Film Analysis: The Birth Control Pill

Carl Djerassi was a chemist in Mexico city that created the first pill that synthesized hormones in 1951. In 1957 the FDA approved the pills for women with menstrual disorders but just three years later the pill was released for sexual protection. Some states still made this drug illegal and it went against many people’s morals. In 1997 the pill was expanded to treat acne (A Brief History 1-2). The pill has come a long way and is still continuing to form in this evolving society. Less than seventy years ago we didn’t even have an oral option for birth control. Today we are fighting over whether the pill can be available over the counter or not.

One of the most significant happenings that the Birth Control Movement was responsible for was the creation of the birth control pill. In 1948, Margaret Sanger, biologist Gregory Pincus and physician John Rock began to research and develop the birth control pill. It got approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1960 (Kaufman). This oral contraception is a type of medication that women take daily to prevent pregnancy because these pills contain hormone that prevent a woman’s eggs from leaving the ovaries and making cervical mucus thicker which keeps the sperm from getting to the eggs (Planned Parenthood). Plannedparenthood.org stated that within five years of its approval, the birth control pill was used by one out of every married women

Prior to the 3000 BC, women tried various birth control methods. Some of the common methods included

Birth control has been a controversial topic since the 1960’s, when the pill arose on the scene and gained popularity. Men and women of certain religious faiths have sought to prevent other women from using birth control. However, most women want to be able to choose when the time is right for them to have a child. This is why birth control is essential, because it allows women and couples in general the freedom to choose and plan their families. In many cases the need to control women by controlling their access to birth control goes all the way to the federal government. The federal government determines what types of birth control are allowed on the market and who has access to them. Some Presidential administrations look more kindly

Because methods of contraception were expensive and not readily accessible, many pregnancies were unwanted. Therefore women used these excuses as their defence.

But for women who were sexually active, there were a few alternatives though they weren’t effective in use. Herbs in medicine are very prominent and so are they in birth control during this time period. They would take certain herbs such as arum, birthwort, artemisia, lupine, parsley, etc. They would take these herbs by mouth though they posed a threat to their health. There were also magical methods that they believe to work as well.

Starting in November of 1912, “What Every Girl Should Know” by Sanger was being published every Sunday in The Call, a commonly read socialist newspaper. Within her articles, Sanger covered puberty and the changes that occurred as a result, the functions of the reproductive system, and the causes and ways to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. At the time, the Comstock laws were in place which defined contraceptives obscene and made it illegal for information regarding contraceptives to be sent through the U.S Postal Service. For this reason, “What Every Girl Should Know” was no longer allowed to be published, the last article published was blank except for the words “What Every Girl Should Know. NOTHING! By order of the Post Office Department” (qtd. in Lader 37). Refusing to give up, Sanger prepared herself to fight the Comstock Laws and provide the women and girls of New York with information about contraceptives and their bodies. From 1913 to 1914, Sanger travelled to Paris. At this time in Europe, contraceptives were much more accepted and information was plentiful. Sanger spent her days researching and gathered a collection of information on the best and latest douches, sponges, suppositories, and pessaries. She also bought some of the devices to bring back with her to the United States. Having gathered enough research, Sanger headed back to the United States. In

Before the introduction of modern birth control, gender roles emphasized the responsibility of women to conceive and raise children. Although this began to change in the in the mid-twentieth century, with the introduction of the first hormonal birth control pill, Enovid, taking place in 1960, it was not readily accessible during that time period (Buttar and Seward, 2009, p. 1-3). This did not change during the time period immediately following the introduction either; five years after the introduction of Enovid, there was still controversy surrounding the use of contraceptives. In the Supreme Court case of Griswold v. Connecticut, the legality of birth control on the market was debated, and the case concluded with the allowance of hormonal contraceptives, but it was limited to married couples only under the right of marital privacy (George and Lewis, 2016, p. 1). The controversy and secrecy that surrounded the use of birth control shortly after its introduction indicates that although it was certainly present and used in society during this time period, it still carried the negative social connotations of the past, which prevented it from being socially normalized. In contrast, the standardization of birth control in society took place decades later, from approximately the 1990 to 2010s.

The tone of the article is critical as Cohen uses sarcasm to make the audience members who disagree question their beliefs. He uses logos appeal to persuade the readers that birth control is up to a woman to use and not the government.

Around 3000BC condoms were made using intestines and fish bladders, which lead to the first spermicides in 1500 which consisted of linen cloth, soaked in chemicals and dried (A Brief History). However, the modern push towards birth control started in Great Britain when overpopulation began to be an issue. According to Birth Control (2013) many forms of contraception were already being used, such as rubber condoms, diaphragms, chemical suppositories, vaginal sponges and medicated tampons. According to Brodie (1998) women wanted to control fertility so badly that they believed that they had an infertile or sterile time of the month where it was physically impossible for them to become pregnant. This was called the “Rhythm Method” and was very often ineffective. It was Margaret’s dream that women would be able to practice sexual freedom in the same way that men have always been able to (Witherbee,

One of the many purposes of birth control is to avoid unwanted pregnancies. In this day and age the decision to take birth control should be a mere right and not a debate, but society has still not fully accepted the use of birth control even though “ninety-eight percent of women use birth control at some point in their lives” (Milligan, 2014, p. 3). Birth control has unfortunately earned a negative stigma because it allows women to have sex without getting pregnant and that is frowned upon throughout parts of society. Some members of society have even compared the use of birth control to abortion. Women who choose to take birth control should not be judged and the use of birth control amongst women should no longer be considered disgraceful. The reliable access to birth control should be made available to all women no matter their race, age, and class.

Oral birth control in the United States has a long history of controversy. For many years after it was legalized for married couples it was still considered taboo to talk about. So of course, Loretta Lynn, appropriately named Queen of Country, wrote and performed a song about it. This spunky, out spoken, record setting country goddess saw absolutely no qualm when it came to discussing, “the pill”. Although this ground-breaking song on the birth control forefront might seem revolutionary, it was nothing new for an artist like Lynn, who characteristically wrote songs about the hushed aspects of domestic life. Loretta Lynn’s song, “The Pill”, pushed social boundaries in the 1970’s by encouraging married women, especially in rural areas, to take control of their lives with the use of oral birth control. Lynn did so by informing rural women of the normalcy of oral birth control.

Within the pro-choice world there are many issues that are discussed like abortion, the instant where life begins and the use of contraceptives. This article will focus on not only the issue of using of contraceptives, but specifically the distribution of oral contraceptives (“the pill”) to teenage girls without their parent’s consent.

Furthermore, in 1972 birth control was legalized for every citizen in the country. Meanwhile, the first human birth control was started to be developed in the 1950s, and had been constantly been developed throughout the second half of the century. In the 2000s, rapid expansion and methods have been made. Contraception had definitely changed the woman’s role in family, and for the better. It allowed for the woman to postpone pregnancy, which gave her more of a role outside of the home. This helped break away from the established gender role of the woman being the housewife and man being sole provider, now both the man and woman could become providers for the household. Contraception was shown in the movie with Susan and her husband Nathan. Nathan did not want another child for five years because he wanted to focus on his first child’s cognitive development. Susan, on the other hand, wanted to have another child. Nathan had made her use a diaphragm to prevent her from becoming pregnant. He refused to compromise on the matter so Susan poked holes in it, an act her husband caught her doing and called her out for by pouring water into it.

We would highly recommend this movie to others as it was very educational, but also very enjoyable at the same time. We all had a good experience and learned a lot about women’s rights issues of the past that many women can still