How Viagra Promised a Sexual Revolution But Delivered a Bad Joke

If you want to get a good sense of where we stand as a society when it comes to aging, sexuality, and manhood, think about those erectile dysfunction ads. They feature men singing and dancing in the streets, others strumming "Viva Viagra" on their guitars, and handsome straight couples in side-by-side tubs with twinkles in their eyes. Over ten years of Pfizer advertising Viagra, the individual ad campaigns may have changed but the themes have stayed the same. Ideal sexuality is youthful ("18 again"), heterosexual, penetrative, and erection-centered. Apparently, being a man, and a healthy happy successful one, depends on these things. Thanks to Viagra, mankind now stands at a crossroads: either invest in that teenage erection -- or in a broader, richer definition of manhood.

There was great potential here to shift the way we, as a society, think about aging; the way we think about elder men (and their partners!) and sex. Just imagine an ad campaign (and a society!) that truly embraces aging, sexuality, and vulnerable masculinity. It would feature a wide range of variation when it comes to bodies and disabilities. Intimacy would be broadly defined, and men would learn how to be great lovers. Men would be comfortable discussing fears and anxieties associated with sexual performance. Viva Vulnerability! Pfizer could still make billions. And we might all be happier and healthier, or at least more realistic.

In fact, Pfizer came close to shifting our ideas about aging and sexuality way back in 1999, when Bob Dole became the company's spokesperson for erectile dysfunction. Here was a war veteran, an elder statesman, on TV, talking about this sexual dysfunction problem. This was a radical thing for a lot of reasons. It was one of the first (if not the very first) direct-to-consumer ad for a pharmaceutical product broadcast for all Americans to see. Even more shockingly, this was an older man talking (indirectly) about sex. Specifically, Dole was talking about not being able to get it up, and this occurred in the months following endless media attention to President Clinton's seemingly opposite problem. The social ramifications of this ad campaign, along with the "Let the Dance Begin" campaign that followed it (featuring white-haired individuals dancing), were truly amazing: men of all ages going to doctors' offices in droves.

My grandfather was one of these men who asked his doctor for the pills. He was in his early eighties, and dating, and he wanted his "manhood" back. A committed Democrat, Gramps was nonetheless heartened to see another man around his age on television who had a similar dilemma. He was now open to pursuing new options for enhancing sexual intimacy. He might have benefitted from learning about how to communicate with a partner about his concerns and about sexuality in general.

However, what happened next was where the so-called "Viagra revolution" stalled. Men "asked their doctors" (generally as the doc was leaving the examining room), but many didn't talk with their wives. And many doctors, out of discomfort, didn't ask questions. Some doctors commented later that they were disgusted by octogenarians asking for blue pills. Bob Dole became the butt of every joke on late night television.

Meanwhile, Pfizer realized that Viagra generally did not work for men post-prostate surgery -- men like Bob Dole and my grandfather. Now that the American public knew about erectile dysfunction, Pfizer could now move to market the drug to men in a wide age spectrum who were curious and anxious about sexual performance. In short, the sexual status quo was tested, and then youthful sexy manhood quickly took center stage again. Ageism, heterosexism, and medicine triumphed.