CAKE Byte 41.0: BABYCAKES

When it comes to women's sexual pleasure, our reproductive "talents" sometimes seem to get in the way. For the majority of human history, women could not have sex without fear of becoming pregnant. In our modern culture, this fear has been alleviated by the marvelous advances in reproductive technology - contraception. Even though the Pill liberates women from the threat of pregnancy during sex, the Pill (and most hormonal methods) seems to decrease many women's sex drives and tends to make us moody messes. Shouldn't sex without the possibility of pregnancy be JUST as pleasurable as sex intended for reproductive purposes?

While there are many benefits to taking the Pill, the inhibitive results on a girl's whole sexual lifestyle has to go. The assumption that women must suck it up in order to have sex for other than reproductive purposes reminds us that women's sexual pleasure has yet to be prioritized. Hmm...is anyone else pissed off about this? Why are there no other options for women?

The lack of research on a contraceptive method that enhances pleasure instead of interfering with it, is at the heart of why women have little option. It would seem that whomever came up with a contraceptive method for women that didn't interfere with the rest of our life - or better yet, enhanced our sexual pleasure - would be a very wealthy individual. Take Viagara for a instance - you know those puppies who invented it are sitting pretty. The Pill costs approximately $360/year without insurance. 33% of insurance companies cover contraceptive costs while 97% of them cover Viagara. This is a pretty clear message - men's sexual pleasure is more valued than BOTH women's reproductive health and sexual pleasure.

Where is the female version of Viagara? Better yet, why is there little money for research and development?

The bad news is that in the most recent study of the effects of the "super blue pill" on women, Viagara was no more successful than a placebo in women with a wide variety of sexual dysfunction symptoms. We've given all the men supercharged erections, but haven't had any luck when it comes to women's erotic woes.

The truth is that 40 percent of American women experience some form of sexual dysfunction. It's actually a bigger problem than it is for men (30 percent of males suffer from some form of dysfunction), and yet all the money and research has focused on the boys. In part, this is typical of an industry that has always geared research toward males. But, there is another reason that the fairer sex has again gotten the short end of the stick: Men's sexual problems (including erectile dysfunction) just seem much easier to solve than the complex, layered issues surrounding women's sexual pleasure.

While little money is spent on medical research concerning the pill and women's pleasure, you can spend $30 for a case of "Niagara - Romance in a Bottle" - a new little blue drink that supposedly makes women buzz in all the right places. Niagara contains a mixture of exotic South American herbs (including damiana, schizandra, guarana and mate) and a little caffeine to give you "good staying power." (www.littlebluebottle.com) While the jury is still out on this new herbal concoction, reputed to give you more bang for the buck, we are all for the concept. Well, that is assuming that it's not just another sex scam in the making...which leads us to ask -- does it all have to be a genie in a bottle or will women's pleasure finally get the respect it deserves!

Politics:

April is reproductive rights month on CAKE - covering topics such as abortion, contraception, STDs/HIV, sex education and EC. CAKE strongly believes that reproductive rights are the foundation for women's power over our bodies and sexual lives. Maintaining choice over and access to reproductive rights is critical to all women's ability to achieve our full potential.

This week CAKE focuses on the differences between RU-486 and emergency contraception as well as valuable frequently asked questions regarding RU-486. Emergency Action for Women's Lives on Sunday, April 22 in Washington, D.C. -- if you cannot be there send a fax to the White House in support of reproductive rights. If you would like to print, sign and fax the CAKE.formatted letter - go to www.cakenyc.com/speakout.html.

For more information on these and other reproductive rights issues, check out the new and improved CAKE.Politics section -- (www.cakenyc.com).

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Have you ever tried Viagara, Niagara or any other supposedly pleasure-inducing over-the-counter elixir, balm, treatment, and if so, what was the experience like? SUBMIT your response and read your answers from last week at CAKE.REPORT.

Love,
CAKE