No vibes in the bedroom - Advocate says hormones, lack of minerals affecting women’s libido

When women quietly struggle with low libido, it is often treated as a personal failing or merely a bedroom problem, but sexual wellness advocate Ramona Riley suggests that the real issues run much deeper.

Known as the 'Vagina Lady', she opined that hormonal imbalances, poor gut health, unhealthy diets and a lack of proper pleasure are silently undermining women's sexual desire. For years, sexual enhancers have been marketed almost exclusively to men, available everywhere from pharmacies to roadside herbalists, but not so much for women. However, Riley told THE STAR that she is increasingly being approached by women searching for alternatives.

"There are alternatives, but we need to get to the root cause. The 'strong back' won't help, even in men. If a man has erectile dysfunction or low libido when we are talking about these actual conditions, it won't help. It will make him a bit harder or last longer, but we have to get to the root cause," she said. Riley explained that true low libido is often linked to hormonal imbalance.

"When you have low libido, the estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, these levels are not okay," she said, adding that mineral deficiencies are playing a major role in libido levels among women.

"Women are suffering from low iron, low zinc, low magnesium, all of which play a role in your hormonal situation."

According to Riley, in her practice, hormonal disruption is widespread among women.

"I find that 65 to 70 per cent in my practice suffer from hormonal issues, and women are suffering in silence, and that's for a number of reasons," she said, noting that she is seeing more cases of polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis and fibroids affecting women.

However, Riley also opined that many women who believe they have a low libido are actually not being satisfied sexually.

"I can guarantee 90 per cent still masturbate, so it's not that their libido is so low, but how their partner pleases them and the lack thereof," she said. "They (women) are having sex because they think it's their job, so that, on top of low libido, doesn't really help." She explained that, with real low libido, women don't feel stimulated, don't think about sex, and are not even turned on by themselves or their partner.

"That's low libido, but not when you are not pleased," she explained. Riley bluntly told THE STAR that poor sexual education among men is also contributing to the issue.

"Jamaican men don't know how to please women. They don't understand the vagina, how it works and how to make her bloom so it (sex) is not painful," she said. Riley suggested that sexual experiences have long been centred around male satisfaction.

"But the lack of understanding from the man's point of view about what and how they should stimulate a vagina is not where it should be in 2026," she said. Riley added that many men approach women's bodies as if they are all the same.

"[But] every vagina is different, and then women don't know their bodies. The conversations about sex in the Jamaican culture are different. We hear it in the songs, but when it comes to having the conversation, it is so difficult for men and women to describe what they like and dislike," she said.

While Riley says there is no single solution for all women, she noted that certain herbs, red maca, ginseng and horny goat weed are sometimes used to support sexual health. However, she warned that, depending on underlying conditions, these herbs must be properly prescribed.