Convo Continued
I’m glad Shana wrote this. Betty Friedan said that women could never be equal to men without escaping their biology. I agree that naturalness is a social constructed reality, but,I’m not sure I agree withthe idea that somehow I have to escape from my womanlines, whatever I might understand that to be.
I actually don’t take birth control at all because the idea of it scares me to my very core. My reproductive cycle works perfectly and does not need to be controlled (I am also comfortable with becoming a mother if I become pregnant). I have never used the pill (or the patch or anything else) and have never become pregnant, mostly because I am careful, but I suppose luck is also involved.
I just don’t like the idea of some outside element changing what my body would otherwise do on its own. I also don’t take asprin. I don’t have a problem with people wo take asprin or birth control, but I do know that the verdict won’t be back on birth control until we’ve gone a full generation in and seen the outcomes. Birth control looks great and super safe thus far….
Period changing drugs are not fully understood in the long term (No long term sutdies have been done so even the best research scientists really have no idea about what the long term effects might be). A sign of health is a normal period cycle. I’m invested in letting my body do what my ancestors have done for thousands of years. I like it that way - and as caught up in social definitions as this is, I find it to be natural.
Others want to escape thier biology as Ms. Friedan finds to be crucial (I believe this option is crucial and have much to do with economic and social justice as well - more on that later). Well - best of luck!
Also - PMS is a socially constructed ‘disorder’ just like ‘hysteria’. Don’t let them control your body and your mind!
Ooo my first tumblr to tumblr convo! Sweet! So, I think Adrienne brings up some interesting points but I definitely have a lot to add in regards to this conversation. Bear with me if you dare!
First of all, I want to make clear is that I think this is a conversation that eventually goes back to whether you believe in choice or not. As someone whose full time job requires a very consistant and constant focus on sexual and reproductive choice, it’s never out of my mind. In the end of this convo, whether you love/hate/are indifferent about hormonal birth control, if you truly believe that women are not idiots and can make educated decisions for themselves, then you undertstand that this is all about personal choice.
That said, I do still want to address some of the issues brought up in Adrienne’s post. While I fully respect her choice in staying away from hormonal birth control, I would like to add the point of view of someone who personally is on it, and as someone who works with women who are interested in hearing about their options in regards to both hormonal and non-hormonal methods. Adrienne mentioned that she’s uncomfortable with birth control pills (BCPs) because they haven’t been out for very long. The first BCP came out in 1960, so I don’t know if you consider over 40 years as a generation, but I sure do! Obviously, the BCP from back then are not the same as the ones we have now, but then again what in the medical community hasn’t evolved in 40+ years? That’s how it works. That’s why we do drug trials (such as the one we just participated in at my clinic).
The one part of the response to my post that disturbed me was, “A sign of health is a normal period cycle.” That is one heavily loaded sentence! Did you know that a “normal” cycle can range anywhere from 21 to 40 days? For plenty of women (and I speak to them each and every day), their cycles are not a perfect 24 day. In fact, women’s periods can change for many reasons, whether it be pregnancy, breast-feeding, being around other women, travel, illness, stress, changes in diet, etc. Is a woman not healthy if her period cycle is different from yours? Heavens, no! Would I be considered “unhealthy” because my periods got thrown off by air travel? No. As one of our NPs says, “If you’re not on hormonal birth control and you miss a few periods then yeah, we want to know why. But if you’re on hormonal birth control then that bleeding isn’t necessary.” So, I suppose what I want to know is: What did Adrienne mean by a “normal period cycle” and how does that determine whether a woman is healthy or not?
As for letting her body do what her ancestors’ bodies did, my reponse is that unfortunately I don’t think she’s able to do that, or rather, she’s kind of behind on that plan… Our ancestors had fewer periods than us because they became pregnant more often, breastfed for longer, had different nutrition, and shorter life spans. Whether we like it or not, because of the time that we live in, our cycles are going to be different. So unless you want to have 8 pregnancies and breastfeed for 2 years and eschew a modern lifestyle, it’s gonna be tough doing as the ancestors did.
Another aspect that I find crucial is that skipping periods is actually helpful in cases such as endometriosis, cysts, and menoragghia. Should we consider those to be “natural” occurences for women and they should just sit and get through it? After speaking with many women who do have these conditions, I’d say no. I personally wouldn’t like to be anemic because my periods are incredibly heavy. I’m not willing to let my periods control my quality of life. Before I went on BCPs, I had cramps so bad that I’d bite down on my hand just to keep from screaming, and my flow was really heavy so that I’d constantly have to change my tampons and pads. Now that my periods are under control and less painful, I can spend more time doing feminist things instead of thrashing about in agony. :-) That’s certainly a benefit, no?
As for PMS being socially constructed, I don’t doubt that, but I think we all know that regardless of whether something is socially constructed or not, it can feel very real. Race is socially constructed, so are you saying that racism I’ve experienced should just be disregarded? It still hurts. I don’t buy “it’s socially constructed” as a good enough argument to discount real peoples’ experiences.
Here’s a fun fact: the placebo week (whe you have a false withdrawl bleeding) was actually created by the original makers of BCPs to de-vilify BCPs and the women who used them. The false bleed isn’t medically necessary, but was created to appease politicians and religious figures. It was created so that women wouldn’t be shamed for being on BCPs, and so that they could still say, “Hey, I still use pads sometimes! I’m a normal woman! See?” So if you want to argue about women’s bodies and manipulation for the sake of maintaining a sense of naturalness, then I’d say having a periods every 4 weeks is actually doing just that! Crazy!
My issue here is pretty simple. I of course encourage those who want to use birth control to do so - in fact my life is about reproductive, economic and social justice which are inevitably intertwined. Research scientists almost uniformally agree that the birth control pill has and continues to save lives: http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/OtherCancers/tb/8094
The pill is great and an important advancement for women, familes, communities and nations. I spend alot of time arguing this position.
It seems a little hasty for a non-scientist to say that taking the pill and not having a period has zero (or only a positive impact on women’s bodies). No one really knows the long term effects (because we aren’t using the same products as we were 60 years ago). Read more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/20/health/20period.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
My main point is this: I prefer my medical advice from a scientist who is fully aware of all sides of the debate medically and sociologically.
Also - I never said that PMS didn’t include real symptoms, but it surely is socially constructed and morphed into a disorder by the medical profession - I’m sure for a host of reasons (some good, some bad). Women’s bodies are public in nature (unfortunately) so these types of discussions will continue.
As for me - I like the way my body works and the concept of altering that is personally disturbing (and MY ancestors had an average of 3 children, 4 pregnancies, an amount I’m comfortable with - might wanna include a west African sample Shana, let’s not eurocentrize!) - but again this is not a referrendum to anyone else. I also note that real choice means not having to defend yourself. My body, my choice, period (and by extension - your body, your choice, period).
Please don’t question my motives - let’s leave that to the Moral Majority wackos!
AND - I’m not into missinformation - although it seems others have decided I am. Please contact me for a full list of sources for anything I write, because I am interested in truth (and not just 1.5 on a 10 point scale’s worth)
