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rfmcdonaldInter Press Service's Johanna Son wonders about this.
The key differences between Viagra and contraception, at least as I understand them from a Christian perspective, is that Viagra makes conception more likely while contraception (obviously) diminishes the chance of possibility of pregnancy. Even so, as Son goes on to note, it's a minor irony that condoms and pills are often associated with promiscuity while Viagra isn't. Gender roles do play a role in this.
Go, read the article in full.
Why is the popular drug Viagra so praised for its virtues, while the condom is vilified by conservative religious groups among others the world over?
Both are ‘external’ technological interventions that relate to sexual activity. They are among the most prominent tools in the area of reproductive health and sexuality.
But it is the gender and sexual ideologies behind them - especially when combined with conservative religious forces and aspects of patriarchal culture - that put them on opposite ends of the spectrum of public acceptance.
The result is a paradox that has huge implications for public health, especially in relation to the HIV and AIDS pandemic that is now entering its third decade and affects 33 million people worldwide.
As Michael Tan, a reproductive health activist and chair of the University of the Philippines anthropology department put it: "Why is Viagra so desired and condoms so repulsive in many cultures?"
Tan stressed, condoms are in the World Health Organisation (WHO) list of essentials - unlike Viagra. In other words, the social and institutional acceptance levels of Viagra and condoms are "totally opposite to the biomedical truth."
The key differences between Viagra and contraception, at least as I understand them from a Christian perspective, is that Viagra makes conception more likely while contraception (obviously) diminishes the chance of possibility of pregnancy. Even so, as Son goes on to note, it's a minor irony that condoms and pills are often associated with promiscuity while Viagra isn't. Gender roles do play a role in this.
In the conservative Catholic context and in Philippine society, Tan explains, the importance attributed to extending the family line is key to male gender roles. Thus, "being ‘baog’ - the Tagalog word for both impotence and infertility - is to many a fate worse than death" because it is linked to male sexual prowess.
But this same focus on the need to reproduce also generates the view that men are the ones ‘responsible’ for it, and women are mere receptacles in this process. Tan explained, "Males are seen as the source of life and are therefore privileged when it comes to pleasure, and women are seen as a source of pleasure or of men’s babies."
In sharp contrast to the controversies around the condom, Viagra - a drug that was meant to cure erectile dysfunction but is also used to enhance sexual performance - is widely accepted. It has not drawn attention from conservative quarters that say they are worried about promiscuity or free sex, reproductive health activists say.
Go, read the article in full.
