Facebook post about birth control

[Elle]

I'm alarmed at how much power the church has gained in very recent times. I'm concerned that birth control and other medical things could end up banned.

[AudreyE]

I'm serious about this, I do not think the average conservative even considers married women when discussing birth control or abortion. It's always about how "she should've thought of that before she spread her legs", not allowing for the existance of women in committed relationships that want to be able to fuck their men without becoming mommies (or expanding their brood if they already have kids).

I'm truly afraid that they ARE very aware of the impact on married women, but they just don't all have the balls yet to admit that their agenda includes married women being rendered powerless again. Give them time; they are being emboldened every day by their evangelical buddies and the punk-ass fiscal conservatives who promote this BS in order to achieve a conservative majority.

[smittykins]

And who exactly is going to pay for the umpteen babies I have if birth control is illegal? Because, I certainly can't afford them.

Ah, but doncha know that if you leave yourself open to receive God's blessings, He'll provide the resources?[/bullshit]

I also was on the Pill to treat PCOS, but I wasn't sexually active then, so that was apparently OK. :roll:

[Wolfie]

Not only that, but IF you want to have kids the pill will help your fertility, by suppressing ovulation, no ovulation NO CYST. But NOOooooo apparently there's a "natural" cure for it. Bullshit. I was on every damn vitamin, natropathic, homeopathic bullshit home remedy, and was still in blinding, horrific pain every month that even a vicodin doesn't touch. As soon as thing #2 is born and i'm fertile again, I'm going back on the #$(%ing pill.

This is why I'm on the pill. As much as I'd like to be, I haven't been in a relationship for years, so no need for it there. But it keeps my hormones under control, so no cysts and fewer migraines.

[FlorenceHamilton]

As previous posters have mentioned, their is a gross misunderstanding on the behalf of many conservative men (and women too, apparently) that women don't enjoy sex, submit to it only because it's their marital duty, and that the pill makes it harder for women who want to to say no to premarital sex resist coercion. My poor husband, who was raised fundie-lite, was taught this mindset- his world was absolutely BLOWN when I let him in on the secret that, yes, women like to fuck too. Really. And the women that don't are either not the norm (asexual) or with men who are bad lovers. (generally speaking). I asked him where the heck he got the idea that women had no interest in sex and he told me church, youth group, talks with the youth pastor, etc. All of his male peers and role models perpetuated this belief. Whenever I have to visit his childhood church I think sadly about all the poor ladies in the pews who apparently have no idea what it is to have a mindblowing orgasm.

And even though I haven't been on the pill for a few years, when I was single you would have had to pry it from my cold, dead hands. The pill didn't objectify me, it liberated me. Men need to stop telling women what they think/feel/believe. I wish I could perfect a virus that only attacked conservative men so they'd permanently lose their voices and they could all just shaddup already.

:clap: :clap: :clap:

[HijabiLady]

It's a sad, sad day when women in Saudi Arabia have more freedom over their sexuality than women in the West. They can literally walk into a pharmacy and get he pill, they don't even need a prescription. I have some friends living in KSA and they are stunned that the pill is such a hot topic over here.

[CanadianHippie]

And who exactly is going to pay for the umpteen babies I have if birth control is illegal? Because, I certainly can't afford them.

I'm married. I love sex. My husband loves sex. We're not going to stop having it anytime soon. Therefore, I will take birth control pills even if I have to smuggle them into the country illegally. Conservatives can kiss my ass and take a fucking leap off a tall building.

Us Canadians can find a way to ship BC to you gals down there under the cover of delivering marital aids.

[Dixiebelle]

Women are not objectified by birth control. Women are objectified by asshole men who see them as objects.

Then again, I suppose they have to figure out some way to make it the woman's fault again.

[Mama Mia]

Not to mention that even if you can't tolerate the pill ( some people do have horrible side effects ).. "no birth control" also covers the I.U.D. , diaphram, cervical cap, spermicides, depo, vasectomy, tubal ligation, all the new stuff they have come up with in the past 20 years etc etc etc...

I do have to say that these far-right extremists are EXCELLENT at shaping the debate - they are doing a great job of completely ignoring that birth control is not just for young, single women - it is also for the vast majority of married women. I believe ( this could be outdated ) that most married couples end up with one or the other getting surgically sterilized -- if insurance stops covering that - could most people afford it ? I doubt it.

