TED Conversations

marta gorayski

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

Why is Birth Control such a Gender driven issue? Is Birth control synonymous with Population control?

Women seem to have no problem with "Birth Control" devices that are available to us today. Some do, for religious reasons (that's understandable) but, on the whole, women do seem to acknowledge those two XXI century paradigms:
1. We were all born free
2. We all have free will

Why do we hear men frantically opposing birth control and hardly any women so adamant about the ban?

Why are men so vocal about population control and women just seem to sit and listen?

Why do we allow our governments take control over the size of our families by manipulating the cost of our everyday living?

Why do we allow our governments to put us in Debt for most of our lives thus making us virtual Slaves?

0
Share:
progress indicator
  • thumb
    Jun 10 2012: I think birth control can not be discussed without drawing attention to the level of freedom women should have in societies. In some societies women are still denied their basic rights; so it would be impossible to talk about birth control and contraceptives without strengthening the arguements in support of women rights.
    This makes some people uncomfortable.
    I believe in a society where women are respected and protected.
  • thumb
    Jun 10 2012: Your questions are really intense...I think you've jumped to a few radical conclusions.

    To answer the first one, I think the tide would change rapidly if men had a "pill" similar to women's OCP. For a man, carrying around a condom is an admission of "yeah, I'm looking to have sex" and not "yeah, I'm looking to have SAFE sex." It is simply easier to conceal your safety in pill form. To have an internal or systemic answer rather than an external one.

    If you've watched Hans Rosling's talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/hans_rosling_religions_and_babies.html on the statistics regarding religion and birth rates, it appears families are getting smaller despite religious and seemingly governmental influence. As people get richer, they choose to breed less frequently. No one has asked them to do this. However, he states the population will still rise to 10 billion - where it will plateau.

    Therefore:

    No, the government and the male race is not trying to squash contraceptive usage. Economic growth, family planning, and societal norms dictate population control.