Reviews

Review: Orgasm Inc.: The Strange Science of Female Pleasure

Is "female sexual dysfuction" real?

By GERALD PEARY | March 25, 2011

3.5 Stars

For nine years, Vermont-based filmmaker Liz Canner raced around the country with her camera doing research and interviews for this exemplary, absorbing, muckraking documentary. And she accomplished her objective: to show how the American pharmaceutical industry, in legion with famous doctors in its pay, has identified a disease, "female sexual dysfunction" (FSD), that they claim (dubiously) afflicts 43 percent of American women. At the same time, these companies have been developing a cure-all pill or ointment or patch, "a pink Viagra," that promises to be very profitable. Canner seems to be at every key meeting, and she talks to every key figure in the FSD debate, from smooth drug-industry spokespeople to articulate feminist academicians. But the person in the film who makes the most sense is, in terms of formal degrees, the least qualified: Kim Airs, the personable ex-owner of Grand Opening, the women's sex shop in Coolidge Corner.

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Topics: Reviews , Vermont, Coolidge Corner, Relationships, More

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2 Comments / Add Comment

NoneOfYour Business

I am the first person to criticize the pharmaceutical companies and their collusion with doctors to make up diseases that they can then sell the cure for. And I will be very interested to see this doc.

However, (thank goodness for anonymity) as a woman who doesn't know if what she suffers from is "FSD" but has only once ever reached what many many many people get to very easily, the classification of some type of disorder that is characterized by a woman's inability to reach orgasm, I feel, is a good thing and a relief to many women who have these kinds of issues.

Whether it's physical or mental or a combination of both, this is a very REAL thing that many MANY women suffer from. It sucks to feel as if you are a freak of nature because no one talks about it, and if they do, they blame you (which, I can tell you, does nothing towards helping the problem). In my experience, when I have discussed it with female friends, I have been relieved to discover around 50% of them have at least a little experience with it in their lives and I would ballpark at least 25% have been able to say "I have/had that."

It is shame to have one of the few public discussions about it characterize the problem as something doctor's made up. (That is not to say that pharma companies have not taken the problem and ran with it, as they have in most cases of mental/emotional disorders (aka anything we can't SEE) - emotional and mental health issues are problems that are very real but have been exploited, overdiagnosed and over medicated. Having said that, those who have not experienced these "FSD" issues have NO IDEA how frustrating it can be and if a little pill were going to help me - I'd sure as hell take it....And I have a feeling if this were a problem men had as often as women do, this would not be a discussion and the problem would have been solved YEARS ago).

I feel like there is always a backlash when women have the audacity to say that they are emotionally and physically different from men and a young white male in his prime should not be the medical standard against which everyone should be judged.

I remember as a teenager I worked in as a "Pharmacy Technician" for a year and was horrified to discover that several health insurance plans that covered Viagra did not cover birth control.

Obviously, this film is by a woman, and i haven't seen it, so I can't identify this as a "backlash." However, as two of my mother's favorite sayings were "you have to suffer to be beautiful" and "PMS is made up," I know women can be some of the harshest critics of their gender.

Posted: March 25 2011 at 3:22 PM

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Michelle Wright

Redefining Orgasm is an amazing way to free yourself from the shackles of, "I can't have the thing I am supposed to have, the way it is supposed to look."
Orgasm cannot be contained in the box of a problem, you can't look at your sex as a problem that needs to be fixed. Our sex life cannot open under the pressure of, "its not good enough, its not this or that." Given the true, gentle, and delicate nature of orgasm, the goal oriented sport of orgasming is likely to produce a lot of frustrated and hopeless individuals.
The traditional definition of orgasm is the point of climax, when a person reaches a peak and then releases. Orgasm Redefined: The moment your body enters a state of involuntary action. If you look at orgasm from this perspective, there is no where to get to, the goal is simply to experience pleasure. The moment you engage in an intimate interaction with someone, and are present with the pleasure you are feeling, you are in orgasm. Now doesn't that remove all the pressure and make space for you to enjoy your orgasm? If you are interested in exploring and experiencing this concept more, check out Orgasmic Meditation.

Posted: March 29 2011 at 5:22 PM

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