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

This is why I'm on the pill. As much as I'd like to be, I haven't been in a relationship for years, so no need for it there. But it keeps my hormones under control, so no cysts and fewer migraines.

I do think the pill is sometimes over-prescribed for every little "female" problem, though. It seems the first thing the doctor wants to do if you're having issues is give you the pill and treat the symptoms instead of getting to the root of the problem. This is one of the reasons it took 3 years to get my endometriosis diagnosed. I know they help a lot of people, but for me, the pill was awful, it made me an emotional trainwreck and gave me 14 day bouts of bleeding. And I tried three different kinds.

(This is not to say I think they have NO place in women's lives. I just think doctors are pill-happy.)

[Hane]

Babycakes, I never felt well on the pill, and had undesirable side effects from it, so I had an endometrial ablation (praise be upon it) at 45.

I agree with you on the way it can be prescribed as a panacea. One book about perimenopause actually spoke condescendingly about surgery as an alternative to hormonal treatment for Periods From Hell.

[marmalade]

In response to the male panel trying to control our reproductive systems:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... =1&theater

FTR, I could never take the pill. I think it's because I had a brain chemical imbalance from anxiety, depression and more recently, bipolar that wasn't dx'ed until 2005. Even at age 21, or later on the lowest dose, I still had increased BP and panic attacks not related to PMS disorders.

That said, just because my body can't handle the pill, I'm not going to inhibit any other woman's right to it. FUCK NO.

[PokaDot]

All the discussions I've seen about birth control are about the slutty gal. The concept of a married woman who wants to fuck her husband but not have babies would confuse the hell out of them.

I'm serious about this, I do not think the average conservative even considers married women when discussing birth control or abortion. It's always about how "she should've thought of that before she spread her legs", not allowing for the existance of women in committed relationships that want to be able to fuck their men without becoming mommies (or expanding their brood if they already have kids).

This....

I posted the following this morning (on a FB bitch post about BC that turned into a debate): "Um.....there's nothing wrong with wanting to have sex without getting pregnant."

This is the immediate reply I got back: "Just because you don't agree with someones life styles or sexual choices doesn't give you the right to persecute that person."

My reply: "And just because you don't feel that birth control is evil doesn't mean you should deny it to people who don't agree."

I cannot believe people want to control my uterus so badly....

[Athena]

I've always been confused about the church's stance on BC and gay marriage and such. Do they think BC kills babies or is it the "every sperm is sacred" spiel?

[bellicosebroad]

As previous posters have mentioned, their is a gross misunderstanding on the behalf of many conservative men (and women too, apparently) that women don't enjoy sex, submit to it only because it's their marital duty, and that the pill makes it harder for women who want to to say no to premarital sex resist coercion. My poor husband, who was raised fundie-lite, was taught this mindset- his world was absolutely BLOWN when I let him in on the secret that, yes, women like to fuck too. Really. And the women that don't are either not the norm (asexual) or with men who are bad lovers. (generally speaking). I asked him where the heck he got the idea that women had no interest in sex and he told me church, youth group, talks with the youth pastor, etc. All of his male peers and role models perpetuated this belief. Whenever I have to visit his childhood church I think sadly about all the poor ladies in the pews who apparently have no idea what it is to have a mindblowing orgasm.

And the women that don't are either not the norm (asexual) or with men who are bad lovers. (generally speaking).

Or they've bought into the idea that it's "bad" to enjoy sex. You just aren't a good Christian woman if you like it. You "do" it as your duty, but you don't let yourself like it. Which is totally mind-fuckingly pointless, IMO.

Whenever I have to visit his childhood church I think sadly about all the poor ladies in the pews who apparently have no idea what it is to have a mindblowing orgasm.

[Caxpax]

Or they've bought into the idea that it's "bad" to enjoy sex. You just aren't a good Christian woman if you like it. You "do" it as your duty, but you don't let yourself like it. Which is totally mind-fuckingly pointless, IMO.

This too x 1 million.

It is my dream to one day infiltrate my IL's church and get all the teen girls together and teach them an awesome sex ed lesson that lets them know it is OK to want sex, it is in fact great and normal, and then teach them how to learn how to negotiate for themselves what they want, enthusiastic consent, masturbation, birth control, etc. But I know I have a better chance of getting to move to the moon so sadly it is just a dream.

