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Elaine Tyler May's America And The Pill

820 Words4 Pages

Elaine Tyler May delivers a concise historical retrospective and critical analysis of the development, evolution, and impact of the birth control pill from the 1950s to present day. In her book, America and the Pill, examines the relationship of the pill to the feminist movement, scientific advances, cultural implications, domestic and international politics, and the sexual revolution. May argues cogently that the mythical assumptions and expectations of the birth control pill were too high, in which the pill would be a solution to global poverty, serve as a magical elixir for marriages to the extent it would decline the divorce rate, end out-of-wedlock pregnancies, control population growth, or the pill would generate sexual pandemonium and ruin families. May claims the real impact of the pill—it’s as a tool of empowerment for women, in which it allows them to control their own fertility and lives. May effectively transitioned between subjects, the chapters of America and the Pill are organized thematically, in …show more content…

The names jointly associated with the pills development are three males— Carl Djerassi, Gregory Pincus and John Rock. The two females who played a central role in its development, Katharine McCormick and Margaret Sanger, are often not associated. Also the hundreds of women who volunteered to participate in the pill’s risky clinical trials are not associated with its development, May depicts the reason for failure of recognition by shedding light to the darkness of the pill. She dedicates several pages to specifying the moral and physical risks posed by the pill. May provides supportive information about numerous research trials all over the world (including the U.S.), and the stories of countless women whose suffrage heavily contributed to the development of the pill and the approval for

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In America and The Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation, Elaine May Tyler examined the history of birth control in the United States. May traced the pill's conception and evolution the United States through to the twenty-first century. The book consisted of an introduction, seven chapters, and a conclusion. May approached the topic in the context of influence of suffragist and reformer Margaret Sanger's advocacy originating in the late Progressive Era and Cold War American ideology, through to the emerging movements of the sexual revolution and the feminist movement, including acknowledging political, religious, racial, socio-economic, and gender bias factors.

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The first article presented only the author’s point of view and refused to say the words “birth-control” or even “contraceptives.” Sadly, it only focused on how “evil” the people were who were sending out the literature, not how these women, many of whom were likely married, simply did not want any more children and needed medication and information on how to prevent pregnancy. The second article, however, addressed the issue with a more factual approach. It seemed to accept the idea that women have the right to birth control and sex education, even if the author only discussed married people. These articles are evidence of how, in one hundred years, the nation can change its entire stance on an issue.

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