History of contraception (found 158 titles)

Condom Nation: The U.S. Government's Sex Education Campaign from World War I to the Internet

Author: Alexandra M. Lord
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date: 2009-11-23
ISBN: 0801893801
Pages: 240
Rating:
Price: $40.00

This history of the U.S. Public Health Service's efforts to educate Americans about sex makes clear why federally funded sex education has been haphazard, ad hoc, and often ineffectual.

Since launching its first sex ed program during World War I, the Public Health Service has dominated federal sex education efforts. Alexandra M. Lord draws on medical research, news reports, the expansive records of the Public Health Service, and interviews with former surgeons general to examine these efforts, from early initiatives through the administration of George W. Bush.

Giving equal voice to many groups in America -- middle class, working class, black, white, urban, rural, Christian and non-Christian, scientist and theologian -- Lord explores how federal officials struggled to create sex education programs that balanced cultural and public health concerns. She details how the Public Health Service left an indelible mark on federally and privately funded sex education programs through partnerships and initiatives with community organizations, public schools, foundations, corporations, and religious groups. In the process, Lord explains how tensions among these organizations and local, state, and federal officials often exacerbated existing controversies about sexual behavior. She also discusses why the Public Health Service's promotional tactics sometimes inadvertently fueled public fears about the federal government's goals in promoting, or not promoting, sex education.

This thoroughly documented and compelling history of the U.S. Public Health Service's involvement in sex education provides new insights into one of the most contested subjects in America.

Customes reviews 1

The Thwarted History of the PHS and Sex Education (2010-02-01)

America is not a "condom nation." American teenagers, for instance, have about the same rate of sexual activity as their European contemporaries. But they have a higher rate of sexually transmitted diseases, and of unplanned pregnancies, and of abortions. They aren't using condoms the way they ought. But _Condom Nation: The U.S. Government's Sex Education Campaign from World War I to the Internet_ (Johns Hopkins University Press) is the title Alexandra M. Lord has given her book (can it be that she was not only being ironic, but was punning on "condemnation"?). Condoms work, and so do IUDs or the pill or other measures if all you want to do is prevent pregnancies. That's a good thing, but the bad thing is that they keep people who enjoy sex from bearing what other people think they ought to have as consequences from enjoying sex. Americans have a split on the issue: using a condom is a responsible action, but having the sex that makes using a condom a responsible action, well, that's irresponsible and immoral. Lord, a former historian for the Public Health Service, has documented this ambivalent stance throughout her fascinating book, which surprises throughout in showing just how little sex education changed through the twentieth century, even though we profited from an increase in scientific knowledge and from improved contraceptive and prophylactic technologies.

When science began to understand the role germs played in illness, the Marine Health Service (formed by the federal government to help ill seamen) performed such non-nautical efforts as investigating dairies for typhoid. The organization became the Public Health Service in 1912. There wasn't anything controversial about the PHS fighting typhoid, tuberculosis, or malaria: they weren't connected to sex. After World War One, with growing confidence that there was effective treatment for syphilis and gonorrhea, the PHS constructed its health education against disease, not against pregnancy; babies were held to be the welcome effect of sex, which ought to happen in marriage anyway. By 1937, the PHS broke the taboo on mentioning condoms, referring to them in a short sentence in a pamphlet on syphilis and gonorrhea that explained that condoms protect both the man and the woman. The government was not interested in preventing pregnancies, and no contraceptive use of condoms was mentioned. In the years around World War Two, when soldiers were being briefed on the necessity of condoms, kids in school were not. Conservative teaching was just what was expected when C. Everett Koop was appointed by President Reagan in 1981 to be surgeon general. Progressives were worried that the born-again Koop was only there to appease evangelicals and to reverse the legality of abortions. Koop knew little about Washington, and assumed he would be able to advocate sex education any way he thought best. For the first five years of his tenure, however, he was forbidden to talk publically about the newly-understood AIDS epidemic. When unleashed, he spoke like a doctor but not the way the fundamentalists wanted him to. His 36-page report on AIDS was widely disseminated in 1986, and not only did it explain that the disease was a public menace (not just to "any one segment of society"), and that those who merely shook hands, kissed, used public restrooms, or masturbated were safe from it, it also depicted condoms and stressed their usefulness. Koop thought he was building a bridge between religion and science, but he alienated many Christian fundamentalists, who named him the "Condom King." Such fundamentalists were much more comfortable with abstinence-only programs which were pushed especially during the second Bush presidency. (The biggest news during the Clinton years, besides the education many people got about what oral sex was, was when his appointed surgeon general Joycelyn Elders publically announced that masturbation was part of human sexuality and might be a subject of classroom discussion, a harmless and correct stance that got her fired.) The medical and moral forces on the abstinence question continually talk past each other: yes, if you abstain you can never get pregnant or catch a disease from sex; but yes, people are not by nature abstinent and need other tools. Not only was abstinence stressed, there was condom-bashing that was unscientific and untrue. It isn't surprising that teens who took abstinence-before-marriage pledges broke them almost 90% of the time, but they were far less likely (perhaps because they had been told how wicked or unreliable condoms were) to use condoms. It isn't surprising that many states were refusing to accept federal dollars for abstinence nonsense.

