Birth Control in America

Birth Control in America

by: Bre-Ann Werner

Dating back throughout history people found many different ways and reasons to have sexual intercourse, most of the time having a child was not one of them. From Native Americans to Colonial Americans, women in this era of time found multiple insane ways to stop their reproductive tract. The Native American women began to prevent their chances of getting pregnant through a more natural way than the women of any other time. The Native American women would ingest the chemical from a Lithospermum plant as well as have their men rely on an intake of papaya seeds to cut their sperm count[1]. These methods were not the most effective, but they had to be considerably safer and less strange than what the women in a later era of time did. Centuries ago Chinese women would often drink large amounts of lead and mercury in hopes of preventing pregnancy. Instead, what these women did by ingesting such dangerous chemicals was cause themselves to be sterile, or even get so sick to the point of death[2]. Moving up in time before the Victorian Era, the methods of contraception were a lot more effective than what the Native American or Chinese believed in. The men and women that were active in performing sexual intercourse needed something safer and more reliable when it comes to preventing children. So, during this time period women used contraceptive devices such as a sponge, lemon wedge, or a cervical cap. If the men were wealthy enough they were able to afford condoms made of pig intestine[3]. Aside from the physical contraceptive devices that were used, other methods to prevent pregnancy were to delay marriage, prolong nursing, Coitus Interruptus; also known as “the pull out” method, bloodletting, laxatives, and even as horrible as infanticide[4]. Whether or not these methods of “birth control” were successful, I think that the majority of them were completely irresponsible and dangerous. If I was around during that time I would most definitely take the safest way out and remain pure until I knew I wanted to have children. The risks that come along with these methods of birth control are not worth risking your own life just to prevent pregnancy.

The forms of birth control that were used by Americans hundreds and hundreds of years ago have come a long way since then. The different beliefs about contraception and birth control got lost in translation as the methods continuously changed from one era of time to another. As America continued to grow and expand its ways of living, every aspect needed an adjustment, including the approach to prevent pregnancy. Looking back in time from the birth control methods that we hold today, some may find it hard to believe that anyone from the Native Americans up until now had a healthy and effective life after actively using their techniques of birth control. I am so glad to say that these birth control techniques are long gone. After years of industrialization and improvement in America, it is okay to say that we now have an endless amount of safe and effective forms of birth control. The birth control that is available to women in America today is a wide range of many different things. Starting with the basic daily pill. The birth control pill is made by many different brands and companies; each pill has their own side effects that may or may not affect the individual taking it. You just have to ask yourself; is it worth taking knowing I could have side effects? Many women of this day and age believe that the pill is worth it; it does wonders. The basic birth control pill prevents pregnancy many different ways, mainly stopping ovulation for the woman[5]. Most birth control pills contain synthetic forms of two female hormones: estrogen and progestin. “The synthetic estrogen in the pill works to stop the pituitary gland from producing follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone in order to prevent ovulation. As well as, support the uterine lining to prevent breakthrough bleeding mid-cycle. While, the synthetic progestin works to stop the pituitary gland from producing LH in order to prevent egg release, and make the uterine lining inhospitable to a fertilized egg, which would also limit the sperms ability to fertilize the egg”[6].The current techniques of birth control all have the same goal; to stop ovulation and prevent pregnancy. For those who do not want to rely on themselves to take a pill every morning, there are other options available to them. For example, there is a patch that women can wear for a certain period of time, get a shot, get a cervical cap put in, or they can personally insert a “Nuva Ring.” All of the current available birth control methods are known to be so much safer and reliable than what was available to women back then. Even though some types of birth control have side effects, the overall risk of using these methods are safer and more beneficial to the woman’s body.

The transformation that America went through has been astounding in every aspect. America has now made it safe for women to stop their reproductive tract with many forms of birth control. We all know that anything can happen when you take any type of birth control, even in this day and age. It is up to you as the woman to decide if it is worth taking this risk. In my own personal experience, I have never had any side effects with birth control and think that it is totally worth trying. However, if you are unsure about what to do in this situation you can always take the smartest and safest way out; which is to remain pure until marriage, and/or have sexual intercourse with a condom as your main source of contraceptive. It is up to you as the individual to make the decision you are most comfortable with.

---

[1] Moore, Crystal. "Native American Sexuality Sexual Violation in the Conquest of the Americas." Cameron Lecture Hall 2014. Cameron, Charlotte. Date Accessed 15 Feb. 2014. Lecture.

[2] Dexter, Katharine. "A History of Birth Control Methods." A History of Birth Control Methods (2006): 1-16. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. Katharine Dexter McCormick Library, Nov. 2006. Web. Date Accessed 27 Feb. 2014.

