Although sexual disparities in terms of levels of desire and arousal, as well as in capacities for reaching orgasms are rather common among heterosexual couples, they are seldom tackled in socio-medical discourses and in the media. Indeed, considered a highly personal subject that should only be addressed within the intimacy of the couples, or even a taboo, these sexual differences are often overlooked and therefore rather unexplored. This leads many women who experience pain, discomfort or a lack of pleasure during intercourse to “perform” the norms of heterosexual sex by working hard to achieve the most socially and medically validated form of sexuality (frequent sexual desire, high level of arousal, penetrative sex and orgasms) by resorting to diverse sorts of aids (medication, psychological therapies, self-help books, etc.) that require effort, time and money. This is what Cacchioni terms the “labour of love”.
Cacchioni’s text thus suggests that heterosexual norms reflect men’s sexuality rather than women’s. Indeed, the pharmaceutical industry, which echoes these norms, focuses on helping women to achieve penetration and orgasms, and, implicitly, to meet their partner’s level of desire and arousal to satisfy them. As a matter of fact, in most societies women are expected to engage themselves in an active sexual life, and by doing so, to provide sexual pleasure to their partners. But Cacchioni’s study highlights that in reality many women do not find the expected pleasure during sexual intercourse and some of them feel disinclined or even averse due to genital pain or lack of sexual arousal or libido. But these issues are often taboo because women feel pressured to comply with the heteronormative representation of sex, as they fear rejection, social exclusion or even economic repercussions.
In keeping with this, I find it striking to observe the extent to which women and men’s sexual problems are differently tackled by the medical industry. On the one hand, the cause of men’s lack of sexual pleasure or men’s sexual issues during intercourse, such as erectile dysfunction, is often attributed to physical reasons, independent of their behavior. The array of reasons for this dysfunction varies from endocrine disease (for example diabetes), to the consumption of medicine, drugs and alcohol, through neurological disease, or even cardiac conditions. Therefore, the pharmaceutical industry provides effective responses to men’s sexual troubles by offering a wide range of remedies, such as Viagra or Cialis. On the other hand, women’s lack of sexual arousal is usually attributed to a lack of well-being or to psychological disorders, like depression, stress or anxiety. Contrarily to men, the pharmaceutical industry does not provide women with a vast choice of medication (there is no “pink Viagra” as Cacchioni puts it) and will likely advise them to change their lifestyle, to adopt healthier habits, to eat less, exercise more or to modify their mindset. However, it does not suggest that these women could try not complying with the sexual performances they feel are expected of them and explore other sexual or non-sexual practices. The prevalent norm remains that women should strive to achieve so-called “normal” intercourse.
Even though women’s sexual discomfort is often taboo and its causes are usually thought to be psychological rather than biological, there actually exist diseases that concern many women and whose symptoms involve sexual pain. For instance, the most common sexual disorder (which affects one woman in ten), endometriosis, is a disease in which tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grows outside of it. The main symptoms of this malady are pelvic pain, painful periods and an excruciating pain during sex (especially during penetration) that often makes intercourse torturous for women. Many women who suffer from endometriosis are even misdiagnosed since their symptoms are usually considered to be common or psychological. The lack of awareness regarding this disease shows the extent to which women’s sexual troubles are neglected and not taken seriously by the medical industry, whose research rather privileges men’s sexual issues. We can thus conclude that there is not the same regard on women’s sexuality and pleasure than on men’ssexual contentement. Hence, the pramaceutical and medical industry, which mirrorre the trend in our socity, favor men’s sexual satisfaction and underminds women’s sexual fufillement that is is deemed less important.
Work cited
Cacchioni, Thea. 2015. “Introduction: The Labour of Love in the Sexual Pharmaceutical Era,” in Big Pharma, Women, and the Labour of Love, pp. 3-22. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.