Sunday, March 19, 2017

Birth Control in the 1960s

As we have seen in class, birth control became available to women more easily in the sixties.  This female contraceptive was fairly cheap (only about ten dollars a month), doctor-prescribed, and in the form of a pill taken every day.  It was a major part of the sex revolution, for it allowed women to hold off on having children.  However, the pill brought a lot of controversy with it.  Let's examine the sides of the debate:

Pro: The pill allowed, for the first time, women to have real control of family planning.  Because they were able to control their fertility, they could hold off having a family until later in life.  They were able to focus on getting an education and developing their careers without worrying about taking care of kids.  The birth control pill allowed, for the first time, women to take control of their lives and explore more outside the domestic sphere.  Besides controlling fertility, the pill also allowed women with menstrual disorders to control their pain.  Doctors would only actually prescribe the pill if the woman complained of menstrual disorders, not if she wanted to control her fertility.  However, there was an odd coincidental spike in women with menstrual disorders during the sixties and, therefore, a lot of prescriptions for birth control pills.


Con: One facet of the argument against birth control was the morality of it.  Some people believed that, because women could control when they were to have kids, the pill would promote more casual, reckless sexual activity and cause women to lose morality.  As we saw in the documentary in class, some went even as far to relate the pill to "prostitution and abortion."  Another aspect of this side of the argument was the health risk the pill presented: studies found that women over thirty-five that smoked (which was very common) and took the pill had a higher risk of things like heart attacks and blood clots.


This birth control pill debate brought a lot of double standards between genders to light.  Why were men's contraceptives considered normal but women's contraceptives were seen as a violation of morals?  Could this just have been a refusal to allow women to have more power, an attempt to keep women subordinate to men?

At least today, almost sixty years later, society has moved past this debate and allow women to take control of their bodies the way they want to and don't interfere with their decisions.
Right? :/


Sources:
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?zid=46b8ce3f64baefe999de168ca8fa2a6e&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CCX3468302420&userGroupName=gray02935&jsid=ad545500387bcc438c37a3283b01d2d7
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/a-brief-history-of-the-birth-control-pill/480/
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/5f/82/28/5f8228780b4917e4c85c2ccaf1bee5c0.jpg
http://d35brb9zkkbdsd.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/birth-control-pills.jpg
http://www.jillstanek.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hobbylobbyprotest3.jpg
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 19, 2017 at 1:03 PM

    It's so interesting to see how the two perspectives on birth control in the 1960s are still relevant today. While Trump's new administration is a threat to women's rights to birth control, it's important to recognize that a lot of America is standing up to protect it (ex. the women's marches). If you're interested, I found an interesting link about the possible future of birth control, and how it will affect women across America: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/10/women-consider-long-term-birth-control-now-that-trump-victory-looms-over-reproductive-health/?utm_term=.2a95e32f6200

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  2. AnonymousMarch 19, 2017 at 2:50 PM

    This is a very good post on a topic that is controversial to this day. It is interesting how many believe birth control is immoral because it prevents life from happening, but it should be noted that the decision to carry a child rests solely on the woman. As you pointed out, although the topic is controversial the general movement now is shifting towards the acceptance of birth control in everyday life.

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  3. AnonymousMarch 20, 2017 at 10:37 AM

    Very good and informative post. I appreciate this piece of writing especially because it relates so much to the controversy surrounding a woman's right to her body and sexual freedom which we deal with as a society today. I also like how the article discusses a time period in which women were able to break out of norms that society expected of them such as being humble and only exposing your body at certain times. Overall very well done.

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