(you can read the whole article here, http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/05/07/welch.sex.pill/index.html)
Raquel Welch:
(CNN) — Margaret Sanger opened the first American family-planning clinic in 1916, and nothing would be the same again. Since then the growing proliferation of birth control methods has had an awesome effect on both sexes and led to a sea change in moral values.
… for young women of childbearing age (I was one of them) there was a need for some careful soul searching — and consideration about the long-range effects of oral contraceptives — before addressing this very personal decision. It was a decision I too would have to face when I discovered I was pregnant at age 19.
…But “the choice” was not mine alone to make. I had always wanted to have Jim’s babies, but wasn’t at all sure how he would react. At the time, we were 19-year-old newlyweds, struggling to make ends meet. But he was unflinching in his desire to keep our baby and his positive, upbeat attitude about the whole prospect turned everything around.
During my pregnancy, I came to realize that this process was not about me. I was just a spectator to the metamorphosis that was happening inside my womb so that another life could be born. It came down to an act of self-sacrifice, especially for me, as a woman. … And it’s scary. You may think you can skirt around the issue and dodge the decision, but I’ve never known anyone who could. Jim and I had two beautiful children who’ve been an ongoing blessing to both of us.
But if I’d had a different attitude about sex, conception and responsibility, things would have been very different.
One significant, and enduring, effect of The Pill on female sexual attitudes during the 60′s, was: “Now we can have sex anytime we want, without the consequences. Hallelujah, let’s party!”
It remains this way. These days, nobody seems able to “keep it in their pants” or honor a commitment! Raising the question: Is marriage still a viable option? I’m ashamed to admit that I myself have been married four times, and yet I still feel that it is the cornerstone of civilization, an essential institution that stabilizes society, provides a sanctuary for children and saves us from anarchy.
In stark contrast, a lack of sexual inhibitions, or as some call it, “sexual freedom,” has taken the caution and discernment out of choosing a sexual partner, which used to be the equivalent of choosing a life partner. Without a commitment, the trust and loyalty between couples of childbearing age is missing, and obviously leads to incidents of infidelity. No one seems immune.
…Seriously, folks, if an aging sex symbol like me starts waving the red flag of caution over how low moral standards have plummeted, you know it’s gotta be pretty bad. In fact, it’s precisely because of the sexy image I’ve had that it’s important for me to speak up and say: Come on girls! Time to pull up our socks! We’re capable of so much better.
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Gender traitor! call out the dogs!
Like Joy Behar.
Or Elena Kagan.
My beer goggles are simply not strong enough to envision that. Thankfully, I’ll black out before I get to that stage.
Now for some more brain bleach.
Rufus that was just mean. Elena Kagan can’t help it if she looks like Brendan Fraiser in drag.
One of my FB friends posted this:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=12449785&id=413732245432
A chubby Brendan Frasier.
Rufus, Steph — it’s “Fraser”, and don’t you dare soil my George of the Jungle-man by lumping him with that WNBA coach.
(Oh no she di’n't!)
Brandon Frazier is great.
Bite me, Turbo.
I was having a discussion with a friend about which kinds of overexposure has a more adverse effect on kids, violence or sex.
It occurred to me that even though there are many who claim our society is overly violent, anti-violence messages abound. Even if you think there might not be enough of them, you’d be hard pressed to say they don’t exist. Watch any television show aimed at children, or book or school activity.
But sex. There are absolutely no counter-messages in culture. In fact, the only one that just barely hangs on by a thread is abstinence. And that is horribly vilified as some medieval concept used to oppress women. At least there are some out there in our pop culture landscape that seem to get it, but I have the uneasy feeling her words are going to drown in a deluge of hate.
Skip… my view on sex and violence in movies…..
The violence is fake — always. Sex in film? whether or not there’s penetration… that is an actual naked man lying between the legs of an actual naked woman — and that ain’t right — especially for my kids.
I’ll let my 10 year old son watch Iron Man kill Muslim terrorists all day long, but the stripper poles in Iron Man 1 I didn’t appreciate as a Dad.
