This article was written by Rollo.

In a quiet and secluded hallway on the second floor of Olin Hall, there is a large table tucked away in a corner that is sometimes used by students for studying. On the side of the table which faces away from passersby, the words “I don’t understand Viagra. Personally, I can’t wait to escape my libido” are scribbled in thick, black Sharpie. I discovered the confession on the table last semester, while I was studying for finals, and I’ve been curious and confused about it ever since.

Like all art, the writer created something and left it for the world to interpret. Without knowing anything about the author or their identity, the vague and hastily-written phrase written on the table could be about any number of specific situations. While, intuitively, I expect that the author is a male Whitman student, this could also be completely false––they could just as easily be a female professor or someone working on the custodial staff.

Regardless, it is interesting that the writer equated the word “Viagra” with “libido.” Viagra, also known as sildenafil citrate, does not in fact treat issues of low sex drive; the medication is used by men in order to treat Erectile Dysfunction, or ED. However, to have the medication work, the user must become sexually aroused on their own, which means that their libido must be functioning at a relatively normal level.

So, perhaps, the author literally doesn’t “understand Viagra,” because if they did develop ED (which, I assume, they did not have a problem with at the time), then they would potentially be able to avoid having a sex life––but not a libido. Assuming, then, that by “Viagra,” the writer was referring to some sort of stimulant which increases sex-drive, the situation becomes clearer.

Evidently, their libido is present and active, but is also creating a pressure on them which is negative and constraining and one which they want to “escape.”

At Whitman, the presence of sexual pressure is undeniable. Combining our generally hyper-liberal attitudes about sex with the fact that everyone is in their late teens or early twenties means that students can feel even more pressure to have sex than to do just about anything else on this campus, including being academically successful. Of course, there are individuals who can’t or don’t want to participate in this, such as the author of the quote, but this makes neither the culture nor the pressures go away for them. In addition to their physical and biological struggles with their sexuality, there is also a social aspect which is similarly controlling. So, perhaps, it is not their libido which they are trying to “escape,” but some sort of requirement that they feel to act on it.

There are very few ways to actually lower libido––even medically, a lower sex drive is usually considered a negative side effect of medications used to treat other illnesses. Instead, it is important to recognize that sex can be encouraged through peer pressure in exactly the same way that everything else is––whether it’s drugs and drinking or just procrastinating and pulling all-nighters. And while sex is not necessarily a health risk, it can take a psychological toll on an individual (when it’s done in a negative and stressful situation) that can be even more damaging than the aforementioned list.

I’d encourage Whitties to think about the various underlying social pressures that exist on this campus. While sex can be wonderful, it is important to understand it in relation to the stigma and peer pressure associated with it, and to make well-informed decisions about your sex life.