Contraception's past discussed at women's history panel


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A jar of condoms and bumper stickers sits among pamphlets and literature, as well as books on the topic available from CMU’s Park library March 24. The event, featuring speakers about the history of contraception, is a part of CMU’s Women’s History Month in the Baber room.

Alligator dung and honey. Drinking a mixture of mercury and lead. A cloth soaked in chemicals. 

Those are just some of the methods both men and women used as contraceptives thousands of years ago.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Women and Gender Studies program hosted a panel called “Her Own Devices: A Cultural History of Contraception.” They discussed the history of contraception at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24 in the Charles V. Park Library's Baber Room. 

Brittany Fremion, one of the panelists and a faculty member in the history department, said while early methods of birth control are silly and crude, they are still creative.

“Since thousands of years ago, men and women have tried to take control of their procreation,” Fremion said. “They were definitely very creative, but you have to understand that people back then did not understand how reproduction worked.”

While contraceptives have evolved from using raw animal products, to today's medically-approved devices and medications, she said, many of the same sexual concerns exist. 

“Now that people are using contraceptives more, women still are not thinking as much about protection with sexually transmitted infections and HIV,” Fremion said. “It is absolutely necessary and I hope people stay interested and continue to be interested (in having contraception.)”

Sara Moslener, philosophy and religion professor, said generally religion and sexuality are opposed, but contraception has  a long history of both religious opposition and support.

“Roman Catholic hierarchy where the major opponents,” Moslener said. “They created a separation between sexuality and procreation. But the first people to express interest in planned parenthood were Protestant and Jewish clergymen so they could offer support to couples in marital counseling on the topics of pregnancy and contraceptives.”

Panelist and Brutus junior Lexi Achterhoff, a member of Voices for Planned Parenthood, expressed the need for contraceptives in today’s culture.

“(Voices for Planned Parenthood) was started as a reaction to Planned Parenthood being shut down. We wanted students involved in helping with resources about contraceptives,” Achterhoff said. “There are a lot more types of contraceptives than people realize exist to prevent pregnancy, both hormonal and non hormonal.”

Achterhoff said that out of the 50 states, only 24 require sexual education classes in school, and only 4 states require the information to be medically accurate.

“People deserve to know how to have consensual sex safely while knowing their options and what they can do if something happens,” she said. “We have tons of people that don’t have access to birth control and that is really scary.”

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