Caution: Not for sensitive readers. Kindly note ESP here refers to “Enhancing Sexual Performance or simply Motsosa in our native language.
Please note dear reader that I use the lens of fantasy to make an assessment of what the use of Viagra tell us about sex and men’s ego.
In this piece I give a narrative of a conversation I overheard in one of Gaborone’s eatery recently. The conversation was between two flamboyant old timers probably in their early 60’s, whose behavior caught my eye. They literally behaved like recycled teenagers, high school boys recently introduced to the world of sex. The excitement was written all over their faces. They seemed not bothered at all talking on top of their voices freely about sex and romance as if to draw un -necessary attention. They kept on using the code name “ESP” and me being na├»ve thought that was made in-reference to the recent craze going on in around the country regarding the Economic Stimulus / commonly referred to as Motsosa, little knowing that they were making reference to the performance enhancing drug “THE VIAGRA” The potency pill that gained fame as the old man’s best friend dealing mainly with tackling issues of erectile dysfunction.
Well we all know how men are … it’s a big ego boost, and this is how their conversation went >>>>>
“Ooooops, Champion “, he remarked as he looked himself down there, his manhood to be precise. He made a further remark and labeled his manhood as “Weapon of Mass destruction, the incredible monster” that suddenly has arisen from the graves.
His friend responded with a somewhat irritating laughter, standing up by clapping his hands like a Benny comes to town, commonly noticeable amongst overdraft millionaires, tenderpreneurs and Basimane ba construction when they have been given mobilization fee for a project. He remarked,
“Well they do not call me bedroom bully for nothing”. I am a BIG PUN, both the young and the old can testify thanks to the introduction of that beautiful blue diamond shaped pill. I am not the kind of guy who relies on traditional concoctions, bo “Monepenepe” jaana. No, no, not me, Viagra is the way boss, he remarked “Viva Viagra”
The Viagra phenomenon now says a lot about our culture and possibly provides an understanding as to why sex in Botswana will never be the same again.
The introduction of the Viagra pill in the late 1990s has brought about bedroom excitement globally. Some refer to it as the “sexual medicine” that helped to revolutionize bedroom activity, with experts saying it has given a window into the psyche of men and women. Since the diamond-shaped blue pill debuted some years ago, it has now become embedded in the public debate discourse. Men seldom talked about their bedroom troubles, had so much shame about erectile dysfunction. People who couldn’t enjoy intimacy before have been given a second life. Viagra made them feel as if they were 20-year -olds again by increasing blood flow to the penis, enabling a man to have an erection. Different reports have indicated that the pill has been able to help more than 25 million men get their groove back and blasted the topic of erectile dysfunction into the open.
Erectile difficulties have been increasingly understood as a concern for men. Thus there was a need to fix the broken male machine. This trend towards recognition and acceptance of ‘erectile dysfunction’ has occurred concomitantly with a focus by the medical and pharmacological disciplines on developing physical treatments for sexual ‘problems. The field of treatment that has proliferated most rapidly in the past years is that of sexuopharmaceuticals. A variety of drugs have been demonstrated to impact on erections, but to date the drug that has had the most publicity and popularity is commonly known as Viagra, the blue diamond shaped pill that thrills. This drug became available by prescription in the United States ÔÇô and in New Zealand ÔÇô in 1998.
In her book , Meika Loe, 2004 writes about the challenges of maintaining the twentieth century penis providing a departure from the psychological analysis.
“Viagra, an innocent looking little blue pill, proved that big things do come in small packages, lifting the spirits of millions of men who suffer from impotence. After its approval, the drug also raised a host of ethical questions ranging from whether to pay for it to a 70 year old new man, whose reignited taste for friskiness made him dump his 63 year old lover claiming it is time for him to be a stud again.”
It is clear from the above arguments presented by Meika Loe 2004 that this tiny commodity promised big things leading to the upliftment of spirit (s). Clearly the little blue pill not only changed the way people talked about sexuality, but also raised questions about manhood, quality of life, power and morality. Viagra has to date become the fastest selling drug in history. In 2002, the company that makes Viagra, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals became the fifth profitable company in the USA.
Pfizer has succeeded in keeping male sexual problems and potency in the spot light, thus shifting men’s sexual status quo. Today we live in a culture where advertisement for male enhancement are common place and currently there are three drugs Viagra, Levitra and Cialls as well as traditional concoctions competing for erectile dysfunction market. These eye catching advertisement use various marketing messages such as “Live life again”, “Step up to the plate”, ‘Are you ready”, “Stay in the Game”.
Viagra discovery has indeed revolutionized bed room activity globally and has increased the capacity to make sex all about “worshipping the penis” thus giving it all sorts of names such as “Champion”, “Weapon of Mass Destruction and African Mamba”. Those that use it must be warned that while they are celebrating its use, it has to be used with caution, because it is also a monster that works, in part, by increasing blood flow — which could mean trouble if taken by someone who has hypertension. It is also important to note that overdose of Viagra is even worse and can lead to permanent erection which can ultimately lead to the stressing of male sexual organs.
Thabo Lucas Seleke is a researcher in Health Policy& Health Systems strengthening
