Which Sex and the City Character Will You Be After Taking Female Viagra?

Flibanserin, a drug designed to increase sex drive in premenopausal women, gained approval of the US Food and Drug Administration in August.

Unlike Viagra and other medications for men that address the relatively straightforward mechanics of blood flow, flibanserin (which is expected to be sold under the trade name Addyi) is made to cause subtle shifts in brain chemistry. By boosting levels of the “reward” neurotransmitter dopamine, and dampening levels of a neurotransmitter called serotonin, the drug is supposed to set the chemical stage for women to develop more in the way of spontaneous sexual desire.

It’s been more than a decade since the hit HBO television series Sex and the City went off the air, and it’s interesting to imagine how the characters might have reacted had flibanserin been available back then. No doubt the drug would have had a plotline in one of the episodes. But just as SATC could be phenomenally unrealistic in some ways, the possibility exists that flibanserin may cause unrealistic expectations at first. It wouldn’t, for example, turn the typical woman into sexual firebrand SATC character Samantha Jones.

Samantha Doesn’t Need Flibanserin

Not being interested in sex was never a problem for the sexually confident, independent PR agent Samantha Jones. The oldest of the four main characters, Samantha was rarely single, though she found monogamy a bit much to bear. Chances are, if Samantha went to a doctor wanting to obtain flibanserin in hopes of fueling her already high sex drive, she would need to put on an Oscar-worthy performance to convince her doctor that she has persistent low sex drive and that it causes personal distress.

That’s who flibanserin was designed for, and not just any doctor will be able to prescribe it. Doctors who want to prescribe flibanserin will have to undergo online certification first. Furthermore, pharmacies that want to dispense the drug will have to be certified as well. This is because of the FDA’s stipulation that the drug must carry a so-called Black Box warning concerning the effects of mixing flibanserin with alcohol.

Might Charlotte Be Less Uptight on Flibanserin?

Charlotte York was always about the emotional and romantic side of sex rather than the physical side. A classic overachiever, Charlotte always wanted things to be “just so.” Remember the scene when she had to confront Harry about lounging around naked on their gorgeous white furniture?

In later seasons, Charlotte’s infertility was a major plotline, and viewers were there when she suffered a miscarriage and when she and Harry were going through the emotional rollercoaster of adoption. It was only at the very end of the series that viewers find out Charlotte and Harry would be parents, and maybe it makes you wonder: after all she’s been through, can Charlotte enjoy sex as sex, rather than the means to a reproductive end? Flibanserin certainly wouldn’t turn Charlotte into Samantha 2.0, but it could help her relax and enjoy the bonding aspect of sex.

Would Miranda Lose Her Edge?

It’s not easy to imagine sardonic career woman Miranda Hobbes as wanting to be anything but completely in control of her sexual desires. Yet ultimately, Miranda marries for love just as surely as Charlotte does. Maybe Steve isn’t the perfect man “on paper,” but she eventually admits that she just plain loves the guy.

Later on, after their little boy has grown up some and the years have accumulated, could Miranda take flibanserin to try to heat things up again in the bedroom? It’s possible. But as Miranda herself realizes, she lives primarily in her head, and she might have a difficult time avoiding over-thinking the pros and cons of taking flibanserin. And if she did take it, would she spend too much time obsessing over whether it was working? Possibly.

How Could Flibanserin Affect Carrie’s Life and Career?

An on-again, off-again relationship with Mr. Big, interleaved with her on-again, off-again relationship with Aiden, raises all kinds of questions about the complexities of Carrie Bradshaw’s sexual decisions. Sure, Aiden was handsome and ready for a long term relationship, but Carrie never could find the same spark with Aiden that she couldn’t help but have with Mr. Big, as maddening as he could be.

You might think a woman lucky enough to meet Jon BonJovi in a psychiatrist’s waiting room and Mikhail Baryshnikov at a kooky performance art installation would never have problems with sex drive, but that’s the thing about hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD): it happens regardless of partner, relationship status, physical or mental health. In other words, it can happen to any woman, no matter how awesome her life and walk-in closet. But you can bet that if flibanserin had been around in the early 00s, Carrie would have tried it and written about it.

Of Course They’d All Have to Give Up Alcohol

One very important fact about flibanserin is that you can’t drink alcohol while you take it. Alcohol can cause women who take flibanserin to faint, and that’s a problem considering that most women spend a lot of time caring for children, working, and driving. Would Charlotte, Miranda, and Carrie be willing to give up those cosmopolitans and “flirtinis” in order to take flibanserin in hopes of re-kindling sexual desire? Frankly, it doesn’t seem likely. However, there are many women out there for whom giving up alcohol isn’t a big deal, and they may find cutting out that occasional glass of wine to be a fair price to pay for a steamier relationship.

Flibanserin Isn’t Designed to Change Who You Are

Flibanserin isn’t made to fundamentally alter a woman’s personality. It isn’t even designed to turbo charge her sex drive. Rather, it’s designed to balance brain chemicals in such a way that sexual desire is more likely. Nobody is going to turn into Samantha Jones after taking flibanserin for a few months.

And therein lies one of the other major criticisms of the drug: that it really doesn’t do that much. Those who opposed FDA approval of flibanserin argued that the drug simply doesn’t cause a significant enough change to make it worth the potential side effects (particularly those that come from drinking alcohol while on the drug).

Only time will tell how big an effect flibanserin has on women and their sexual desire levels. Clinical trials showed modest but statistically significant increases in sex drive, but now it’s time to see what happens in the real world, where women aren’t charting their desire levels and being medically monitored. If nothing else, the FDA approval of flibanserin could pave the way for next-generation medications that might have fewer side effects or be more effective.

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