It’s starting to become fashionable to call out the pharmaceutical industry for its corrupting influence on both the practice of health care and on the general public’s conception of what it means to be healthy. I, for one, think this ripping of Big Pharma is a good thing, a necessary thing, and a thing that’s been long overdue. As with our political system, the undue influence of corporate money is threatening not only the integrity of our health-related institutions (hospitals, university research centers, graduate school programs, etc.), but also the integrity of people’s bodies and psyches.
In an integral health model, moving toward optimal health is not possible without acknowledging, engaging with, and addressing all dimensions of our lives, including the dimension of social systems and institutions. And as long as corporate profit is the highest organizing principle of our health care institutions, our conceptions of health and well-being will be distorted accordingly, leading to interventions that can often cause more harm than good.
ORGASM INC., a new film by Liz Canner, “is a powerful look inside the medical industry and the marketing campaigns that are literally and figuratively reshaping our everyday lives around health, illness, desire — and that ultimate moment: orgasm.” Check out the trailer: