Photos by Marie Walker [58] <strong>Alice</strong> May 2017 HARD TO SWAL- LOW A look into fertility awareness and hormone-free alternatives to the pill By Maria Oswalt
The ‘80s had Heathers, the ‘90s had Clueless — if you ask any college-aged woman today what she considers the most quotable movie of her generation, I’d bet good money she says it’s Mean Girls. The 2004 teen comedy became a cult classic with its witty one-liners, which continue to be relevant over a decade later. My favorite quote comes from the skeeziest character in the entire movie — Coach Carr, the health teacher. Parodying abstinence-only sex education, he proclaims to a gym full of teenagers: “Don’t have sex, because you will get pregnant and you will die.” Various studies, including one in 2007 from the National Center for Biotechnology Information in the U.S. Library of Medicine, suggest that abstinence-only approaches to sex education don’t delay or prevent sexual activity in adolescents — so I wouldn’t recommend Coach Carr’s tactics. However, that’s a debate for another day. Rewatching this scene made me recall the sex education I received growing up in north Alabama. Despite the anti-sex stereotypes surrounding the Bible Belt, the sex education I received in high school was relatively comprehensive. I vividly remember when my tenth-grade health class watched The Miracle of Life — well, actually, I remember the smooth surface of my desk against my forehead and the faint smell of Clorox. I’d put my head down to avoid seeing too much, and the girl sitting behind me generously narrated every gruesome detail, so I wouldn’t miss out. Outside of the awkwardness of that film, my health teacher did a decent job explaining the biology behind sex, talking about the dangers of various STIs and even discussing the pros and cons of barrier methods vs. hormonal methods of contraception. Something that never came up, however, was the science behind fertility. I was shocked when, at 20 years old, I learned that there were natural, hormone-free ways to avoid pregnancy that were nearly as effective as hormonal contraception. I was doubly shocked when I learned that the pill is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization. If there were healthier options, why weren’t we learning about them? I was already an adult (well, as much as you can consider a 22-year-old who wears a Pikachu onesie every so often an adult) when I realized that I knew next to nothing about how my fertility worked — and a quick survey of my friends revealed that I wasn’t the only one feeling that way. “The only sex ed I got was in seventh grade, and they basically told us, ‘Use the pill. Use condoms.’ It wasn’t until I was in college that I learned anything about the possible consequences,” said Georgia Gallagher, a freshman from Denver. “I feel like most women are in the same boat as me, and they take it because they don’t realize there are other options.” Genevieve Aucoin, a senior from Atlanta, echoed her sentiments. “Most of what I remember from my high school sex ed was a single transparency they put on the projector that showed the different kinds of birth control and the pros/cons of each. I think there was something about the Rhythm Method, and they said that it was ineffective — that was all they told us about ‘natural alternatives.’” Mary Katherine Holladay, a sophomore from Athens, Alabama, said that she received an abstinence-only sex education. She eventually got her information about contraceptives from friends and friends’ parents. “I’ve tried multiple forms of birth control, and for the most part they had a negative effect on other areas of my life, such as my mood,” Holladay said. “It just wasn’t worth it. Hormones, for me, haven’t been an effective or worthwhile solution.” As college-aged men and women, it’s imperative that we make well-informed sexual health decisions — so what exactly are the consequences of using hormonal birth control? What are our options in regards to natural methods? PILLS N’ POTIONS Let’s start at the very beginning (a very good place to start). The history of the pill is riddled with controversy, and not just because of the typical drama surrounding contraceptives. Many ethically reprehensible practices were involved in its development — for example, in the 1950s, biologist Gregory Pincus, gynecologist John Rock and Dr. Edris Rice-Wray couldn’t find enough women willing to endure the painful side effects from the trial runs of their hormonal contraceptives, so they turned to forcing women to participate in their studies. “These women weren’t told what the pill was for; instead, they were supposed to shut up, take their medicine, and submit to frequent, invasive medical exams,” writes Bethy Squires in her Broadly article “The Racist and Sexist History of Keeping Birth Control Side Ef- <strong>Alice</strong> May 2017 [59]
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