” in men or does it just treat impotence? I really don’t know all that much about it.

@lillycoyote No, it just creates a sustained erection. I mean, sometimes, you get enough blood flow going that direction, it creates a mental arousal, but technically, Viagra doesn’t create libido.

To all, I stand corrected. I should probably have worded this question differently. While Viagra does not actually stimulate the libido, when you have an erection you feel like you gotta do something worthwhile with it; not just carry half dozen donuts.
I think the proper question is why is there not a drug to stimulate the female libido. Or, why do women accept the, apparently, natural decline in libido while men do not see a decrease in libido as normal?

@Aethelflaed That’s what I thought.

I am unsure if there is any studies that state women accept a decline in libido. Again, this has not been my experience.

Impotence isn’t always a matter of libido either. Most men with lack of libido can achieve erections. Women may suffer from Female Sexual Arousal Disorder. There is work being done to develop something to help the neurotransmitters and hormones that are released to allow blood to flow to the genitals and help female arousal. I can’t remember what drug it was, something maybe for depression, that was being tested to do just this for females, but the FDA wouldn’t give approval.

@bkcunningham Flibanerin.

I don’t think women just accept a decline in libido (though, if you have a low libido, you much more content with not having sex than if you have a high libido and aren’t having sex), it’s just that popping a Viagra won’t help that issue that much. For that matter, it doesn’t help men get horny that much, either, it just helps them get hard.

And what it is about us ladies? What you’re really asking about is a pharmaceutical aphrodisiac, something that stimulates sexual desire, something that stimulates libido. Viagra is not pharmaceutical aphrodisiac. Neither men nor women seem to be marching in the streets demanding that the drug companies come up with pharmaceutical aphrodisiacs, are they?

@bkcunningham While it is true that you can get an erection without much libido (why would you want one) men with libido want an erection and thus there is a market for Viagra. I think what it comes down to is, i believe, that the sex drive in men is greater than that in women. Why is there not a market to increase the female sex drive? I would think this would be wanted by men even if not from women and I am not certain that women would not also be amenable to it if available. @blueliznh the fact that there is not even any discussion about something like this is, I think, an indication that women are more accepting of the decrease in the sex drive.

It’s all in the foreplay. Men, please stop looking for shortcuts, ‘coz that’s just crass.

@lillycoyote my point exactly, although I still believe that men would be more thankful than women if such a thing was developed.
@dappled_leaves do you think that as men age they either forget how foreplay works or just don’t give a damn anymore?

@rojo Because, Viagra doesn’t increase sex drive in men. It increases blood flow to the penis. Sometimes, a man can be quite aroused, but only get a partial or short-lasting erection; Viagra helps make it so that mens’ erections are longer and harder. With women (and yes, women can take Viagra, the same pill, with roughly the same effects), it increases blood flow to the clitoris – but women don’t need a swollen clitoris the way men need an erect penis in order for penetration to happen. If women (and men) want to increase sex drive, not blood flow, they get aroused with things like pornography, erotica, a raunchy scene from a beloved movie, having a nice dinner with their partner, romance, etc (and romance and pornography? Pretty booming industries, so don’t tell me there’s not a market for that stuff). And trust me, women are totally having that discussion.

Men may want to please their partner with their erection, @rojo, even if their libido is low. I don’t think you can say men’s sex drive is higher than women’s sex drive without, to me at least, talking about age groups. I know my sex drive was absolutely the highest in my 40s. I’m going through menopause and finding my sex drive is takes longer to get in gear but works just fine after it gets going.

I agree with @Aethelflaed on the different ways to increase sex drive, as long as there isn’t a medical condition or mental illness involved.

@Aethelflaed I understand what Viagra does and its’ effects and have tried to revise the discussion more toward the libido/sex drive differences between the sexes. One point I would like to bring up is that pornography is geared mainly toward males. I leave it up to the individual to determine what is erotic and what is pornographic. Dinner and romance can be (but are not necessarily) placed under the foreplay category and I wonder if they decrease with age (see @dapple_leaves response) perhaps what I need to ask is what is foreplay? Let me try to rephrase the question differently. Thanks for your input.

Foreplay is what it takes to get you physically and mentally in the mood and aroused for sexual intercourse. I think it varies from person to person.

@rojo That pornography is geared mainly at men is a bit… it’s not wrong, but it’s also not right. Foreplay is all the stuff other than “fucking” – kissing, licking, caressing, biting, nibbling, gazing into each others’ eyes, necking, etc. (Oral sex may or may not be included in the definition of foreplay; it varies from person to person).

