The pill
Kelly Frazee
Issue date: 2/11/10 Section: Op/Ed
The birth control pill has been a topic of much discussion since its inception in 1960. I am sure everyone is aware of the issues surrounding the pill like affordability and religious opposition but did you know that it has had an enormous social and cultural impact on the lives of women in this country? Combined oral contraceptives are used by about 12 million women in the United States. In addition to pregnancy prevention, regulation of menstrual cycles, and reduced risk of cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancers, the pill dramatically changed the way women live their lives.
First of all, the pill was more effective than most established reversible methods of birth control. This meant that women now had unprecedented control over their fertility. The significance of this is monumental in that women could now break completely free of the stereotypes that constrained them to the household. Furthermore, with this newly established freedom, the economic roles of women changed dramatically. Since use of the pill prolonged the age at which woman traditionally first married, they were now able to devote themselves to their education and become more career-oriented.
Naturally, the pill's widespread and effective use spurred a heightened debate over the moral and health consequences of pre-marital sex. What had changed was that, before the pill, sex had never been so separate from reproduction. The spread of oral contraceptive use led many religious figures to debate the proper role of sexuality and its relationship to procreation. When it comes down to it though, I believe that no matter what your personal beliefs are on pre-marital relations and whether or not the pill perpetuates such tendencies, a woman has the right to her own beliefs and to choose what she does with her own body.
In any event, as I mentioned before, the pill drastically altered the social and cultural roles of women in this country and soon after the pill appeared, the public was beginning to take notice of its impact on traditional gender roles. Now, women did not have to choose between a relationship and a career. In fact, in 1974, singer Loretta Lynn produced a song called "The Pill", about a married woman's use of the pill to liberate herself from her traditional role as wife and mother. This was a significant change in the course of women's history. From the time of the first European settlers in the America, the woman's role has always been to tend to household duties, to take care of the children, and to be able to and willing to have children. In fact, during the 18th and 19th centuries in America, if anything was ever wrong with a child, if it was stillborn or if there was some other issue in where the baby was not absolutely perfect, the mother was suspected of engaging in witchcraft. It was thought that she must have done something on purpose and that's why such tragedy had happened. Also, a woman was looked down upon if she did not wish to get married or have children.
Now let's fast forward to the 1950s, a time that brings images to mind of the "perfect" housewife. The pill came about the very next decade and brought about immediate changes in women's social roles. The country wasn't eased into it; they were just hit with it. Thus clearly, there is going to be controversy. What I am trying to get at is that there's no denying the impact that the pill had on women's roles in society. From a feminist perspective, I am grateful for the pill in that it helped women to break out of their subordinate, housewife roles and started a new conversation about the rights and abilities of women namely in education, their career, and control over reproduction. Many people don't even think twice about opposing women using oral contraceptives today, which just shows how far the country has come in women's rights and equality.
First of all, the pill was more effective than most established reversible methods of birth control. This meant that women now had unprecedented control over their fertility. The significance of this is monumental in that women could now break completely free of the stereotypes that constrained them to the household. Furthermore, with this newly established freedom, the economic roles of women changed dramatically. Since use of the pill prolonged the age at which woman traditionally first married, they were now able to devote themselves to their education and become more career-oriented.
Naturally, the pill's widespread and effective use spurred a heightened debate over the moral and health consequences of pre-marital sex. What had changed was that, before the pill, sex had never been so separate from reproduction. The spread of oral contraceptive use led many religious figures to debate the proper role of sexuality and its relationship to procreation. When it comes down to it though, I believe that no matter what your personal beliefs are on pre-marital relations and whether or not the pill perpetuates such tendencies, a woman has the right to her own beliefs and to choose what she does with her own body.
In any event, as I mentioned before, the pill drastically altered the social and cultural roles of women in this country and soon after the pill appeared, the public was beginning to take notice of its impact on traditional gender roles. Now, women did not have to choose between a relationship and a career. In fact, in 1974, singer Loretta Lynn produced a song called "The Pill", about a married woman's use of the pill to liberate herself from her traditional role as wife and mother. This was a significant change in the course of women's history. From the time of the first European settlers in the America, the woman's role has always been to tend to household duties, to take care of the children, and to be able to and willing to have children. In fact, during the 18th and 19th centuries in America, if anything was ever wrong with a child, if it was stillborn or if there was some other issue in where the baby was not absolutely perfect, the mother was suspected of engaging in witchcraft. It was thought that she must have done something on purpose and that's why such tragedy had happened. Also, a woman was looked down upon if she did not wish to get married or have children.
Now let's fast forward to the 1950s, a time that brings images to mind of the "perfect" housewife. The pill came about the very next decade and brought about immediate changes in women's social roles. The country wasn't eased into it; they were just hit with it. Thus clearly, there is going to be controversy. What I am trying to get at is that there's no denying the impact that the pill had on women's roles in society. From a feminist perspective, I am grateful for the pill in that it helped women to break out of their subordinate, housewife roles and started a new conversation about the rights and abilities of women namely in education, their career, and control over reproduction. Many people don't even think twice about opposing women using oral contraceptives today, which just shows how far the country has come in women's rights and equality.