Did I ever tell you the reason I don’t EVER watch Micheal Douglas? I saw an interview with him and he was talking about a conversation he had with his 11yo son: “He told me he was uncomfortable watching my films because I was having sex with a lot of other women. I told him it was just acting. Did daddy ever really get shot? He looked at me and said, no but those are fake bullets and blood. You really are kissing her and you really are naked with her. Aren’t kids funny?”
Now while I admire anyone who can say so much wrong in so few words, are you kidding me? Your 11 yo son just confronted you on watching your films. Why is he watching them first of all? Second, are you even hearing him?? He’s not comfortable with it, stop being a conceited moron, your kid doesn’t need to to see your films. And third, HE’S RIGHT.
I think even Madonna is smart enough to not allow her kids to watch the garbage she put on film.
I would pay good money to watch Madonna’s kids watch the video to “Vogue” just to see the reaction. Madonna shouldn’t even let dogs watch her movies, I’m sure the ASPCA agrees.
Another aspect of the matter that occurs to me is that although “sex and violence” tend to get lumped together, they’re essentially different. Violence may be public or private. As often as not, violence in real life happens right out there in front of everybody, and privacy is the least of anyone’s concerns. But sex is, by its nature, private. To watch two people naked together is a violation of privacy, even if they’re doing it for money. It makes the watcher a voyeur. So one of these things is not like the other.
There was a company that was offering DVDs of movies with options. Just as many DVDs have multiple “cuts” of movies, these had; “theater version,” “no violence version,” “no sex version.” They were paying all the proper fees to those who produced the movies. Everyone was still making money, and, one would assume this could possibly put more money in the producer’s pockets, since families may buy a DVD for their kids that they otherwise would not, if not for this option. It was successful, but Hollywood fought it tooth and nail, and eventually the company was banned from “editing” the films.
I’m finding it very interesting and slightly comforting that the pill is getting less positive press than it ever has. For the longest time, even in Christian circles, you got on the pill the month before your wedding, no questions asked. I was considered weird (it wouldn’t be the first time) and a little irresponsible because I wouldn’t. The women in my family have had a bad history with the pill, we’re inclined toward stroke anyway, so I opted out of something that could potentially kill me just because I wasn’t ready to have babies. It was fine, we didn’t have kids for 4 years, 2 more than we wanted to wait. 2 of my friends ON the pill conceived on their honeymoon.
I believe it is dangerous medicine. My OB says it’s like using an elephant gun to kill an ant. There are safer ways to prevent that won’t screw up your body for future pgs, if you so desire. To quote Rhett Butler, “It’s immaterial to me whether you have one child or twenty, my dear”. I’m not in this to make sure everyone has all the babies they can bear, but I do want women to make informed choices. But of course I’m just an ill-informed uneducated slave to my household who doesn’t know any better than to get knocked up. Hrmph. It turns out that most of the large family moms I know are extremely well informed about BC and sex while your average liberal college student can’t give you more information than she sees on TV and believes you can’t get STD through oral sex.
So, you go Raquel! I’m sorry for all the flack you’re gonna get on this, that you’ve already gotten. There are quite a few of us who are backing you though.
When we wed I left that call up to the lovely, Mrs. Firefly. She’s the one who has to get pregnant, after all. I didn’t see why I should have any say in it. From the guy’s standpoint the Pill seems awfully darned convenient, but, she said to me, “It works by tricking your body into believing it’s pregnant, every month. That can’t be healthy. This thing hasn’t been around long enough for us to know all the long-term effects.” And I thought about it, and realized she was right. Would I ingest something that fooled my physiology into thinking some major, physical metamorphosis were occuring every 28 days? No. I’m not even crazy about taking an aspirin when I have a headache.
Wow, Raquel…who knew? Count me among those who think ‘the pill’ unleashed irrevocable damage to our culture. There are other ways to prevent pregnancy starting with (wait for it) abstinence. Those who say “anything goes: and “as long as it feels good, do it” don’t like abstinence. As Rush has often said, “Abstinence works every time it’s tried.”
I’m one of those that think that 50 years of women using the pill has poisoned our water. I’m not sure of the actual amount of hormones that end up being consumed by everyone…but it happens. