Teen_Pregnancy

How Birth Control Affects Society The popularity of the birth control pill brought the world into the sexual revolution. The easy access to birth control encouraged sex, and eventually brought us into the women’s movement in the 1970’s. Women’s freedom over their sexuality allows freedom of their finances. However the true beginning of the women’s movement began as early as the 1920’s. The possibility of contraceptives would not have been possible in the 1960’s without the original women’s movement in the 1920’s. The purpose of this essay to describe how birth control has affected society, and the impact it had on the AIDS virus. It is commonly known that many years ago, before World War I, society had the misconception that women’s primary and only function was to reproduce. Maybe this belief started with Eve. Preparation for motherhood and marriage began shortly after the girl’s birth. Throughout the girls life, cleaning house and caring for children were the only skills that were taught to her. Women had no option to develop their individuality. Their status was identified with their husband’s status. The female role was a housewife and a mother. There was no logical reason to educate women, because their education would not serve any purpose. Women usually did not even graduate from high school. Pregnancy and marriage was very common at fourteen years of age. If women did work outside of their homes, it was usually domestic, such as a housecleaning or babysitting, but no woman had any position that had any status to it. The concept of birth control is not new. According to the article, The History of Contraception and Birth Control, women have been trying many ways to prevent pregnancy. Many of the beliefs to prevent pregnancy were folklore and/or superstitious. One of the popular ways of preventing pregnancy was throwing an ear of corn into the river. If a woman threw an ear of corn into a river, she thought she was protected from pregnancy for the entire month. Before World War 1 took place, women who attempted to prevent pregnancy was frowned upon. Although women’s choice not to have children is more acceptable today, she is expected to want to have children. Women who are perfectly able but protest they never want to have children, are considered selfish and not making their contribution in society. In the 1920’s, when World War I took place, women had to fend for themselves. Women had to find a way to survive without their husbands. The woman was responsible for providing a living for herself and her children. In the 1920’s, more women entered white-collar professions. This was the beginning of the feminist movement and the change in status and roles for women. Birth control was becoming more acceptable. “The pill would not exist without the energy and money invested by early twentieth century feminists activists such as in the U.S. Margaret Sanger and rich women philanthropists like Katherine McCormick” (Mark, 2000). Society’s prosperity and advancement depends on a growing population. If every woman decided she did not want to have children, the world would come to an abrupt end in a few short years. Even today, women are depended upon to bring the next generation to us. However since the 1960’s, as birth control was improving, the image of a woman as a housewife and mother was changing. At this time women were still expected to get married and have children, and most every woman did, but average age was 17-22. A significant difference from fourteen years of age. As the medical research profession advanced and improved birth control methods, the sexual revolution evolved. Between the 1960’s and the 1970’s choices of lifestyles were accepted in society. (Author Unknown, 2002) The article, The History of Birth Control, stated “When the pill was introduced in the 1960’s, some people saw this as a reason for immortality.” The popularity of the birth control in the 1960’s brought the sexual revolution. Women who grew up during the sexual revolution had more sexual freedom than the women before this time. Sex outside of marriage, or with no intention on getting married, was becoming increasingly common. Society’s focus changed form productionism to consumerism. (N.A. 2002) The sexual revolution leads the world into a new movement that would permanently change the identity of women. The 1970’s brought the era of the feminist movement. In Rebecca Walkowitz’s book review of Paula Kamen’s Her Way she quotes that “the basic source of women’s control over their sex lives is their financial independence.” During the sixties, the birth control pill allowed women to have sexual intercourse decreasing the chances of pregnancy. As discussed before, many years ago women as young as fourteen years of age were marrying because of pregnancy. The chances of sexual intercourse without reliable birth control increased the possibility of pregnancy. Birth control became more easily accessible in the 1960’s. Women associated this sexual freedom of participating in sexual intercourse without the requirement of a marriage commitment. Given the choice of sexual intercourse without the necessity of marriage encouraged women to stay single longer. Women were encouraged to develop their own individuality when the option of staying single and not getting pregnant was available to them.. More and more women entered into the workplace. Kamen states in her book, Her Way “the desire for sexual openness and autonomy is often associated with women of privilege and women who identify as feminists.” In the 1970’s more women found themselves staying single longer, either by choice or circumstance. Women were taking advantage of the option...