Meanwhile of the pastor's 4 kids, 3 had unplanned teen pregnancies and the 4th is infertile. Um, yah. Obviously what they are teaching ain't working so well......

[shesinsane]

My mother was *very* religious. She died when I was 20, so we never really had to deal with me having sex/not having sex (I was *very* careful on my own, no coercion needed, not to do anything that might get me preggers as a teen, not because I thought sex was wrong, but because I had a couple of aunts who were teen moms and just wanted no threat of that in my own life). But I had done some completely guiltless, truly loving and fun fooling around with my HS boyfriend in her lifetime, and she was livid about it. I got that she didn't want me pregnant, and I even understood that I could be emotionally and sexually "used" to my detriment if I wasn't careful. I even got it that she thought "nothing" should happen until marriage in an Ozzie and Harriet sort of way, so I expected that friction. But it stunned me when we argued about this and she finally shouted something to the effect of, "Don't you get it? Sex is dirty! Something's wrong with you if you enjoy 'that'! I won't have my daughter thinking that's what good people do!"

I was just flabbergasted. Huh? Finally I stumbled through something like, "But sex is the only way you can have babies, and God wants you to have babies (she had four), right? And if it feels GOOD to have sex, then it must feel good so that you'll want to do it and have more babies! And if that's true, then God *made* it feel good so that you *would* have more babies. That means you're *supposed* to enjoy it. It's natural." Nope. Not only was this a totally foreign concept to her, but it horrified her that I'd think that way. To her, sex was a necessary evil to have babies, and just as childbirth was something to be endured to have a baby, so was sex. Just, unthinkable to me.

I pity someone who thinks God created sex to be pleasurable for men but merely tolerable for women. The deck is stacked against women as soon as the sex organs develop!

[Childless]

And the women that don't are either not the norm (asexual) or with men who are bad lovers. (generally speaking).

Or they've bought into the idea that it's "bad" to enjoy sex. You just aren't a good Christian woman if you like it. You "do" it as your duty, but you don't let yourself like it. Which is totally mind-fuckingly pointless, IMO.

Whenever I have to visit his childhood church I think sadly about all the poor ladies in the pews who apparently have no idea what it is to have a mindblowing orgasm.

My mother was *very* religious. She died when I was 20, so we never really had to deal with me having sex/not having sex (I was *very* careful on my own, no coercion needed, not to do anything that might get me preggers as a teen, not because I thought sex was wrong, but because I had a couple of aunts who were teen moms and just wanted no threat of that in my own life). But I had done some completely guiltless, truly loving and fun fooling around with my HS boyfriend in her lifetime, and she was livid about it. I got that she didn't want me pregnant, and I even understood that I could be emotionally and sexually "used" to my detriment if I wasn't careful. I even got it that she thought "nothing" should happen until marriage in an Ozzie and Harriet sort of way, so I expected that friction. But it stunned me when we argued about this and she finally shouted something to the effect of, "Don't you get it? Sex is dirty! Something's wrong with you if you enjoy 'that'! I won't have my daughter thinking that's what good people do!"

I was just flabbergasted. Huh? Finally I stumbled through something like, "But sex is the only way you can have babies, and God wants you to have babies (she had four), right? And if it feels GOOD to have sex, then it must feel good so that you'll want to do it and have more babies! And if that's true, then God *made* it feel good so that you *would* have more babies. That means you're *supposed* to enjoy it. It's natural." Nope. Not only was this a totally foreign concept to her, but it horrified her that I'd think that way. To her, sex was a necessary evil to have babies, and just as childbirth was something to be endured to have a baby, so was sex. Just, unthinkable to me.

[Austin]

Babycakes, I never felt well on the pill, and had undesirable side effects from it, so I had an endometrial ablation (praise be upon it) at 45.

I agree with you on the way it can be prescribed as a panacea. One book about perimenopause actually spoke condescendingly about surgery as an alternative to hormonal treatment for Periods From Hell.

I am just the opposite. I felt terrible the one time I "took a break" from it (for no good reason). On it, I have no PMS, have more energy, and have three periods a year with no cramps or any other symptoms.

So yeah, I'm one of the ones that they will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.

[Kitty]

Count me as one of those other people whose birth control will have to be pried from her cold, dead hands.