Lord's book provides an entertaining and useful historic overview that shows, mostly, that we have not gotten far from where the PHS started. In 1918, parents and teachers were in favor of government-sponsored sex education; today, they still are. The question has always been what to teach, and it has always been colored by our worry about sex, and that young people indulge in it, and even that some of them might masturbate. If the best we can come up with after all this time is abstinence, it is hard to be optimistic that the PHS will be able to get useful scientific advice out to the public as long as conservative religious forces are holding it back.

Choice and Coercion: Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in Public Health and Welfare (Gender and American Culture)

Author: Johanna Schoen
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date: 2005-03-07
ISBN: 0807855855
Pages: 384
Rating:
Price: $21.95

In August 2003, North Carolina became the first U.S. state to offer restitution to victims of state-ordered sterilizations carried out by its eugenics program between 1929 and 1975. The decision was prompted by newspaper stories based on the research of Johanna Schoen, who was granted unique access to summaries of 7,500 case histories and the papers of the North Carolina Eugenics Board.

In this book, Schoen situates the state's reproductive politics in a national and global context. Widening her focus to include birth control, sterilization, and abortion policies across the nation, she demonstrates how each method for limiting unwanted pregnancies had the potential both to expand and to limit women's reproductive choices. Such programs overwhelmingly targeted poor and nonwhite populations, yet they also extended a measure of reproductive control to poor women that was previously out of reach.

On an international level, the United States has influenced reproductive health policies by, for example, tying foreign aid to the recipients' compliance with U.S. notions about family planning. The availability of U.S.-funded family planning aid has proved to be a double-edged sword, offering unprecedented opportunities to poor women while subjecting foreign patients to medical experimentation that would be considered unacceptable at home.

Drawing on the voices of health and science professionals, civic benefactors, and the women themselves, Schoen's study allows deeper understandings of the modern welfare state and the lives of American women.

Customes reviews 1

coercion and choice (2008-09-24)

Life is more complex.100 million americans are single and finding and maintaining a lasting relationship has become increasingly difficult.
If you value this book you will almost certainly enjoy "Single a documentary film" also available on Amazon.com[...] for a realistic...up to the minute perspective.

When Sex Goes to School: Warring Views on Sex--and Sex Education--Since the Sixties

Author: Kristin Luker
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date: 2007-04-17
ISBN: 0393329968
Pages: 384
Rating:
Price: $16.95

"It is difficult to imagine a juicier subject, or a more thoughtful, fluent, trustworthy guide for its exploration."—San Francisco Chronicle A chronicle of the two decades that noted sociologist Kristin Luker spent following parents in four America communities engaged in a passionate war of ideas and values, When Sex Goes to School explores a conflict with stakes that are deceptively simple and painfully personal. For these parents, the question of how their children should be taught about sex cuts far deeper than politics, religion, or even friendship.

"The drama of this book comes from watching the exceptionally thoughtful Luker try to figure [sex education] out" (Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book Review). In doing so, Luker also traces the origins of sex education from the turn-of-the-century hygienist movement to the marriage-obsessed 1950s and the sexual and gender upheavals of the 1960s. Her unexpected conclusions make it impossible to look at the intersections of the private and the political in the same way. .