[3] Moore, Crystal. "Sex in Colonial America." Cameron Lecture Hall 2014. Cameron, Charlotte. Date Accessed 17 Feb. 2014. Lecture.

[4] Moore, Crystal. "Sex in Colonial America." Cameron Lecture Hall 2014. Cameron, Charlotte. Date Accessed 17 Feb. 2014. Lecture.

[5] Alice , GoAskAlice, "How Do Birth Control Pills Work." Last modified April 13, 2012. Date Accessed February 27, 2014. http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/how-do-birth-control-pills-work.

[6] Alice , GoAskAlice, "How Do Birth Control Pills Work." Last modified April 13, 2012. Date Accessed February 27, 2014. http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/how-do-birth-control-pills-work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you Really Know About Christopher Columbus?

By Kelsey Wilkins

            We all know they saying “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492” BUT little did you know, Columbus actually took over land and enslaved people. In elementary schools all over the country, young children are learning about a man they think was a huge hero! A man that discovered the Americas and gave us a home! But these schools are leaving a little bit of history out of their curriculum. But I guess that makes sense, because if I were a parent, I wouldn’t want my children learning about the horrible things Christopher Columbus actually did, would you?

 So what actually happened on October 12^th, 1492? When Columbus’ ship docked on an island in the middle of nowhere, now known as the Bahamas, he met the Lucayans, Tainos and Arawaks. They were a friendly group of people and Columbus even wrote in his journal that they were nice, good looking and very intelligent people. They lived in a perfect area that had no criminals or danger or even prisoners. This sounds like the perfect place to live, right? Well it was until Columbus decided to claim the land as Spain’s and sent the Native Americans who once roamed free, to work in gold mines, which later killed about half of their population in a two-year time span.¹ This isn’t even the worst of it. I can understand why this isn’t in the curriculum, but I also don’t think we should be taught that Columbus was a hero! Yes, he did find the land we live on today, but everything else he did, kind of cancels that out. Columbus sold young girls into sexual slavery. Girls of all ages were included in these sales but the most sought after were around the age of nine and ten. This is a horrible thing that was happening, but these people were hopeless, they didn’t even have weapons to defend themselves and when Columbus came back the second time, he brought cannons and attack dogs. Little babies were even given to the dogs as food.² This is a little gruesome and shouldn’t be taught to kids in elementary school, but when you get to high school students should learn about this stuff because it is important in history and it is also very interesting. This is really interesting to me because I have never learned anything like this, ever in school, if I learned this stuff maybe I would think out history was a little bit more interesting then I though it was. The problem is that parents don’t want their children learning about this stuff because it leads to rape and has sexual content in it and that leads to things that apparently shouldn’t be taught in schools. I guess its because it leads to other questions about sexual acts and it might make people feel uncomfortable so they just leave it out all together. I have told my friends about this class that I am taking and I tell them about Christopher Columbus and they are shocked! They had no clue this happened and I didn’t know either before this class!  

There was a man named Bartolome De Las Casas who worked for Columbus. He was so horrified by what Columbus was doing to these Native Americans that he became a Catholic Priest. That is a dramatic change from a normal person, so the thing he saw must have been very mortifying. He witnessed murder, rape, suicides, etc. For the rest of his life, De Las Casas tried to protect the native people. Studies shows that after 50 years not a single original native inhabitant was alive.³ After all of the Native Americans were gone, African Americans were brought to the Americans to replace them, which also lead to many deaths, but that’s another story. It is crazy to think that this happened… In my opinion, like I said before, this is a little extreme for kids to learn in elementary and middle school, but by the time you are a junior or senior in high school, this could be and important thing to know. Our school system isn’t necessarily hiding this from us, but they aren’t telling us about it… Columbus day is a day that was made by the Knights of Columbus. They wanted someone that they could look up to, a hero, and they picked Columbus… But after hearing the truth, he doesn’t seem so heroic, does he?

1.     Eric, Kasum. Huffington Post, "Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery." Last modified February 23, 2014. Accessed February 25, 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kasum/columbus-day-a-bad-idea_b_742708.html?view=print&comm_ref=false.
2.     Eric, Kasum. Huffington Post, "Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery." Last modified February 23, 2014. Accessed February 25, 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kasum/columbus-day-a-bad-idea_b_742708.html?view=print&comm_ref=false.
3.     Eric, Kasum. Huffington Post, "Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery." Last modified February 23, 2014. Accessed February 25, 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kasum/columbus-day-a-bad-idea_b_742708.html?view=print&comm_ref=false.

