Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 4

Smith 1

Historical Event: FDA Approves Oral Contraceptive

Throughout the 20th century America experienced many significant historical events,
from the two World Wars, to the assassination of JFK, and major civil rights legislation. These
events all had profound effects on American culture and society, however the most critical event
during the 20th century was the Food and Drug Administrations approval of the birth control pill
in 1960. This event acted as a catalyst for revolution and left a legacy of female freedom and
entitlement in its wake. Ultimately, the approval of the pill by the FDA created a culture and
society that praised the females societal position, reproductive control, and sexual freedom.

In 1960, the drug company G.D. Searle Company submitted their drug Enovid for
approval by the FDA. The FDA approved the pill on June 23rd, 1960 instigating a cultural and
societal shift that continues to effect the modern world. Longtime contraceptive activist Margaret
Sanger was pivotal to the existence of the pill, the Pill (hormonal contraception taken by mouth)
fulfilled a dream of activists Margaret Sanger and Katherine Dexter McCormick. Both spurred
its development, and McCormick paid for the research (case.edu, para. 1). Files on the approval
of the pill from the FDA state, it was a bold marketing move for the G.D. Searle Company
which feared opposition and even boycotts from the Catholic Church (p. 2). This company
understood the value shift that was happening in American culture and chose to capitalize upon
it. In the 1950s and 60s women longed for freedom and control, during the 1950s and 1960s,
increasing numbers of married women entered the labor force (Nash, p. 678). This longing was
satisfied by the FDAs approval of the pill, as this allowed women to control their reproduction.
Planned Parenthood states, fully one-third of the wage gains women have made since the 1960s
are the result of access to oral contraceptives (p. 1). The Pill created an opportunity for women
to decide their future in a consistent, safe way; a concept that was merely a fantasy prior to this.

Along with women joining and staying in the workforce, a revolution emerged in
response to the Pill. The Pill specifically acted as a spark for the womens revolution that took
hold of the country in the 1970s, the emergence of the women's rights movement of the 1960s
and 1970s was significantly related to the availability of the pill and the control over fertility it
enabled (NCBI, para. 2). Control over fertility is what allowed women to take control over the
rest of their lives, including work outside the home, leading to a discussion about their equality
in all areas of society, including equal pay and opportunity. This relationship between
reproductive control and societal position is discussed by Nash, more radical feminists insisted
that traditional gender and family roles would have to be discarded to end social exploitation (p.
679). The discussion of societal position leads us to the powerful impact the pill had on the
American perspective of sex and its relevance.

Prior to the pills approval, sex was simply associated with procreation, and was often a
taboo subject (Time). These perspective changed as the pill allowed sex to become a habit,
something that one could engage in with much smaller consequences, sexual norms underwent
a revolution as more people separated sex from its traditional ties to family (Nash, p. 660). This
shift devalued the importance of sex both in terms of society as a whole and within individual
relationships. Before the pill many women engaged in premarital sexual relations but did so with
many fears,
Smith 2

each and every time an unmarried woman had intercourse, she risked pregnancy, and
with it a limited number of unsavory life- changing options: an illegal abortion of
doubtful safety, a shotgun wedding, forced adoption, or single motherhood of a child
whose birth certificate would be stamped for posterity with the word illegitimate.
(alternet.org, para. 5).
Through the use of the pill women could have as much sex as they desired, free from the fear of
becoming pregnant. This was a monumental allowance for women, as it released them from the
bonds of marriage and motherhood in relationship to sex, Americans of all social classes
became more open to exploring, and enjoying, their sexuality (Nash, p. 660). The value of
sexual freedom remains prominent in todays society as demonstrated by popular culture.

One of pop cultures most significant comments on sexuality is regarding the correct time
for losing ones virginity, you have to lose your virginity in high school or everything after that
will suck forever because you're the biggest loser ever [] an attitude that's entirely responsible
for actual humans thinking they need to get laid ASAP, by any means necessary (Bustle, para.
5). This demonstrates the effect that the Pill has on sexual relations, because of the Pill girls can
now be expected to have sex in high school, if not earlier, as there is no longer a fear of
becoming pregnant; therefore, nothing should stop them from fully enjoying all of lifes
pleasures. It also intends to normalize sex, as something that everyone does and should be doig
as regularly as possible. This type of attitude is further assisted by the statistic that only two in
ten of [girls born during the sexual revolution] would be virgins at marriage (alternet, org, para.
7). This type of attitude about sex and virginity would not have been possible without the
assistance of the Pill.

The FDAs approval of the oral contraceptive has altered society in significant ways. The
Pill allowed women the opportunity to stay in the workforce without fear of pregnancy, leading
to a debate on the need for womens equality throughout society. Next, the Pill introduced the
power of reproductive control on sexual relations leading to the womens sexual revolution of the
1970s. Finally, the Pill effected society by making sexual freedom a norm and expectation as
demonstrated by pop cultures portrayal of normal sexual behavior. These various effects
culminate to create a society that no longer values sex as a sacred act, but rather another
enjoyable pastime. This blas perspective has greatly effected the morals and values of American
culture, making the Pills FDA approval the most significant historical event in the 20th century.
Smith 3

References

Planned Parenthood. (2015). Birth Control Has Expanded Opportunity for Women [Brochure].

Author. Retrieved April 26, 2017, from

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/1614/3275/8659/BC_factsheet_may2015_updat

ed_1.pdf

Enovid Files: New Drug Application [PDF]. (2000, October 21). Washington D.C.: Department

of Health and Human Services.

George, K. (2014, October 26). 6 Seriously Damaging Things About Sex That Pop Culture Has

Made Us Believe. Retrieved May 01, 2017, from https://www.bustle.com/articles/45826-

6-seriously-damaging-things-about-sex-that-pop-culture-has-made-us-believe

Gibson, M. (2015, June 23). Birth Control Pill Enovid 55 Year Anniversary. Retrieved April 26,

2017, from http://time.com/3929971/enovid-the-pill/

Nancy L. Cohen / Counterpoint Press. (2012, February 05). How the Sexual Revolution Changed

America Forever. Retrieved April 26, 2017, from

http://www.alternet.org/story/153969/how_the_sexual_revolution_changed_america_fore

ver

Oral Contraceptive Pill. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2017, from

https://case.edu/affil/skuyhistcontraception/online-2012/pill.html

Tyrer, L. (1999, January). Introduction of the pill and its impact. Retrieved April 26, 2017, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10342090
Smith 4

Вам также может понравиться