Customes reviews 4

Frustrating and of questionable value (2008-03-26)

Luker's structure for understanding the debate on sex in America (it's in the subtitle) is extremely limited. It's overwhelmingly (altho not exclusively) white, heterocentric (that is pretty much exclusively) and suburban/small town. If I thought she understood there was a problem with not discussing the treatment of homosexuality when discussing sex education in America (because she mostly ignores it), it might bother me less, but she's so focused on understanding the different gender roles, she's locked into the conservatives duality. As usual, as a sociologist, her lack of historical perspective undermines her argument. Worse, her assertion about the "original" definition of "hierarchy" is just wrong, and in bending over backwards to avoid words like "patriarchy" and "oppression", she signs off on previous generations' enforcement of cultural norms at the expense of minorities and other groups with little power.

If I thought I could trust the rest of the work, these might be issues I could work around. But there are instances of circular argument; she quotes conservative activists repeatedly without acknowledging bias without doing the same for liberals; she repeatedly misrepresents "sexual liberals" and persists in misunderstanding what her interviewees were telling her.

Her background and credentials suggests she's doing this to "prove" that she's being "fair" to the conservatives. In practice, I kept thinking that she'd be a conservative herself, except for the niggling little problem that she'd have to give up her position unless she could also magically become a man (because doing it through surgery would surely be unacceptable to the conservatives!).

I wish I knew of a better book on the topic.

Interesting & Fair Discussion of Hot-Button Issue (2007-11-16)

I was pleasantly surprised by the generally fair presentation by Dr. Luker in "When Sex Goes to School". Given that she is a feminist sociologist at UC Berkeley, I had expected a very biased treatment of those holding traditional views of sexuality. However, she demonstrated a real understanding of the issues, particularly in how conservatives are not "anti-sex" (the typical liberal claim) but in actuality value sex very highly as something sacred. The whole battle stems from the two sides holding fundamentally different views of sexuality: something "natural" vs. something sacred.

The one thing that annoyed me about the book was Dr. Luker's stereotypes about conservative women. She portrays them all as less interested in education & career and believers in patriarchy. We may be traditional in certain areas, but that doesn't mean we're traditional in *everything*. We may be bright & ambitious, feel that men & women are equal (although not identical), and still hold that the proper place for sex is between a husband & wife.

Great writing from a great sociologist (2007-09-19)

This was an engaging book to read and it was also well researched. I had Kristen Luker as a professor and true to form, she is fair in her research and portrays both sides of an issue so that each makes sense to the reader. She is a very talented sociologist and unlike some sociologists, she's also manages to write an interesting book. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the debate over sex education.

Useful but limited (2006-10-23)

Kristin Luker has chosen a curious method to produce a strange amalgam of a book: she talks to local extremists so she can use sex education as a prism for understanding sex in America.

While the political battles over sex education might deserve a book unto themselves, and while sex education certainly can't be divorced from our culture's shifting notions about sexuality, Luker's method leaves one wondering how much one has actually learned about either from reading the book.

As Luker acknowledges in passing, her method of choosing subjects to interview leaves out the entire sensible center, if such there be, on debates about sex education. And as she makes clear, passionate extremists on both sides of the fights generally have difficulty articulating their reasons clearly, and they generally don't understand each other very well. Luker provides on her interviewees' behalfs the articulation they can't provide for themselves. Curious research method, don't you think?

Luker offers that the warring camps fall into the "sacralists" versus the "secularists." I suspect readers will differ on how adequate they find these grossly simplified generalizations. I find some value, in sort of a quick-sketch-on-the-back-of-a-napkin sense, in drawing the contrasts as Luker draws them.

But I'm not entirely enthusiastic about Luker's belief that she's found a good prism for viewing sex in America. Local extremists all worked up about school curricula may not be the most representative sample on the broader issue of sex in our society.