Dallas Buyers Club & AZT Today

Kaitlyn Solotes

[1] In the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club, a hot headed and impatient cowboy is diagnosed with HIV. After a destructive stage of denial accompanied by drugs and alcohol, Ron Woodroof contracts the AIDS virus. Woodroof goes on to seek treatment, including those not yet on the market. However, the hospital which diagnosed Ron is holding clinical trials for a brand new drug called AZT. In search of AZT, Ron finds himself in Mexico when a doctor directs him to a more effective treatment of vitamins and other medications. I was extremely interested in this topic because 1) Matthew McConaughey is a great actor and 2) I did not know much about the history of AIDS treatments in the United States. [2] It turns out that AZT, also known as Zidovudine or Retrovir, was the first approved drug for treatment of the HIV virus in 1987. Although more than thirty drugs are now available to treat the disease, AZT made a huge and lasting impact on the history of HIV/AIDS management. One unique factor about AZT is that instead of the usual three human trials needed to approve a drug, AZT only underwent one; this shows the desperation that both patients and physicians felt dealing with such an imposing epidemic. The adaptation of AZT in the film is that it is an extremely controversial drug; some doctors today do agree that the drug should be taken under certain circumstances or not at all. [3] The truth about AZT is that it is an antiretroviral drug, more specifically a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. What this means is that AZT helps to repress the replication or synthesis of DNA strands, decrease the amount of infection in the blood, and prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus. Overall, the goal of AZT is to stop HIV from multiplying, but it cannot cure HIV/AIDS all together. Sometimes HIV can reproduce imperfect copies of itself and become resistant to the drug treatments; one way to avoid this is by taking more than one medication at a time. By allowing different drugs into your body it is harder for HIV to make copies which may resist drug effectiveness. [4] The controversy that surrounds AZT may lie within the side effects. When first distributed, AZT was given in such large doses that severe side effects frequently occurred. Today AZT is prescribed in much smaller doses and causes less severe side effects such as muscle pain, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and rashes. I think there are several different methods that can be used to treat HIV and AZT is just one of them that has been proven to save lives when taken as followed with a balanced lifestyle.

[1] Dallas buyers club. Theater viewing. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee. Universal City, CA: Universal Studios Home Entertainment, 2014.

[2] "U.S. Food and Drug Administration." U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page. http://www.fda.gov/ (accessed February 26, 2014).

[3] "News." AIDSinfo. http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov/ (accessed February 26, 2014).

[4] "Side-effects." HIV & AIDS Information ::. http://www.aidsmap.com/Side-effects/page/1283774/ (accessed February 26, 2014).

 

The Equal Rights Amendment, why didn't it pass? 

By Jackie Turner 

As America has developed and grown, it still lacks one thing. That one thing is equal rights for everyone. America has a stigma about traditions and keeping things the way we know and are used to. Even if it means unfairness and inequality to a certain type of people. The Equal Rights Amendment was written in 1921.^[1] The amendment did not pass, it was not accepted and ratified by enough states. Only 35 approved the amendment. It needed 38 to pass. It was going to be the 28th amendment if it passed. For the amendment to seem like such a liberating and great idea, the women then began fearing it would limit them more than help them.^[2] The interpretation was that it would limit women’s freedom, as women. Meaning that because men and women would have to be equal in every way, it was feared that women would be forced to join the military draft. As well as lose some special privileges that only women received. Such as  custody of children in divorce. It just seems unfair to these women that they held themselves down in the beginning, at the same time in the early 20th century things were different than today. The men in that time probably would have twisted and turned around the amendment in unjust ways. But something that stands out to me was, when the Equal Rights Amendment was created in 1921 it was only understood to be for women. It was not really specified in the amendment that it was just for them. So it kinda gives me a true look into the past by hearing the cases of this time. Further more since slavery was so big during this time, it kinda gives a true account of how unfair they were treated. Just because they were not even considered as being incorporated into the almost 28th amendment, at this time. They weren’t even considered people it seems like. The fight to incorporate the Equal Rights Amendment still is a fight today. Women are treated fairly in a lot of ways but there is still bias between the sexes. Our culture seems to have had a lot to do with that. With the music industry and the television shows and movies that desensitize our minds, shaping us to believe that seeing women degraded is just normal and okay. On the positive side of it all, the fact that the current Equal Rights Amendment addressed equality among every single type of person. Regardless if you are a woman or not and that's what 'equal' really should mean. 

1. unknown, . National Organization for women, "The equal rights amendment." Last modified 1995-2012. Accessed February 24, 2014. http://www.now.org/issues/economic/eratext.html.

2. Contributor, Gissellejj. Wiki Answers, "Why did the equal amendment right fail to pass?." Accessed February 24, 2014. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_equal_rights_amendment_fail_to_pass?

