America and the Pill : A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation

In 1960, the FDA approved the contraceptive commonly known as "the pill." Advocates, developers, and manufacturers believed that the convenient new drug would put an end to unwanted pregnancy, ensure happy marriages, and even eradicate poverty. But as renowned historian Elaine Tyler May reveals in America and the Pill, it was women who embraced it and created change. They used the pill to challenge the authority of doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and lawmakers. They demonstrated that the pill was about much more than family planning--it offered women control over their bodies and their lives. From little-known accounts of the early years to personal testimonies from young women today, May illuminates what the pill did and did not achieve during its half century on the market.--Publisher description The book tells about the cultural history of the pill in the United States and its role in societal change. It illuminates what the pill did and did not achieve during its half century on the market, based on documents and personal accounts of the early years and of today. Attention is paid to women behind the pill's success, from activists Margaret Sanger and Katherine McCormick to the women who volunteered for clinical trials. Expectations towards the pill and its actual effects are discussed, from the question of population growth to happier marriages and sexual revolution. The author notes that married women were the main consumers of the pill and that its role in so called sexual revolution may have been over-estimated. Women's reactions to the health risks of the pill are presented as an example of new ways of questioning authority. Men's changing relationship to the pill and numerous efforts to create an oral contraceptive for men are also discussed

A revealing new look at the groundbreaking form of contraception that enabled women to control their lives and transform the world

The Washington Post - Ashley Sayeau

…at just over 200 pages, the book is as compact and powerful as the pill itself…May devotes many pages to delineating the moral and physical risks posed by the pill, and rightfully so. But there are lots of reasons to celebrate the pill, and she is at her best when allowing herself to do that. She gives a wonderful account of Sanger's advocacy and of Katharine McCormick, a women's rights activist who bankrolled the pill's development. Likewise, she skillfully shows how women fought for access to the pill, as well as for a safer pill, against some pretty big contenders, pharmaceutical companies and the Catholic Church among them.

In 1960, the FDA approved the oral contraceptive that would come to be known as the pill. Within a few years, millions of women were using it. At a time when the population was surging, many believed that the drug would help eradicate poverty around the globe, ensure happy and stable marriages, and liberate women. In America and the Pill, preeminent social historian Elaine Tyler May reveals the ways in which the pill did and did not fulfill these utopian dreams, while also chronicling the stories of the creators, testers, and users who ultimately made the pill their own. CONTENTS......Page 9 Introduction......Page 11 1......Page 21 2......Page 45 3......Page 67 4......Page 81 5......Page 103 6......Page 127 7......Page 153 Conclusion......Page 177 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 183 NOTES......Page 185 INDEX......Page 211 Mothers of invention The population bomb Bedfellows The sexual revolution A pill for men? Questioning authority The pill today.