On: The window for great-grandmothers is closing

[munificent]

If you ever sit down and really think about it, it is absolutely wild how profoundly the invention of the birth control pill has changed the course of human history, our cultures, and human society.

It's gotta be up there with, like, writing and fire, in terms of shaping the destiny of our species.

[wil421 → munificent]

Farming machines changed it more so than birth control. Also farming practices like using fertilizer.

[munificent → wil421]

The Green Revolution is top five, definitely.

But farming is an incredibly long series of incremental improvements since prehistoric times: agriculture, selective breeding, crop rotation, etc.

The pill was like a technological and societal step function.

[Xenoamorphous → munificent]

Why that and not other contraceptives?

[bluGill → Xenoamorphous]

Because it is used. Others are easy to forget or use wrong. Many are enough worse from a pleasure standpoint that I rather obstain then use them. (of course I'm married so I have an easy outlet without worrying about stds)

[brailsafe → bluGill]

The pill is also easy to misuse, I think it just has a higher tolerance for misuse in terms of continued effectiveness, but it does change if you're inconsistent

[munificent → Xenoamorphous]

1. Scale of adoption.

2. Consistent effectiveness.

3. Able to be unilaterally adopted by women without consent of men (aside from systemic legal prohibition).

The pill, to a greater degree than any other contraceptive, enables the people who are most responsible for the consequences of pregnancy to have the most control over pregnancy.

[al_borland → munificent]

I sometimes wonder what society would look like today without it. It would be vastly different.

[nodoodles → munificent]

Can’t imagine that much less unwanted children is anything but net positive though..