The Moral Property of Women: A History of Birth Control Politics in America

Author: Linda Gordon
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Publication date: 2007-03-12
ISBN: 0252074599
Pages: 464
Price: $25.00

More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want

Author: Robert Engelman
Publisher: Island Press
Publication date: 2008-05-08
ISBN: 1597260193
Pages: 320
Rating:
Price: $24.95

Customes reviews 14

"More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want (2010-02-26)

This book is written well, with extensive research, numerous statistics and a sense of humor. The author is vice president for programs at the Worldwatch Institute and was formerly vice president for research at Population Action International. There are ten chapters with interesting titles, such as "The Grandmother of Invention", "Punishing Eve", and "Zen and the Art of Population Maintenance." Early in the Preface there is an intriguing quote; "A population activist named Sharon Camp happened to suggest that if all the world's women could determine for themselves when and when not to have children, population problems would resolve themselves with no need for government "control." This is the theme of the book.
As a result of its strong ties to social norms, politics, and religion, I have always found the population problem to be challenging and frustrating. I found "More" to be an encouraging book, and recommend it to everyone with an interest in the long term future of humanity and our world. More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want

Reproductive rights are the single most catalytic ingredient of environmental and social sustainability (2009-08-06)

"More" is on the ROROTOKO list of cutting-edge intellectual nonfiction. Robert Engelman's book interview ran here as cover feature on March 27, 2009.

An important book for today's world (2009-06-17)

Probably the most important book I have read this year. His solution to overpopulation is rather simple and only really involves giving women their basic human rights. The solution basically boils down to simply giving women power over their own bodies, and the right to choose what is best for themselves. What the author shows the reader is that when women are allowed to control their own reproduction then they make choices that are not only best for themselves, but also what is best for their families and in the end for their communities as well. This makes the author's position very easy to defend because even if you don't believe the world suffers from overpopulation it doesn't matter because the author is saying that women should decide what is right for themselves. If you don't agree with his basic premise it is still very hard to try and assail his solution.

The author does an excellent job detailing the history of sex as well. The author puts forward a lot of ideas that at the very least will make the reader think. His discussion on the history of birth control was fascinating. I did not realize that so much had come before modern methods. What this history shows in the end is the importance of giving women (and men) options.

Whether you agree with the author or not, his book is a very interesting and entertaining read. While a lot of it is heavy lifting, the author adds some comical asides every now and then to lighten the load. I think this is a very important read. The history is fascinating and the author's own experience adds a tremendous amount of perspective to this very important topic. You need to read this book.

More Gives Much Food For Thought (2009-06-03)

Bravo for such an honest and intuitive book!

"More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want" By Robert Engelman addresses the topic of population growth and Engelman proposes the feasibility and opportunity of sequentially changing the world in terms of environment, health, and economics if we begin with and listen to our child bearers. Any control, such as it is, should begin and end with the individual decisions of women.

"More" accomplishes many tasks: First, it gives us a fascinating perspective of historical, scientific, sociological, cultural, and statistical data which illustrate how population and subsequent attitudes evolved. But don't let that put you off - it does not read with the pontification of a dry textbook. Engelman presents the information in an easy-going, conversational manner that's often punctuated with piquant humor.

Much of Engelman's statistical data and research was gathered over a 20-some-year period while serving as vice president for research at "Population Action International." Engelman is currently the vice president for programs at the "Worldwatch Institute."

One of the things we are reminded is that the topic of population and population growth with impact on economics, natural resources, and health care is not a new issue that popped up 10 minutes ago. Economists, writers, and philosophers have debated and analyzed population growth for centuries and Engelman gives us insightful overviews and predictions from such individuals including "Hale," Graunt," "Malthus" and "Wollstonecraft."

Secondly, Engelman tells us, based on years of travel and interviews what women around the world think. And to quote the author, "Mothers aren't seeking more children, but more for their children."

Cities and towns in developing countries (such as Accra, the capital of Ghana) are listening to women as well by offering reproductive health care. Clinics are made available to both men and women and inspire women to take charge of their lives and future. To quote the author, "The pervasive message is that staying healthy and making life plans are good - and not hard to do." Women are encouraged to decide for themselves when to start a family as well as the size of said family. Who better to know what's best than the child bearer and her partner.

"More" does not have to be taken as a political or religious indictment and the point is not to attack the reader's belief system. "More" is designed to propose ideas and (possible outcomes) based on the past and present and give the reader something to ponder. "More" is meant to enlighten. And as with any issue, change cannot begin until the issue is questioned and acknowledged.

