It was 50 years ago this month that birth control pills first became approved for sale in the US. Before that time, modern latex condoms weren’t available either, so 1960 was the true beginning of reliable birth control for women. This changed the world in so many revolutionary ways that it would take a thick book to describe them all. For the first time, married women could make plans to get an education and start a career without worrying that multiple unplanned pregnancies would most likely ruin everything. Roughly 30 years ago, The Pill became widely available for single women in America who were over 18, which completely transformed dating. Premarital sex became much more commonplace and enjoyable for women; more about pleasure than reproduction, for the first time ever. It took a while for social customs to catch up with medical reality, as it always does. Since then, nearly every societal expectation for women has changed, mostly as a result of this one medical breakthrough. Go back 200 years in Western history, and almost anything related to sex that did not lead to a married woman having a baby was illegal. This was based on necessity, not opinion. For a country or ethnic group to survive in the old days, it needed to produce babies as fast as possible due to having so many deaths in early childhood, plus massive epidemics and constant warfare. Reproducing was about the only thing that women were needed for, and it occupied nearly all our time, along with cooking in primitive kitchens. Once Western cultures became more civilized and advanced, having large families was no longer important or even a good thing in most cases. All we needed then was birth control to open up our options to live fuller and richer lives, if we chose to do so. We had to wait a long time. Why is it important to know this history? Because you can’t fully understand where you are and where you’re going if you don’t know where you came from or how things got to be the way that they are. We are still in the process of sorting out exactly what is the new reality for women.
Aww, I think I'll make mine a little cake tonight... and then eat it myself because I'm depressed they make me fat.
it's time they complete birth control for men!!! they ARE working on it...but it needs to be finished and perfected asap!
rudenoodle is that a fallout 3 avatar? lolz. <3. I suppose that condoms would be considered male birth control, the only difference being, us females take our pill daily, and not while we are in a sexual encounter. Men only have to think about their "birth control" while in the heat of the moment. So, naturally, they might not be as focused on their prevention method so much as putting their pickle in the proverbial jar. You see the problem?
I'd rather take care of it myself. I like the short and predictable periods that you get with the Pill.
I'm glad pills are out there for women, although I worry about the fact that we are peeing out hormones into the environment every time we take them and it is very harmful to nature. But that goes for other prescription drugs as well. Also, bc pills gave me a nice collection of health problems. I think they need to work on something better.
I do find it odd that the Pill has changed so little in all these years. The main difference is that the dosage is lower, producing fewer side effects than the earliest version, but still too many problems for some people. Fortunately, we all benefit from the social changes that came from birth control, and modern latex condoms are much better than what was available 50 years ago, according to what I've read. No matter what happens, I don't think we're ever going back to the old ways of life unless some religious group finds a way to impose it on us.
My mother used the earliest version of BC pills and while they were full of side effects, she took them anyway. I was unplanned (though my parents were married) and she didn't want more unplanned children since she had to work. They certainly gave me peace of mind in the days when I used them. Yeah for The Pill and the life changing freedom they gave us!
agreed. i had so many problems with the pill (and i tried all different brands, too) and am disgusted now that i swallowed massive doses of hormones willingly. crazy! and it's prescribed for such young girls! i think they should inform women more about non-hormonal IUDs. some people i talk to don't even know they exist, and they're such a great alternate option.
The social change that the Pill and then modern condoms has brought is something you are right to note and detail in your original post. Getting men to change some of their attitudes is still something that hasn't really happened, I think.
