99% Effective: How We Talk About Birth Control

Host Faith Cunningham is joined by Kim Alexander, a PhD student in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Jesus College, Cambridge. They dig into her thesis and discuss the rhetoric of choice, of ‘perfect use’, and how efficacy percentages for contraceptives are communicated. Together they trace the history of contraceptive technology and how it's been conveyed to users, showing why that history still matters for the practical decisions people make about birth control today. Get in touch to hear more about her work: [email protected] & ReportsBritish Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Long-Acting Reversible Contraception in the UK. Produced in collaboration with the Reproduction Justice Initiative (formerly Decolonising Contraception), the Division of Health Research at Lancaster University, and Shine Aloud UK. BPAS, c. 2024. PDF report on access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) and recommendations for improving provision in the UK. https://www.bpas.org/media/g0dfk0ny/larc-report-final-laid-up.pdfReproduction Justice Initiative (formerly Decolonising Contraception). Founded September 2018. Campaigning organisation promoting equitable access to contraception and reproductive healthcareWomen on Waves. Founded 1999, Netherlands. International advocacy organisation providing information on medical abortion, telemedicine abortion care, and campaigns for abortion pill access and legal reform. https://www.womenonwaves.orgBooks MentionedMarie Carmichael Stopes. Contraception (Birth Control): Its Theory, History and Practice: A Manual for the Medical and Legal Professions. London: John Bale, Sons & Danielsson, 1923 (expanded 2nd ed. 1927).Norman E. Himes. Medical History of Contraception. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1936.Nelly Oudshoorn. Beyond the Natural Body: An Archaeology of Sex Hormones. London: Routledge, 1994.Linda Gordon. The Moral Property of Women: A History of Birth Control Politics in America. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2002 (revised and expanded edition of Woman's Body, Woman's Right (1976)).David Edgerton. The Shock of the Old: Technology and Global History Since 1900. London: Profile Books, 2006.Follow The Feminist Files on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_/Follow The Feminist Files on Substack: https://substack.com@thefeministfilesEpisode edited by Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.