6 WTF Reactions To The Approval Of "Female Viagra"

Just recently, I asked my friend—who happened to be of the male—what he thought about women taking "female Viagra". His response? “What the hell do women need Viagra for? That’s why they invented lube.” Needless to say I wanted to punch him. But since I’m not one for condoning violence, I decided against that and instead opted for giving him a dose of some serious side eye. Because, really? That’s the answer you’re going with? Please.

While his response could very well fall into the “ignorance” category, it’s nothing new. In fact, his sentiments echo hundreds of others, both men and women, who believe that 1) Addyi is actually just like Viagra (which it's not) and 2) a female Viagra is completely unnecessary. They say ignorance is bliss, but in this case, it’s just a big damn shame.

Here are seven different types of Twitter reactions showing people don't understand the decision:

1. #SeriouslyThough

I know people like to joke about men not getting it up. But along with that came other jokes about erections lasting for more than four hours, because, hello, men have over 20 other treatment options to help with erectile dysfunction. But when a treatment option is finally made available for women who can’t get their sex drives going, they’re reduced to comments like this:

Because, #seriouslythough, when a woman is suffering from HSDD, no matter how skilled a woman’s partner may be in the art of foreplay, none of that matters. The sad part is, she wants it. She knows she wants it. But for some reason completely out of her control, her body won’t allow her to experience sexual pleasure and desire. For anyone, that would be pretty frustrating.

2. Why Is This Important?

It's even more frustrating, not to mention disheartening to see reactions like the one above, making it seem as if women’s sexual health isn’t important. Because apparently, it’s not important for women to enjoy sex. Isn’t that essentially what people are saying?

3. Not As Important As Weed

Yes, because your need to recreationally smoke weed can compare to a woman suffering in silence from her disorder. Someone clearly has their priorities in order.

4. What Many People Don't Get Is, It's Not An Aphrodisiac...

5. Sadly, Many People Believe That It Can Be Used As A Sort Of “Date-Rape” Drug:

But as it turns out, it can’t. It’s used every day and takes up to four weeks to work. So, it’s not a quick slip-in the drink and watch a woman go wild sort of thing.

After looking through Twitter reactions to the newly approved “Female Viagra,” most people seem to have the same reaction:

6. "I Don't Get It."

In all honesty, that’s probably the worst part of it all. As Sprout Pharmaceutical’s CEO, Cindy Whitehead tells Bustle, living with HSDD has parallels to living with depression.

“Before there were medical treatments for depression, we said it’s all in someone’s head, right? Life is hard,” Whitehead says. “Then we realized that there can be a group of people who have a brain chemistry imbalance and access to medical treatment can mean huge differences in their lives and functioning. HSDD is no different.”

You wouldn’t tell your depressed friend to take a happy pill and get over it, would you? So, why do people think it’s okay to tell women who are suffering from a sexual disorder that they can “cure” it with a little bit of foreplay, a good looking partner and cash? They can’t. Besides, how shallow do these people think women are?

For me, the negative reactions towards the flibanserin decision are irritating because for one, they do a great disservice to the millions of women who are already suffering in silence. Now, they will probably feel even more embarrassed to bring up the discussion with their doctors because of people turning it into some kind of a joke. Secondly, it highlights how very little men and women understand women’s sexuality. As simple as sex may seem, it’s actually pretty freaking complicated. It’s not just about two naked sets of genitalia being thrown together in crazy positions. There are chemicals and hormones and all kinds of crazy science going on behind the scenes that you may not be aware of. So, it’s irritating to read how some people believe that a women doesn’t want sex because her partner is broke.

All I can say is, people can judge Addyi all they want. But with any hot topic of conversation, if you're going to have an opinion about something, make it an informed, intelligent one, yes? After all, ignorance is never cool.

Want more of Bustle's Sex and Relationships coverage? Check out our new podcast, I Want It That Way, which delves into the difficult and downright dirty parts of a relationship, and find more on our Soundcloud page.

Images: Splitshire/Pexels; Giphy(2)