Many, many women on our campus and in our generation are currently taking a little white pill deemed “The Birth Control Pill.”

If you are reading this and are one of these women, in no way, shape or form is this article supposed to reprimand you for doing so.

I understand that there are medical reasons (some life threatening) that women take it. However, I wish to inform you of the truths that many doctors fail to tell you when they prescribe this pill that is supposed to solve all of your problems. Let me start off by saying that you and your femininity are absolutely beautiful. Do not let anyone tell you anything differently. Believe it or not, your fertility and those pesky hormones are what make you a woman. Here are ten truths about the pill that most people don’t know before they take it.

Increased risk of cancer:

As previously stated in the last week’s article, the pill is said to decrease chances of ovarian cancer. However, in a study done by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2004, “Women who are on the pill have an increased chance of getting breast, cervical and liver cancer." In another study done by the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomakers and Prevention Center in California, “Women who regularly use the pill are 4.2 times more likely to get breast cancer.”

If this doesn’t make an impact on you, think about this. The number of breast cancer cases has risen over 80% since the 1970s. Do you know what happened right before that? You guessed it, the birth control pill was approved in 1960.

Origin of the Pill:

When Dr. Gregory Pincus originally introduced the pill, he started off the study by testing the birth control pill on men. The study showed that the birth control pill caused testicular swelling on the men so they stopped the study right away. Dr. Pincus then started testing the pill on women. During this study, three women died and yet they still continued. To this day, there are no oral contraceptives for men because it is “too risky”. This, ladies and gentlemen, is sexism at its finest.

Bad Sex:

Although not all girls are on the pill for sexual reasons, believe it or not, many girls actually are. We are meant to have sex—good sex. Actually not just good sex, we are made to have GREAT sex. Naturally, women are the horniest when they are ovulating.  However, the pill stops that ovulation which, in turn, stops the inherent, natural desire for sex. Ever heard of faking the big O? Yeah, this is why women are known for doing that—because of this stupid pill. We have to use pornography and sex toys to make sex more enjoyable when, in fact, our natural desire for sex is meant to be good enough but is hindered because of the pill. 

Manhood and Masculinity is attacked:

During ovulation, women are more attracted to guys with masculine features (i.e. broad shoulders, facial hair, muscles). Women who are on the pill don’t have “fertile days” which means they don’t have the same hormonal changes that cause them to be attracted to men of dissimilar genetic makeup (according to Dr. S. Craig Roberts). Women in this study reported to be less satisfied with men of similar genetic makeup then after sleeping with men of dissimilar genetic makeup. This non-satisfaction leads me to my next point.

Increases the chance of divorce:

Although the pill isn’t directly correlated to the increase of divorce, studies show that couples that use NFP (Natural Family Planning), as opposed to artificial contraceptives, have less than 0.2% divorce rate. Compare this number to scary (and rising) national divorce rate of 50%.

The Symptoms:

Many women (and girls) who go on the pill are most concerned with the common side effect of weight gain. Ladies, the doctors will tell you that weight gain, some spotting, and bigger boobs are the only side effects of the pill but I’m sorry to tell you that they are absolutely wrong. Those are some of the most common side effects, but in reality, a lot of other sh** happens to your body without you even knowing. I had two friends within two weeks of each other get rushed to the ER because they had a blood clot that was caused by their birth control.  There are so many lawsuits out there that are suing various birth control brands because they caused blood clots, strokes, heart attacks, and even death. You tell me, is a clear, acne-free face or cramp-less period worth your life? I don’t think so.

Objectifies women:

Ladies, you don’t deserve to put your beautiful body through the burden of having to live with being a slave to this medication. Yes, maybe you take it for medical reasons, but there are actually pretty natural ways to regulate your period, clear your acne, and make cramps more bearable. Our culture says to women, “Your fertility is a problem and the way to solve that is to change your life and schedule to become enslaved to this pill, ring, shots, patches,” or whatever it may be. You are not a burden. Your fertility, hormones, mood changes and all, are what make you a woman. Embrace that.

It makes you LESS ATTRACTIVE to men:

We are in the time of our lives that everyone around us either is looking for a significant other or is getting one. Relationships and your attractiveness to the opposite sex are in the forefront of everyone’s minds. So why would we take a pill that negatively influences our attractiveness and ability to find a life-long mate? Lionel Tiger (and colleagues) did a study where they put one male monkey on an island with six other female monkeys. The male monkey picked out three female monkeys who were his primary sex partners. Tiger then injected the female monkeys with contraceptives and the male monkey stopped having sex with them. The male monkey then went on to have sex with the female monkeys that weren’t on the contraceptive. This study shows that women who aren’t on contraceptives are more attractive to men.

Changes who you’re attracted to:

Pheromones are the odorless, colorless chemical that attracts people to one another. Women give off the most pheromones when they are ovulating, which makes them the most attractive during this time. However, since the pill releases crazy amounts of artificial hormones, the masculine pheromones that the women are attracted to change when they stop taking the pill. It goes back to the point I made in reason #4—it makes you less attracted to masculine men and in turn your pheromones make you attracted to a less suitable partner. (No thank you.)

It’s harmful to the environment:

Finally, if none of these reasons sway you to think twice before you pop that pill that is supposed to solve all of your problems, give the environment a break. There are so many people that are concerned with recycling and doing so much to help the earth, yet they are doing harm to themselves AND the environment when they are taking this artificial pill. The pill emits 30-50 mcg of estrogen in one dose. Every woman that takes it ends up going to the bathroom, and in turn this water eventually makes its way to water reservoirs and the fish actually take in the estrogen that is in the water. EE2, which is the active ingredient in most birth control pills, creates an “intersex” among fish. Which basically means makes male fish, male/female fish. That’s gross. Let’s be nice to our environment and let male fish be male fish.

Ladies and gentlemen, (but mostly just ladies):  you are worth more then putting your body through all of this artificialness. Your body was made in a way that is perfect just the way it is and there’s no reason for you to have to change it. Do yourselves a favor and research (holistically) what your doctors are prescribing and what you are putting into your body.

Believe me, the pill is not the end all be all to your problems and to your life.