Althouse: "What might it mean for conventional structures if women could control, with a prescription, the most primal urge?"

May 22, 2013

"What might it mean for conventional structures if women could control, with a prescription, the most primal urge?"

"So many things, personal and cultural, might need to be recalibrated and renegotiated, explicitly or without acknowledgment. The cumulative effect of all those negotiations could be hugely transformative, in ways either thrilling or threatening, depending on your point of view."

"Viagra meddles with the arteries; it causes physical shifts that allow the penis to rise. A female-desire drug would be something else. It would adjust the primal and executive regions of the brain. It would reach into the psyche."

27 comments:

BarrySanders20 said...: I didn't know a prescription was required for tequila.; 5/22/13, 2:28 PM
Dante said...: But, will it get rid of headaches?; 5/22/13, 2:29 PM
traditionalguy said...: Wasn't Freud the first psyche-ologist?

And he never figured anything out beyond plagarizing a few Ancient Greek play writes and calling his money making theories medicine.

The latest Pharma attempts will also say its attempt to make money medicine.; 5/22/13, 2:31 PM
SteveR said...: Are we talking about sex or power?; 5/22/13, 2:31 PM
Methadras said...: Further proof that men and women are fundamentally different regardless of what the gender reassignment mafia language changers want us to think.; 5/22/13, 2:31 PM
Scott M said...: One doesn't have to look far past the young gay male community to see what it would look like if both sides wanted it with the same intensity and frequency.; 5/22/13, 2:32 PM
edutcher said...: In other words, let women do what men have been doing for millions of years -
let the little head do the thinking.; 5/22/13, 2:35 PM
Rabel said...: This new drug holds a lot of promise. Rohypnol is getting expensive and hard to find.; 5/22/13, 2:37 PM
Scott M said...: I apologize. I was being completely insensitive when I made that comment. I arbitrarily assumed in that statement that there would only be two people bumping said uglies. If this scenario were to become reality, we would all need robes, new towels, oils, etc. Mustaches would become vogue again and you would be able to gets drinks, have sex, and watch live music all in one spot, down at your local orgynarium.; 5/22/13, 2:38 PM
Bryan C said...: Sure, let's give it a shot. We've been experimenting with women's biology for a couple decades now and nobody seems to mind a few broken eggs. Call it birth control and you'll have Congress demanding pills for every 14 year old.; 5/22/13, 2:50 PM
bagoh20 said...: "She don't mean nothing, she's just havin' fun
Tomorrow she'll say, "Oh what have I done?"
Her friends will joke about the stuff she lost
Yeah, tequila makes her clothes fall off"

That's old school.; 5/22/13, 2:53 PM
Methadras said...: Scott M said...

I apologize. I was being completely insensitive when I made that comment. I arbitrarily assumed in that statement that there would only be two people bumping said uglies. If this scenario were to become reality, we would all need robes, new towels, oils, etc. Mustaches would become vogue again and you would be able to gets drinks, have sex, and watch live music all in one spot, down at your local orgynarium.

Where do I sign up bro?; 5/22/13, 2:59 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: I didn't click on the link but I assume it has something to do with a diamond tennis bracelet.; 5/22/13, 3:01 PM
Peter said...: Then again, perhaps you could stick a wire into your brain and be thrilled for the remainder of your life.

But if you could, would you?; 5/22/13, 3:05 PM
Anonymous said...: I got all excited for a moment there. How can a prescription stop women going on diets?; 5/22/13, 3:09 PM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: OK. Got it. We need more mind altering drugs.

Wait! I thought we had a war on mind altering drugs.

Which is it going to be?; 5/22/13, 3:47 PM
X said...: wait. what if it causes side effects like logic, reason, and accountability?; 5/22/13, 4:22 PM
Gahrie said...: wait. what if it causes side effects like logic, reason, and accountability?

I will no longer demand the repeal of the 19th Amendment.; 5/22/13, 4:25 PM
Trashhauler said...: Control as in ignore? Or control as in, gonna get me some?; 5/22/13, 5:57 PM
Sydney said...: Viagra isn't a desire drug, it's an erection drug. Not the same thing.; 5/22/13, 6:35 PM
YoungHegelian said...: From the article:

If boys and men tend to take in messages that manhood is defined by sex and power, and those messages encourage them to think about sex often, then those neural networks associated with desire will be regularly activated and will become stronger over time.

I can't believe that any man wrote that sentence. How can any male who's lived through adolescence & young adulthood think that it's all about socialization? It's all about a flood of testosterone is what it's about.

I can't imagine a clearer example in human development that's so clearly bio-chemical.; 5/22/13, 7:59 PM
DEEBEE said...: Ahh! Would be so wonderful to read stories about more and more middle age tigresses. UMM MMM MMM; 5/22/13, 8:31 PM
Astro said...: "What might it mean for conventional structures if women could control, with a prescription, the most primal urge?"

SEX? Hell, I thought it was about buying shoes.; 5/22/13, 10:18 PM
AlanKH said...: There's a reason male-oriented erotica is mostly visual and the female-oriented is mostly wordy and emotional. The male drive is more physical and more dependent on visual cues; the female drive is more dependent on empathic bonding.

(Men are from Klingon, women are from Betazed.)

The "female Viagra" would have to be something that simulates romantic feeling.; 5/22/13, 11:06 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: Because women are so much deeper than men?

Really? Do we have to put up with this?; 5/22/13, 11:09 PM
mariner said...: John Lynch,
Because women are so much deeper than men?

If she's not, it's kinda painful for her.; 5/23/13, 12:24 AM
Unknown said...: Perfectly indited subject material , thank-you for information .
Academic Writing Service; 5/23/13, 6:28 AM