More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want

interesting and thought-provoking (2009-05-22)

Any man who writes a book with "what women want" in the title opens himself to mockery, but Engelman's conclusion is close enough to the Wife of Bath's that he can almost be forgiven it.

Taking a Malthusian view of population increase, Engelman notes that the "natural" curbs on population growth outpacing sustainability are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Famine, War, and Pestilence (Death, as Engelman notes, is just the body-collector for the other 3). However, Engelman sees a better way: given access to a complete portfolio of family planning services, women (on average) tend to choose a sustainable population level. Not men. No doubt this is because typical women's reproductive agendas (fewer children, higher level of investment) is more adapted to a crowded planet than the typical man's. However it is a more empowering philosophy than trying to force population control through government.

Included in this book is a history of demographics, a history of family planning, and Engelman's interesting reading of some Biblical stories through the eyes of his own concerns. And the interesting fact that George H.W. Bush used to be such a proponent of family planning that he got the nickname "Rubbers" before he sold out to the Reaganites.

Revolutionary Conceptions: Women, Fertility, and Family Limitation in America, 1760-1820 (Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American Hist)

Author: Susan E. Klepp
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date: 2009-12-01
ISBN: 0807859923
Pages: 352
Rating:
Price: $24.95

In the Age of Revolution, how did American women conceive their lives and marital obligations? By examining the attitudes and behaviors surrounding the contentious issues of family, contraception, abortion, sexuality, beauty, and identity, Susan E. Klepp demonstrates that many women--rural and urban, free and enslaved--began to radically redefine motherhood. They asserted, or attempted to assert, control over their bodies, their marriages, and their daughters' opportunities.

Late-eighteenth-century American women were among the first in the world to disavow the continual childbearing and large families that had long been considered ideal. Liberty, equality, and heartfelt religion led to new conceptions of virtuous, rational womanhood and responsible parenthood. These changes can be seen in falling birthrates, in advice to friends and kin, in portraits, and in a gradual, even reluctant, shift in men's opinions. Revolutionary-era women redefined femininity, fertility, family, and their futures by limiting births. Women might not have won the vote in the new Republic, they might not have gained formal rights in other spheres, but, Klepp argues, there was a women's revolution nonetheless.

Customes reviews 1

the revolution behind the scenes (2010-01-22)

The United States did not seek to regulate contraception and abortion until the mid-nineteenth century. Family size peaked in the mid-eighteenth century. What happened in between? That, in a nutshell, is Klepp's topic in Revolutionary Conceptions. Klepp maintains that while the American Revolution was unfolding on the world stage, another, female-led revolution was unfolding behind the scenes as American couples began to delay marriage, space births, and curtail childbearing several years before the wives reached menopause. These changes transformed the pattern of women's lives and their very conception of their purpose in life.

This engaging book is a surprisingly quick read as scholarly works go. It has a strong statistical foundation, with due attention to regional and class differences. Klepp approaches her topic imaginatively: in one lavishly illustrated chapter, she explores how images of women gradually changed from emphasizing fertility to emphasizing self-control. The chapter on the technology of birth control is less satisfactory because Klepp doesn't wrap it up with a clear assessment of exactly how the typical Revolutionary-era woman limited family size, but she does at least provide a comprehensive overview of the full range of methods available, with an emphasis on emmenagogues. In short, Revolutionary Conceptions is a well-researched and fascinating book that challenges many previous theories about when and why Americans began to limit family size. Highly recommended.

This Man's Pill: Reflections on the 50th Birthday of the Pill (Popular Science)

Author: Carl Djerassi
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date: 2004-01-29
ISBN: 0198606958
Pages: 320
Price: $31.50

Most scientists are lucky if they can base a career on one big discovery. Carl Djerassi, who first synthesized the birth control pill, has managed to squeeze two careers--so far--out of that feat. His memoir, This Man's Pill, published on the pill's 50th birthday, is a warm and funny reflection on his work as research chemist and man of letters; with several novels and plays under his belt, Djerassi is an insightful writer far past the journeyman stage. Exploring the pill's reception and the various battles it's faced internationally, he offers his own thoughts on the subjects of medical ethics, sexuality, and politics while sharing his complex life story. Reminiscent of Richard Feynman's playfully free spirit, Djerassi's voice will inspire readers interested in the confluence of science and art. --Rob Lightner

The Ovulation Method: Natural Family Planning

Author: John J. Billings
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Publication date: 1984-12
ISBN: 0814610110
Pages: 40
Rating:
Price: $9.95

Customes reviews 8

Natural (2010-03-03)

I enjoyed the Ovulation Method Book. It really help me out to understand what I need to do in order to get pregnant.

