I was fascinated by this article from 'Psychology Today' about how strippers who were ovulating made much more money than those who were on the pill.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20070920-000007.html
It made me think about the number of times women have told me that the pill killed their sex drive. They told me that it was confusing to find themselves no longer attracted to men who they'd been in complete sexual harmony with, like having a lover turn into a brother. Men talk about it less but it seems the boyfriends felt the same way.
This would seem to provide an excuse to the wandering male - and yet another source of anxiety for women - but I think it speaks to the danger of the all-too-easy promotion of the pill as a form of birth control. For example, female track athletes on entering college are immediately put on the pill by coaches who don't want them to get dangerously thin. And most health care will put women on the pill if they ask for contraception - women actually have to ask for an alternative, safer method
like the IUD.
Given the health risks of the pill, this is obviously insane. We're willing to let pharmaceutical companies control our very make-up as human beings. From sheer convenience, women let themselves be talked into altering who they are on a basic animal level. And what does it mean for relationships when this takes place? Are we willing to agree to have diminished attraction in a relationship to suit some vague, long-term goal? It seems both flippant and dangerous.
Visualization to prepare for a boxing match
1 year ago
3 comments:
I am at work and don't have time to read the article right now, but my off-the-cuff reaction is feh.
This idea seems toatlly alien to me -- perhaps this is because I've been on the pill for like 10 years and have still been like a starved tiger the whole time.
Also, I wonder if your friends' loss of drive might have to do with weight gain issues or any other potential side effects of the pill.
Also, it is possible to ovulate on the pill; as my gyn explained to me, it also prevents implantation, so it would continue to remain effective as a form of birth control.
Overprescribed? I'd have to think about that.
I would say that the problem isn't sex drive so much as mate selection: that is, if you go from on to off the pill with the same partner, there might be issues. The stripper research seems pretty sound.
A starved tigress? I always had you pegged for a man-eather.
I thought the article would be much longer than it actually was!
I suppose this is one of the animal mysteries. I'm still slightly baffled, as the pill didn't change me that much, but your friends' experiences do speak volumes.
Also, some women report that catcalls go up on odd days -- not even days that you feel or dress particularly sexy -- I've privately accounted this to pheromones.
Yes, man-eater; that's what I do when I catch 'em. Chomp.
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