@bkcunningham good answer.
@Aethelflaed we all work from our own experiences (except those in the business of research). It has been my experience that while women will watch pornography, they will not seek it out very often. Unlike men. Also, it appears to me that most of what you can find is geared toward the masculine fantasy, not the feminine although I will say that, with more women getting into the directing/producing end of it things are changing.

@rojo Yes, maybe you have tried to open up the discussion toward “the libido/sex drive differences between the sexes” but do you think that we are simply all going to agree that there are differences and agree on what those differences are? After all, you did start thi, you did say in your details “Seriously, what is it about you ladies that you do not want/need something that stimulates the libido?” You think you’re going to get off that easy after saying something like that? You began with an assumption that women either want or need something that stimulates their sex drive and if they do need one, the they are some how not looking after themselves and demanding some drug be provided us. Thems fightin’ words, my friend, you offered yourself up into the fray, you threw down the guantlet and you simply have to listen to what everyone has to say now. You got yourself into this. Sorry. :-)

Im not being mean but, Maybe she doesnt want sex with you. With women sex starts in the mind. Its happened to most of us.

@lillycoyote No, I guess i should have known I would not get off that easy! But you are mistaken in my assumption. My assumption was that women neither want not need something that stimulates their sex drive. Am I mistaken? Nor do I think that most women are not looking afterthemselves. I am, however, curious as to why women are not demanding something that increases their libido. Men, again in my opinion, do not seem to accept the decrease in sexual desire with age while women do. Am I mistaken?
Please pick up the gauntlet and enlighten me in an area that I do not have access to without your assistance.

@rojo That’s kind of what I was trying to clarify, whether or not you thought women either didn’t want or didn’t need anything to increase their sexual desire. Perhaps I am the one with stereotypes and misconceptions, not you. I guess I sometimes think that there are some men that think women don’t have the same sexual desires and drives that men have so that if a man thinks that that they should be demanding something to increase their sexual drive it is because the man thinks that women, as a group have some inherent deficit in their sexual drive to begin with. I apologize for assuming this. My tendency to assume things or think that someone is implying something they are not is one of my major character flaws, at least here on fluther. I never learn. You will have to be patient and understanding with me. :-)

@lillycoyote I have just come at this from an egocentric point of view. The question as to whether or not you would take a pill to decrease you libido to match you partner is just as valid. And, from a personal point of view, I would say yes I would consider it if it was that big an item of contention.

It’s a all good @rojo. You and I are just getting into it tonight. You and I and the world will all be fine whether you and I settle this or not and we most likely won’t. I’m not saying I’m right, just saying there may not be any point in going on. There Ain’t no good guy, there ain’t no bad guy, there’s only you and me and we just disagree. That one is just, in the spirit of Fluther, a tossing out of an olive branch. You and I could probably go on all night on this one and I just don’t feel like it.

@rojo I did not respond to your question “do you think that as men age they either forget how foreplay works or just don’t give a damn anymore?” because I was not sure what to make of it. I didn’t say anything about a decrease in either libido or physical ability with age. I don’t know why you’re attributing that to me.

At any rate, I find your question mildly offensive, because I have had a partner who was not willing to put in the time and effort to learn what turns me on. Needless to say, he did not remain my partner for long. If he had offered me “a pill to decrease my libido to match my partner”, he would have been gone even faster. He mistook his own lack of generosity as my sexual problem.

Reading your question, and some of your responses above, reminds me of his obliviousness.

@dappled_leaves I meant no offense. Time I moved on.

I can speak for myself and the idea of Viagra, any Viagra at all, does not appeal to me one bit outside of humour. I know this might be immature of me, but if I’m not turned on,.. I’m not turned on,... and I don’t see why I should have to or want to force myself to be turned on. I realize this is a problem for me as it is guys who get sexual with me who get turned on and I’m not as sexual when I’m naked with a man who wants to get inside me. ::sigh:: Such is life. Maybe I should introduce these guys to the women who don’t have the troubles I do, but instead have troubles with men who can’t seem to “get it up”. I like foreplay and cuddling and not feeling like I’m some guy’s cum dumpster. Why should I work incredibly hard and spend money to accommodate him and his sexual needs if his only concern seems to be getting inside me? I need more than Viagra designed for women. I need his affection.