Episode Details

Hey Lifers!

Currently, 874 million women worldwide rely on modern contraception to prevent pregnancy. So today we're asking the question so many of us have had: why is that responsibility shouldered so heavily by women, and where are the men?

We're joined by journalist and documentary filmmaker Billie JD Porter, whose new documentary It's Different For Girls looks at why contraception has been treated as almost entirely a woman's responsibility; from the invention of the pill and the autonomy it gave women, through to the decades-long delay on a male alternative.

We chat:

• The wild, gendered history of how the pill was first marketed - not to women, but to doctors
• The three sexist caricatures used to sell birth control to women in the 60s and 70s
• Tubal ligation vs vasectomy & the enormous gap in how often each is performed
• The 1970 congressional hearing into the pill's safety that didn't invite a single woman to testify
• Why male contraceptive research that started in the 1950s got shelved
• Inside the clinical trials for the male contraceptive gel
• Whether men can actually be ‘trusted’ with contraception

This conversation is intended to be informational and exploratory, and should not be taken as medical advice. If you have questions about contraception or reproductive health, please speak to your doctor or a qualified professional.

Find out more about Billie's documentary It's Different For Girls: Streaming now on Kinema 
Follow Billie: https://www.instagram.com/billiejdporter/?hl=en

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