When Will the Violence Stop By: Rachel Valle

When Will the Violence Start

By: Rachel Valle

The Justice Department reports that one in three native women are raped in her lifetime, with many others too demoralized to say anything. Erdrich then goes on to talk about the red shawls the native women wear at the powwows, to recognize just how many people have been sexual abused on these reservations. Although to the outer eye, these are nothing more than a token of regret for these women to the natives of the reservations they are so much more. High rape has become a very modern problem in these areas and the US government has yet to take any actions towards fighting it. More than 67% of abuse cases get declined by federal prosecutors, and since the government has made it so the tribal courts can not try a non-indian man putting justice to these abusers is nearly impossible.1 Therefore many sexual predators flee to these areas to abuse without a high chance of being caught or stopped. Indians had the right to try these non-native men until 1978 when it was taken away by the Federals , because they felt the men did not have a fair trial going into court with a jury of all natives. This a frightening matter as more than 80% of the rape that occurs on these reservations are executed by non-native men. Murdoch stats that the young women she talked to said it is disheartening to have to walk around in your village seeing your attacker everyday walking as a free man and knowing that he has probably raped up to five other girls from your village as well.2 The rape in these tribes have gotten so bad that the police have actually recommended that the women stop reporting them because there is a very high chance nothing will get done about it, to put this into perspective 35% of rapes are reported by black women, 32% reported by white women and only 13% reported by Indian women, even the people who are activist on the stop rape movement in these areas have told the women to stop reporting as it only causes them more trouble and heartache.1

To top it all off when these women do have the guts to go get themselves examined they often are turned away at the local clinics at well because the Indian nurses on duty do not have the training or the materials to perform a rape kit on the victims.2  These nurses do not even have a camera to record the damages done to these women’s bodies, making it hard to record the attack. However, not all has been lost during these troubling times for these women. The US Congress has recently motioned to put the Violence Against Women Act back into motion , if this happens it could save many women their lives and lead to these acts decreasing greatly on the reservation. The Violence Against Women Act stats that the reservations will once again be able to charge the non-native attackers in their tribal courts regardless of who makes up the jury.1 This means that the number of attackers who flee to these areas to marry or make partners out of the native women of these reservations just to sexual abuse them will decrease significantly. However, the hard part will be getting these women to look pass their fears and realize that by reporting these perverts something can and will be down to help bring a little more security to them and their families, and will they will no longer have to feel so hopeless as a victim knowing they helped take their attacker off the reservation and away from their family and friends.

But I thought... The Truth About Columbus

Kaitlyn Solotes

Last semester I took a religious studies class to fulfill my global connections requirement. The course I chose focused on indigenous cultures, their spiritual/religious rituals, and the impact of globalization on these cultures. During the first week my professor had us write down everything we have learned or know about Christopher Columbus; half torn sheets of paper with the words “Leader”, “Brave”, “Discoverer” were being passed up in piles. What was really written on the papers were the misconceptions that were taught to us in our 7^th grade social studies classes. [1] I soon found out what Columbus really did in the New World. These despicable acts and crimes against humanity included: Claiming/renaming the Arawak islands, enslaving locals to find gold, killing off the entire population from murder, disease, and suicide, and finally creating a false image of the Natives. [2] After first noting how kindhearted and peaceful the Natives were, Columbus began to portray Native Americans as cannibals, mythologized creatures with tails, and uncivilized savages with no form of government or religion. Now after learning about the rape and sexual assault involved I am even more horrified. It is obvious through Columbus's personal journal entries and witness acquaintances, such as De Las Casas, that he and his men did in fact aid in the raping of multiple indigenous women. I think it is a crime that students are brainwashed to associate the name Columbus with “Hero” instead of “Rapist”. Although the truth is much more gruesome than what we would like to believe, there is an easy alternative rather than falsify history; school systems can change their curriculum to discuss Columbus's voyages in high school as opposed to 6^th and 7^th grade. At such a young age students are not known to question their teachers. Instead, they're going to make Native American headdresses and celebrate good ol' Chris Columbus on their day off from school. What I find particularly interesting is that the negative characterization of Native Americans carried onto paintings and drawings; there are several paintings depicting the Natives as savages who eat human flesh as if it is a juicy turkey leg. In another image shown below the Native Americans are viewed as animalistic with beaks, long necks, and horns coming from their heads. Overall, my opinion of Christopher Columbus is that he may have arrived with good intentions, but those were soon destroyed after killing, raping, and tricking the Natives. I do not think we should have a National holiday celebrating his discovery when he would be dead if tried for murder today.

[1] Katsanos, Tina. "CC's Letter to the Sovereigns." Class lecture, LBST 2102 Global Connections from UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, September 18, 2013.

 

[2] Kasum, Eric. "Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery." Huff Post The Blog. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ (accessed January 30, 2014).

Romance on College Campuses By: Rachel Valle

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MtCeDl2sO7yVw3O3ovAV8NX9nkUskCy2GTlzPpPFz1E/edit