The pill - most significant event of the 20th century?
When you ask people what they consider to be the most important event of the 20th century you will get a long list of answers. The century was full of changes in ever walk of life, from the political to the scientific. The invention of the pill in 1961 may not be frequently noted as the most significant event in the century that brought us mass genocide and political revolution but it has non the less been crucial in shaping the world we live in today.
The change it brought affected every section of society, spurring mass social change, developing political policy and transforming the world of health. It has consistently been called “the most important scientific event of the 20th century”.
The pill was the first oral contraception for women. First introduced in 1961 to married couples its potential was quickly realised, with over 1million women being prescribed it by the end of the decade. Although the pill was important in reducing the strain on families its effects were limited to helping those already married. 1974 saw the pill being prescribed to single women for the first time, a crucial step in the sexual liberation that came to transform attitudes in the 20th century.
Before the pill the potential of women’s lives was restricted. Most were expected to marry young and raise an ever-growing family. Although women were being accepted in the world of further education and work for the first time this access was limited by the risk they would get pregnant. Careers and fulfilling sexual relationships were available but on the whole were mutual exclusive.
The pill brought new access to the realm of work and success. Employers were more likely to hire women as they were less likely to get pregnant, and so would be less of a threat to their company. More women postponed marriage and children so they could first get a higher education to open up their opportunities.
New, more effective contraception did not just change the prospects of women. Social structures that had been in place for generations were crumbling. The controversy of the pill brought the topic of sex into the media. Today it is accepted that to improve sexual health it is important that people are open about it. We see sex discussed on the TV, in books, in films and in the news everyday and no one bats an eyelid. We are benefiting from changes of the pill even if we never intend to take it ourselves. 50 years ago sex was a taboo topic, it is astonishing how this attitude is almost not where to be found only half a century later. The introduction of the pill took sex and changed it; separating it into its component parts of enjoyment and reproduction. It allowed people to experience sexual fulfilment for the first time without the risk of pregnancy.
No longer constrained to marriage and no longer leading to inevitable conclusions the social impacts of its introduction were extraordinary. Once dating a woman came with the understanding that if she got pregnant, you would marry and make honest women out of her. When the pill came in this new control meant it became a women’s responsibility and this expectation went away. Some would argue that the pill made marriage harder to come by for women. You can question how far this is a negative thing however, if people were marrying purely because they had to then surely relationships today are more likely to be built on a proper basis of love and commitment rather than convenience.
Today around 2million women use the pill and over 70% of women have been on it at some point in their lives. Although this number has been dropping in recent years due to the variety in other forms of contraception it does not detract away from its significance. The pill changed the lives of everyone; male, female, young and old without the pill we would not be living in the world we live in today.
The change it brought affected every section of society, spurring mass social change, developing political policy and transforming the world of health. It has consistently been called “the most important scientific event of the 20th century”.
The pill was the first oral contraception for women. First introduced in 1961 to married couples its potential was quickly realised, with over 1million women being prescribed it by the end of the decade. Although the pill was important in reducing the strain on families its effects were limited to helping those already married. 1974 saw the pill being prescribed to single women for the first time, a crucial step in the sexual liberation that came to transform attitudes in the 20th century.
Before the pill the potential of women’s lives was restricted. Most were expected to marry young and raise an ever-growing family. Although women were being accepted in the world of further education and work for the first time this access was limited by the risk they would get pregnant. Careers and fulfilling sexual relationships were available but on the whole were mutual exclusive.
The pill brought new access to the realm of work and success. Employers were more likely to hire women as they were less likely to get pregnant, and so would be less of a threat to their company. More women postponed marriage and children so they could first get a higher education to open up their opportunities.
New, more effective contraception did not just change the prospects of women. Social structures that had been in place for generations were crumbling. The controversy of the pill brought the topic of sex into the media. Today it is accepted that to improve sexual health it is important that people are open about it. We see sex discussed on the TV, in books, in films and in the news everyday and no one bats an eyelid. We are benefiting from changes of the pill even if we never intend to take it ourselves. 50 years ago sex was a taboo topic, it is astonishing how this attitude is almost not where to be found only half a century later. The introduction of the pill took sex and changed it; separating it into its component parts of enjoyment and reproduction. It allowed people to experience sexual fulfilment for the first time without the risk of pregnancy.
No longer constrained to marriage and no longer leading to inevitable conclusions the social impacts of its introduction were extraordinary. Once dating a woman came with the understanding that if she got pregnant, you would marry and make honest women out of her. When the pill came in this new control meant it became a women’s responsibility and this expectation went away. Some would argue that the pill made marriage harder to come by for women. You can question how far this is a negative thing however, if people were marrying purely because they had to then surely relationships today are more likely to be built on a proper basis of love and commitment rather than convenience.
Today around 2million women use the pill and over 70% of women have been on it at some point in their lives. Although this number has been dropping in recent years due to the variety in other forms of contraception it does not detract away from its significance. The pill changed the lives of everyone; male, female, young and old without the pill we would not be living in the world we live in today.