TV Scope: Sisters, trust me, an orgasmatron is not something you want. I thought plastic surgery programmes were bad enough but this shows we have lost the plot altogether.
It was about a Dr Stuart Molloy who discovered - "serendipitously", his words, not mine - that a pain-relief machine he invented also had the capacity to induce orgasms in women.
The programme started with an introduction to the "dark continent of female sexuality" and how for decades, scientists and psychiatrists such as Sigmund Freud have been researching the female sexual response. (What is men's pre-occupation with women orgasms and childbirth?)
Up to 43 per cent of women have some form of sexual dysfunction and Dr Molloy is carrying out clinical trials in Winston Salem, North Carolina, to see if his pain-relief electrode can help with orgasm problems. For the programme, three women with orgasmic problems volunteered to have this electrode inserted into their spines.
The first volunteer, Jackie (living with Eyre), has never been able to have an orgasm with a man and was unaware until she was 41 that there was such a thing as a female orgasm. She read about it in Cosmopolitan. Darlene, the second volunteer (married to Pete), previously had orgasms but has been unable to experience any for five years. She would now "rather wash windows than have sex". Mary (married to David) has never orgasmed during sex.
The way the volunteers described their experiences showed they had a lot more issues other than just being unorgasmic. Their attitudes were patriarchal: "I feel I have castrated him because of my inability," moans Jackie. "David feels he is not a man," says Mary. "I was so proud of myself in the past," boasts David. "Men are generally not capable of spending as much time as is necessary," thinks Eyre.
Other people were interviewed, such as an anthropologist and a sexologist. "The female sexual response is far more complex than its male equivalent," says Dr Roy Levin, and "we've got real problems with the female orgasm."
Questions were asked about "whether the female orgasm served any practical purpose" and, according to Dr Helen Fisher, it is advantageous "for attachment and creating a long-term pair bond which is essential for rearing babies". So now you know, sisters!
The three women underwent an operation to have this electrode, which looked like a six-inch piece of wire coat hanger, inserted into their spines. The procedure looked really invasive and dangerous. The device stayed in for one week and the women and their partners used a "remote control" to stimulate the clitoris and genital nerves.
Only Mary succeeded in achieving orgasm which she described as "quite an interesting feeling". Darlene "tried for hours" with no result and Jackie apologised for not being able to perform! "I'm sorry, it's so exhausting." What is the matter with people?
A little research will tell you the female orgasm is 50 per cent a mental stimulus and 50 per cent a physical one. The orgasmatron focuses only on a physical response so is it any wonder its success rate is so low? Previous trials on 11 women showed the earth moved for just four.
The programme also showed a Dr Comissaric in New York who is conducting experiments on how women can achieve orgasm through mental stimulation alone!
I think all three women would benefit more from an assertiveness course and by taking charge of their own lives. They also need to stop seeking medical solutions to what are clearly non-medical problems.
Body Shock: Orgasmatron, Monday, Feb 7th, 9 p.m., Channel 4/www.channel4.com/health
Jacky Jones is regional health promotion manager with the HSE Western Area and a member of the National Obesity Task Force.