Between revolution and risk: 65 years of the contraceptive pill

What role did the pill play in driving the sexual revolution in the 1960s and 1970s?

Dr. Uta Fenske: The pill changed the sex lives of heterosexual women of childbearing age. The pill was much safer than other contraceptives. It reduced the risk of unwanted pregnancy. As a result, young women could have premarital sex without fear. In addition, women who took the pill were no longer dependent on the man taking responsibility for contraception or not. And the pill enabled more reliable family planning than other contraceptives such as condoms, diaphragms or the temperature method, to name but a few. This was also accompanied by better life and career planning. While in the Federal Republic of Germany it was referred to as the "birth control pill", in the GDR it was positively labeled as the "desired child pill". Both terms make it clear that this new hormonal medication for women was a contraceptive or life planning drug.

You might think that many women of childbearing age would have celebrated the pill as a liberation. However, it took a good ten years for the pill to become established in Germany. It was not until the early 1970s that the pill was the most commonly used contraceptive: in 1973, 38% of 15 to 44-year-old women took the pill.

Did the pill help to break down the taboo surrounding sexuality?

Fenske: At the beginning of the 1960s, contraception was still a big taboo subject. Sexuality was generally not talked about in families. The introduction of the pill played a major role in making contraception a topic of public discussion. Some saw it as a way of liberating female sexuality and a means of reducing the high number of abortions. Others feared a decline in morals, particularly among young women, or warned of medical risks such as thrombosis or cancer. As controversial as these discussions were: They made a significant contribution to breaking down the inhibitions of the post-war period.

How did the women's movement react to the pill - liberation or new dependency?

Fenske: Interestingly, the New Women's Movement, which emerged at the end of the 1960s, was divided. While some groups demanded that health insurance companies should pay for the pill, others formulated a radical critique in the early 1970s. They warned of the consequences for health. The fear of unwanted pregnancy was replaced by the fear of health risks. They asked where the male pill was and whether the pill would not lead to women being seen as available at all times? However, the groups agreed that the pill could not be seen as liberating per se. Liberated sexuality is only possible in a society with equal rights, in which men and women take equal responsibility for contraception.

Why are so many women turning their backs on the pill today? What social trends are behind this?

Fenske: It is true that many women have turned their backs on the pill. In 2007, 55% of women using contraception still took the pill. Today it is just under 38%. On the other hand, the condom is becoming more popular as a contraceptive and is now used more often than the pill.

There are certainly many reasons why women do not take the pill. In the last few years since 2018 in particular, a very critical attitude towards hormonal contraception can be observed among women. This results from thinking about the daily use of medication. After all, they are the ones who swallow hormones on a daily basis and can suffer from side effects such as mood swings, depression, headaches and loss of libido - to name just a few. It is worth noting that the critical attitude towards the pill among sexually active men has also changed considerably. A study on contraceptive behavior conducted by the Federal Centre for Health Education in 2023 found that 64% of sexually active men agree with the statement that the pill has "negative effects on body and soul". In my opinion, the fact that women's and men's views on the pill have converged considerably is a sign that our society is becoming more equal.