Very Effective!!!! (2007-07-15)

I have been on the Billings Ovulation Method for a few years now and beleive me, if you don't cheat it is 99.99% effective. The downfall to this method is that you are not suppose to know exactly how to use it without instruction. There are ways to contact these instructers that can guide you through the process for a fee. Check with your local womens center or life center, they can help. I was able to go through my training course right here in my home for thirty dollars, and you don't have to be Catholic to use it. Good luck to you.

PS.. I did get pregnant during the time of practicing this method but it is because we chose to cheat on my most fertile day. An Anniversary and a few drinks will impair judgement like that so be careful...lol

Promotes the method but doesn't teach it (2007-07-12)

This slim book promotes the Ovulation Method, profiling its advantages and utility. But it is not an instruction book. I'm only giving it three starts because although it's well-written I'm not sure who the intended audience is, or what group might find it useful.

For someone looking to learn a mucus-only method, I would look to "The Billings Method:Controlling Fertility Without Drugs or Devices" by Evelyn Billings. For someone just interested in any kind of fertility charting, not specifically a mucus-only method, I highly recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler as the definitive book in this category.

Well worth it! (2007-01-13)

The ovulation book was great. The book was a good price, it was packed full of information and came with a chart and pleanty of stickers to get you and your spouse started on the wonderful journey of natural family planning.

Could be Better (2005-07-07)

I was hoping that the book went into better detail. It did not help me. However, it was informative and an easy read.

Fixing Men: Sex, Birth Control, and AIDS in Mexico

Author: Matthew Gutmann
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication date: 2007-11-06
ISBN: 0520253302
Pages: 280
Rating:
Price: $21.95

Most studies on reproductive rights make women their focus, but in Fixing Men, Matthew Gutmann illuminates what men in the Mexican state of Oaxaca say and do about contraception, sex, and AIDS. Based on extensive fieldwork, this breakthrough study by a preeminent anthropologist of men and masculinities reveals how these men and the women in their lives make decisions about birth control, how they cope with the plague of AIDS, and the contradictory healing techniques biomedical and indigenous medical practitioners employ for infertility, impotence, and infidelity. Gutmann talks with men during and after their vasectomies and discovers why some opt for sterilization while so many others feel "planned out of family planning."

Customes reviews 1

Don't Forget the Superstructure! (2008-12-20)

This book made me think about a comment from Professor Robert Richmond Ellis. He stated that he was going to write a book about Spanish-speaking gay autobiographies, but he learned that Latin American works always brought up issues of race in ways that Spanish counterparts did not. I didn't read Professor Gutmann's book about masculinity in Mexico City, but I imagine that this book may be its diametrical opposite in that Oaxaca is presented as rural and having a large indigenous population.

Professor Gutmann is very interested in the superstructure. Whereas other academics or laypeople would point to culture as the reason for most phenomena, this author points to governmental rules, global companies' profits, economies, and international migration as the cause of many items. For example, he stated that Chinese men don't choose to use condoms for fun; their government's one-child policy forces them to use protection. With regard to Mexico, he notes that the Mexican government is complicit with global pill companies in not bringing the price of HIV meds down. He states that if family planning clinics only focus on women, then few men will know they have the option of getting a vasectomy. In the book, one chapter tends to speak about these superstructural matters and the following chapter would speak about the author's everyday conversations with Oaxacans. For readers that don't care for academic-speak, they can easily skip over the more complicated chapters.

The penultimate chapter on indigenous healing is a bit extraneous. He begins by saying curanderos often don't employ rigid dichotomies between the sexes. The chapter only marginally speaks of men's sexual choices. It's kinda just a way to lengthen the book.

