Empowered, Handmaid, or Rejector? The Framing of Low Libido in Women according to Scholarly Investigations of Public Communication

Health Commun. 2023 Apr;38(4):705-713. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2021.1971356. Epub 2021 Sep 7.

Abstract

The quest for a Viagra equivalent for women has both reignited concerns over female oppression and rekindled hope for gender equality. Communication about decreased desire in women has come under intense scrutiny, especially in terms of the ways in which it may legitimize one view or the other. We present a systematic review of academic research on public communication about low libido in women and drugs/devices designed to increase it. A total of 1,309 records were screened, with 20 studies identified for final analysis (6 monographs, 11 articles, and 3 book chapters). Existing research found that the empowered frame predominated, according to which women sought to increase their libido of their own accord to enhance their individual sexual pleasure. The handmaid frame was described as somewhat less common; here, women resorted to treatment to save their relationships as they feared that inability to fulfill their "wifely duty" could alienate their partners. Importantly, scholars often reported that the empowered and handmaid frames co-occurred. The rejector frame, which suggested fluctuations in libido were normal and should not be medically treated, was described in existing work as least common. These results seem to suggest that low libido in women was constructed as a problem in need of a solution more often than not. As this may prompt women to think of their bodies as malfunctioning machines, it is possible that the framing of low libido in public communication can exacerbate existing trends toward pathologizing the waning of desire.

Publication types

  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Communication*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Libido*
  • Sexual Behavior
  • Sexual Partners