Lies the pharmacy told me...

DISCLAIMER: This is a harsh post. It has foul language markings. I know it. I considered softening it up, but then I felt like I was lying. I have several good friends who are on/have been on chemical birth control. I love you all. I don't think you are stupid, I am optimistic that you have discussed all issues with your physician.
I am not against birth control - I am against lies the drug companies tell us about what is good for our bodies. My intent here is to pose a question that will GIVE women BACK their sexual freedom, rather than leave them in this current state of pseudo-freedom which I believe chemical birth control enables and maybe even intensifies. Oh yeah, this post is also too long. Thanks a bunch for reading.




Once again, the prescription drug companies have convinced us that we need to put chemicals that could kill us into our bodies all for the sake of convenience. Fabulous.

Up until Vatican II (1964), birth control of any form was frowned upon by the Catholic Church. At the risk of over simplification, people of the Church were asked (told?) not to use birth control of any kind because it was stopping God’s natural intent/order of intercourse into babies from occurring. We (humans) are commanded in the book of Genesis to procreate, and birth control essentially stops that from happening. Which in some cases - is really good.

I think birth control in the form of a condom or FAM (my favorite! which requires you to actually pay attention to your own body) is a damn good idea – the gruesome image of a woman with a coat hanger stuck inside her or a family with one more mouth than paychecks could sustain come to mind and make me reach happily for a pack of Trojans. (latex - remember I am a vegetarian.)
Before I was married, that image just made me keep my pants on. What a concept.

However – there are forms of birth control out there that I think take a couple steps too far. The culprits?
Depo
The Ring
The Pill
Norplant
The Patch

See the pattern? Yup. All chemical drugs that infiltrate your body and basically convince it that you are already pregnant or that something is wrong with you and you should not be pregnant, and therefore, you don’t get pregnant.
I know, I know, these things are so much simpler than those awfully annoying 3 extra seconds it takes to put a condom on.
And don’t give me that “it ruins the mood” bull because finding out you have cancer or a bleeding cystic uterus kinda ruins the mood too. AND if you can't stay in the mood because of a condom interlude, then your idea and of sex and what it is and what it is for or about could use a serious overhaul. Educate yourself on the subject of the sexual revolution and then tell me who you think it was really beneficial to - women or men? (Bunny trail! Quick! Get it!)

I think it really hit me hard today while watching TV and seeing an ad for a new pill, Seasonique. Sounds pretty doesn't it?

This ad (see it here) has two sides of the same woman talking about taking the new pill.
Let’s ignore - for the lack of space - the obviously offensive idea that woman have to be one or the other (logical or emotional) and that decisions are made in such a way.
BUT let us consider the fact that this new pill will give you only 4 periods a year. Hmmmm.
No uh, I mean, that's great, right? Knowing that our lives as sexually active, getting exactly what we want (or what our male counterparts want?) when we (they?) want it women (men?) are totally inconvenienced and horrific because of – wait – here it comes – NATURE.
COME ON WOMEN OF THE U.S. AND EUROPE! (We all know that these special chemicals are not available in those poor, sad, emerging world cultures. Yes, sarcasm.)
GET OVER YOURSELVES! AND SUCK IT UP AND HAVE A &*@)((^% PERIOD! And tell your male-ies to keep their pants on for a week and have a bout of intellectual intercourse.

Don’t we understand? Have we been that misled? The fact that we HAVE periods in the first place means that we are HEALTHY. Cramps, my sisters, are indicators that our bodies are doing what they are supposed to do and cleaning out the system so that we can healthily prepare for – yup – getting pregnant.
The harsh reality is that WOMEN’S BODIES MAKE BABIES.
Another harsh reality: It is a sin against God and humanity that patriarchy and misogyny has turned that truth into venom by turning women into baby-making machinery (with no other ability, talent or skill).
But that is another discussion all together – we can have it when we talk about the stereotypical television female persona idea or my thoughts on the fact that women know little to nothing about the menstrual cycle in general.

Hey, I see the point for *ahem* health - I too get bad cramps. I am usually in bed for a day or hopped up on chamomile tea and, yes, I admit, the occasional ibuprofen. But I think those cramps are worth knowing that my body is doing what it is supposed to do when it is supposed to do it. On top of that, I get to cross these worries off my list:
blood clots
stroke
heart attack
cancer
bleeding cystic ulcers

I am not condemning those who use chemical birth control for the sake of convenience - much. But I am asking what I think is an important question:

Are we lucky to live in a time when sexual freedom is enabled through chemicals, or have we been hoodwinked into thinking that sexual maturity is about spontaneity and immediacy rather than responsibility and patience?