Dr. Gutmann becomes upset when any Mexican says, "Mexican men get HIV because they are so horny, that they'll even sleep with men." Logically, he points out to such speakers that when he asks of any man who has kicked it with men they say no. A huge purpose in this book is for him to detail other ways that Oaxacan men catch HIV. However, by finding the exceptions, he may be hiding the rule in a dangerous way. There is a book about gays and HIV in the Yucatan and the American professor there detailed the many ways that HIV-positive Mexican men do everything possible to not reveal same-sex action. Gutmann himself interviews many Mexican men that admit that they have had sex with gay men or prostituted themselves with men. One thing I do love is that he describes a "mix'e" who seems like a Mexican two-spirit person. I once read in a book on Aztecs in a small footnote that they probably had third-gender men like US Native American tribes had. Perhaps this book should be read in conjunction with other books on indigenous homosexuality in the Americas.

Gutman is a progressive with a wife and two daughters. He may not be knowledgeable of the huge numbers of communities and nations of color that dismiss gayness as "a white scourge" or "unknown to us before colonialism," etc. Several African, African-American, South Asian gay activists have tried to challenge that fallacy. So, in this light, it is amazing that heterosexual Oaxacans can admit that same-sex liaisons happen. They never blame US Americans or Europeans for "forcing" Mexican men to get busy in that way. The way that these Oaxacans challenge gay invisibility in this non-white context is amazing and wonderful, yet Dr. Gutmann gives a positive review of that phenomenon. I may not have articulated this well, but I find it troubling that Dr. Gutmann did not take this into acount.

As far as I know, Professor Gutmann was not teaching at Brown when I was an undergraduate there. Still, countless students speak about how they wish more classes would bring issues of race, gender, sexuality, national identity, and justice matters together. Well, Gutmann accomplishes that in this book and something tells me his classes would be awesome to take. I imagine that books like this one could be useful to not only anthro majors, but also gender studies majors. This is especially true as gender studies departments try to discuss men's issues, and not just women's issues. Really, his presence and writing may be just another countless reason for students to apply to and matriculate to this awesome university.

On the Pill: A Social History of Oral Contraceptives, 1950-1970

Author: Elizabeth Siegel Watkins
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date: 2001-07-11
ISBN: 0801868211
Pages: 208
Rating:
Price: $27.00

"In 1968, a popular writer ranked the pill's importance with the discovery of fire and the developments of tool-making, hunting, agriculture, urbanism, scientific medicine, and nuclear energy. Twenty-five years later, the leading British weekly, the Economist, listed the pill as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. The image of the oral contraceptive as revolutionary persists in popular culture, yet the nature of the changes it supposedly brought about has not been fully investigated. After more than thirty-five years on the market, the role of the pill is due for a thorough examination."—from the Introduction

In this fresh look at the pill's cultural and medical history, Elizabeth Siegel Watkins re-examines the scientific and ideological forces that led to its development, the part women played in debates over its application, and the role of the media, medical profession, and pharmaceutical industry in deciding issues of its safety and meaning. Her study helps us not only to understand the contraceptive revolution as such but also to appreciate the misinterpretations that surround it.

Customes reviews 2

Great study of the evolution in medicine (2006-12-16)

Watkins does a decent job of explaining how the idea of "the pill" came into being. It covers the initial social controversies and medical developments of birth control. The coalitions between Planned Parenthood and the original race for private grant money show an interesting alliance. Watkins really does an excellent job of looking at all the groups who had a stake in this project including the Catholic Church, FDA and medical professionals. It is not simply a feminist history but a multifaceted study of how the Pill became one of the most consumed drugs in the country.

One of the disappointing factors and the main reason I would only rate it at 4 stars is that if is very narrowly focused in the brand of pill that it follows. It really does not go into the other ones that were coming out as competition in the 1970's even as an afterthought and I feel that is important to address. The book is very well written and is a great addition to the history of science and pharmaceuticals. I really wish we had more like it.

A superbly presented medical and social history. (2002-03-22)

Elizabeth Watkins' On The Pill: A Social History Of Oral Contraceptives, 1950-1970 is an informative social history of oral contraceptives covers the period from 1950-70, when the pill was at its strongest development and played a major role in changing women's lives. Chapters survey the contraceptive revolution and common misconceptions surrounding it in a set of coverages on both medical and social realities.

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