The Next Wonder Drug

We’re pleased to see so much of the feminist blogosphere taking on this horrifying story. (By the way, what’s with using the young woman’s name and no one else‘s?)

Zuzu at Feministe has done a superb analysis, with a comment thread that’s well worth your time, including a lot of personal stories.

It got us thinking, however.

***

The psychopharmacologists are missing a bet. Someone, somewhere, should be delving through the drug-design software trying to reverse the effects of Olanzapine, the drug that made the young woman in this story get sane and gain weight.

Just think about it.

“We have perfected the weight-loss drug. Enipaznalo not only takes off those excess pounds, it makes you beautiful. Movie-star beautiful. There’s just one catch; it also makes you crazy.

“Well, really crazy. But beautiful. So beautiful your psychiatrist will really want to cure you, and the guys on the ward will really want to fuck you. But don’t worry, the ward is locked, and nothing really bad can happen. Honest. And you’ll be beautiful.”

A terrifying number of women would line up around the block to take it. The ones who thought the trade-off might not be worth it would have to stave off pressure from their parents, husbands, doctors, and bosses. And everyone in line would be saying to herself, “Not everyone gets the schizophrenia side effect. I could be lucky.”

And then the pharmaceutical companies could work on another drug that helped manage the craziness effects of the new drug.

Don’t you just love the world we live in?

(We got the original article, as we get so many other stories, from Arthur D. Hlavaty, this time via Stef.)

<br /> feminism<br /> women<br /> beauty<br /> schizophrenia<br /> fat<br /> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/body+image" rel="tag nofollow">body image</a><br /> mental illness<br /> psychotropic drugs<br /> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Body+Impolitic" rel="tag nofollow">Body Impolitic</a><br />

5 thoughts on “The Next Wonder Drug

  1. Pingback: Feministe » The Stuff You Find Through Trackbacks.
  2. If you look at this article through the lens of storytelling, you see that it’s the tale of Heroic Young Doc trying to save the Beautiful Princess, and once having rescued her, trying to retrieve the beauty that attracted him to her in the first place. Then we must hear the ponderings of Heroic Young Doc, being confused (poor thing) about whether it was worth it alleviate the young woman’s symptoms if it meant making her someone to whom he was no longer attracted.

    Body Impolitic points out that only the young woman was identified by name, but she is also the only one who is physically described with one notable exception. Heroic Young Doc consults with older doc thusly:

    “…he discussed Nia with the unit’s consultant, a man of compromise with a small chin.”

    Now, the Unit Consultant may be a brilliant man (there must be some reason he is being asked for his opinion). However, any medical genius Unit Consultant may have is totally invalidated by his small chin. (We never actually find out what Heroic Young Doc looks like, but evidently his chin is bigger than Unit Consultant’s chin, if ya know what I mean.)

  3. Zuzu, the mutual admiration society continues to convene.

    Lynne, I noticed the business about the consultant’s chin. I’m sure it fits into my observation that only the girl has a name in the story. I really like your storytelling lens.

  4. Thanks, Debbie. I sent the link without much comment to a couple of friends, one of whom said it read “like a romance novel.” The friend other worried what would happen in that institution to a young woman with exactly the same symptoms, only 30 pounds heavier. I had thought to say something about that initially, but the answer seems both obvious and depressing. The staff would spend less time with her, possibly getting a less accurate diagnosis. They might also hesitate to give her the more effective medication for fear of causing more weight gain.

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