I've heard people talk about this is one of the biggest societal changes in history, but I'm not really understanding why. If you have a moment, could you elaborate on why this is such a consequential event?
I've heard people talk about this is one of the biggest societal changes in history, but I'm not really understanding why. If you have a moment, could you elaborate on why this is such a consequential event?
It fundamentally changed the consequences of sex, particularly for women. Before the Pill (or really before wide-spread, cheap contraception), sex was a much riskier adventure for women. This biological pressure forced women to be far more cautious in their sexual relationships and thereby suppressed the "body count" of both men and women alike. I don't think we can really fully comprehend how much this has changed society. Human beings evolved (or were divinely created, whatever your beliefs) with certain universal biological constraints and birth control ripped one of them up by the roots and tossed it into a fire. This has had both positive and negative effects. Some of the positives are that more and more women are educated. (This is a positive feedback loop as educated women are also more likely to use birth control.) Some of the negatives are that we don't form pair bonds as early (and I would argue as strongly) as we used to both as a direct consequence (women getting pregnant earlier before birth control) and as an indirect consequence (delaying the creation of a family allows women to become college educated and thus have opportunities that were previously denied to them, alleviating some of the economic sting of divorce).
I think we desperately need serious studies on the consequences of birth control so we can better understand the position we find ourselves in here in modern society.
Those studies would be wildly helpful as we look at the possibility of changing access to contraception moving forward. I donтАЩt genuinely believe that тАЬthe pillтАЭ is in any real danger of widespread banishment, but it seems like at least some people would push for it. A clearer picture of itsтАЩ true impact, or lack thereof, on equality for women, well that seems like an important part of the discussion. As maybe the worldтАЩs worst Catholic, IтАЩm fascinated by the development and impact of the pill, and especially how the Church went about determining their stance on it. I think it was Malcom Gladwell that had a fantastic podcast episode on it that got me really thinking about it.
That's fascinating to think about. It's really hard for me to think of this being the most consequential event of the 20th century, but that is likely due to me growing up in a world where I take it for granted. If only we could communicate with someone from before widespread contraception was available and they could explain how big a deal it is to those of us who can't truly comprehend it.
I've heard people talk about this is one of the biggest societal changes in history, but I'm not really understanding why. If you have a moment, could you elaborate on why this is such a consequential event?
It fundamentally changed the consequences of sex, particularly for women. Before the Pill (or really before wide-spread, cheap contraception), sex was a much riskier adventure for women. This biological pressure forced women to be far more cautious in their sexual relationships and thereby suppressed the "body count" of both men and women alike. I don't think we can really fully comprehend how much this has changed society. Human beings evolved (or were divinely created, whatever your beliefs) with certain universal biological constraints and birth control ripped one of them up by the roots and tossed it into a fire. This has had both positive and negative effects. Some of the positives are that more and more women are educated. (This is a positive feedback loop as educated women are also more likely to use birth control.) Some of the negatives are that we don't form pair bonds as early (and I would argue as strongly) as we used to both as a direct consequence (women getting pregnant earlier before birth control) and as an indirect consequence (delaying the creation of a family allows women to become college educated and thus have opportunities that were previously denied to them, alleviating some of the economic sting of divorce).
I think we desperately need serious studies on the consequences of birth control so we can better understand the position we find ourselves in here in modern society.
Those studies would be wildly helpful as we look at the possibility of changing access to contraception moving forward. I donтАЩt genuinely believe that тАЬthe pillтАЭ is in any real danger of widespread banishment, but it seems like at least some people would push for it. A clearer picture of itsтАЩ true impact, or lack thereof, on equality for women, well that seems like an important part of the discussion. As maybe the worldтАЩs worst Catholic, IтАЩm fascinated by the development and impact of the pill, and especially how the Church went about determining their stance on it. I think it was Malcom Gladwell that had a fantastic podcast episode on it that got me really thinking about it.
That's fascinating to think about. It's really hard for me to think of this being the most consequential event of the 20th century, but that is likely due to me growing up in a world where I take it for granted. If only we could communicate with someone from before widespread contraception was available and they could explain how big a deal it is to those of us who can't truly comprehend it.