In addition to not having acne, horrible cramps, awful migraines, and irregular periods, I also don't have to constantly worry about my weight dropping back down into the 90s. I like being 105 lbs, it's a good weight for me and I feel great. On the other hand I constantly felt shitty at 95 lbs.

[EmmieJ]

I have NO IDEA where they come up with "the pill objectifies women".

So making me responsible for my own reproductive choices objectifies me? I JUST DON't GET IT. Being able to have sex anytime YOU wanted? OMG how is that objectification as opposed to liberation?

Why aren't Catholic priests and bishops out picketing runway shows; outside the corporate offices of every single "nudie" magazine publisher; and half the advertisers for the Superbowl, just to name a few entities that objectify women in order to sell products?

I agree with what appears to be the general concensus -- the Catholic Church, and fundies everywhere, don't like women having control over their bodies. They can dress it up in any language they like - but that's really what it's all about. It's about women gaining independence, having the ability to earn a decent living, control whether or not they get pregnant, and no longer having to accept a shitty life situation.

I was raised Catholic and left the church years ago. I'm going to write to my former diocese and tell them exactly what I think of the Church's repugnant stance in this area.

Second - I love sex. I happen to think a fulfilling sexual relationship with the one you love is one of the greatest joys in life. I also happen to think that casual sex is perfectly fine, if that's what you want. Goodness knows I did my fair share of one night stands when I was in my 20's. It didn't mean I was a slut - it meant that I wasn't seeing anyone in particular, then I looked across the dance floor and saw a cutie and one thing led to another, thank you very much, goodbye. I was on the Pill and used condoms to protect against STDs. After awhile, I found that kind of sex ultimately unsatisfying and stopped having casual encounters.

Now I'm 50 and involved in a deeply committed and loving relationship with a great guy. All my other past loves have only deepened my appreciation for my sweet guy. I'm sure fundies would look at me as a lost cause (yay!) and destined for the fires of hell.

And finally, I don't fall for the bogus concern: "The pill has dangerous side effects! Boogedy boogedy!" I've seen commercials for drugs that have super scary side effects, including death. If those are perfectly legal to prescribe, I don't want to hear anyone claiming the pill should be banned because of a low risk of side effects. Getting pregnant has some dangerous potential side effects as well. Getting up and walking out the door every day has potentially dangerous side effects. The water we drink, the air we breath, the chemically altered food we eat -- all have side effects. As adult women, we have the ability to decide on our own whether we find the risk acceptable or not.

[marmalade]

The Women's Approach is polling very well on my FB wall. :mrgreen:

Men: Fuck 'em & they'll fuck you.

[Knight of Ni]

Just wanted to post a comment someone made on the post.

"Feminists of today conveniently forget that many of their feminist forebears of the 1970s denounced the Pill as a device designed by male doctors for male convenience, namely, the objectification and sexual enslavement of women's bodies at the risk of their health."

To me this sounds absolutely false. However, since I wasn't alive during the 70s I can't state this certitude. Not surprisingly the poster of this comment wasn't alive during the 70s either. Can anyone here offer their insight to this person's opinion?

[Wolfie]

I do think the pill is sometimes over-prescribed for every little "female" problem, though. It seems the first thing the doctor wants to do if you're having issues is give you the pill and treat the symptoms instead of getting to the root of the problem. This is one of the reasons it took 3 years to get my endometriosis diagnosed. I know they help a lot of people, but for me, the pill was awful, it made me an emotional trainwreck and gave me 14 day bouts of bleeding. And I tried three different kinds.

(This is not to say I think they have NO place in women's lives. I just think doctors are pill-happy.)

Actually, the doctor had me trying other stuff for my migraines that were causing other issues (and the abortives can't be used when I'm at work), and for the cysts they were taking a "wait and see" attitude. I had to ask for the pill after doing a bunch of research on my own. I was worried that I might have emotional issues, but I really only do the Thursday of the week that I'm off of them. (Even my mom has noticed the timing) Migraines are very likely that day too.

[Childless]

I think men are going to be very surprised and not at all happy if birth control disappears. As much as I love sex, I will completely abstain from the intercourse version of it if I have no way to prevent pregnancy. I'm sure there are a number of women who think along the same lines. There will be a lot of pissed off guys who can't get their rocks off. I wonder why these idiots don't see the consequences of their decisions?