I haven't taken a birth control pill in 10 days.
Wait, please hear me out. I promise I'm not usually this medically non-compliant.
The transition to summer has simply been more nomadic this year than in the past. I'm trying to get an intrauterine device (IUD) anyway. Not kidding — the cool kids are getting their IUDs at Planned Parenthood left and right. But excuses aside, the reality is that I am sick of feeling tied down by the gripping shackles of oral contraceptives.
Being expected to take a pill at the exact same time every single day is almost ridiculous. I'm 21 years old. Every single one of my days is different than the one before – my medication regiment stands no chance keeping up with this youth! And for what? Let's say I turned my pussy (cat) alarm back on and kept my oral contraceptives on my person at all times (ha! this is now very hypothetical as women's fashion continues to feign ignorance of the pocket). According to Options for Sexual Health, Compliant oral contraceptive birth control is only 92 percent effective.
92 percent.
In words, this means that whether I go the extra mile and obey the laws of the 4x7 sheet of pills or not fails to matter either way. At the end of each month, I am sentenced to at least three days of anxiety regarding whether or not I will bleed. In these few days, I cover myself in glue and roll around in all the guilt and shame that comes with being even remotely sexually active. And it's not like any sexual partners are invited to this party. No, the blame sticks to me. I am the one who didn't take my pill on time. I'm the one who disabled its alarm. I am the one who chose to have sex at an "iffy" time of the month, based on my birth control pill sheet. I am the one who chose to use a contraceptive that is only 92 percent effective. If I don't bleed, this is on me.
Besides, it's not like me and anyone relevant confronts the pending arrival of my menstruation together. No, the confrontation is very one on one. It's me sitting in the bathroom alone, waiting for the red.
What's great though is it doesn't have to be like this. I'm going to switch to the IUD, a device that is 99 percent effective without requiring my daily attention. I am also patiently awaiting the development of male birth control options. There are many methods being researched right now. This whole game of "engaging in reproductive behavior without being reproductive" is two player, and therefore both parties should hold a stake in its victory.
I do realize, of course, that the shackles pertaining to this issue are silver. Birth control has come a long way in the past few decades. For instance, married couples in Massachusetts couldn't legally use condoms before 1965. The fact that I have access to contraceptives at all is a big step. The fact that I have access to FREE contraceptives is like five steps!
Five steps is monumental but, alas, the gate to contraceptive equality is a bit further still. Contraception is not a "me" problem, it's a "we" problem. To feel otherwise is where aforementioned silver shackles lock into place.
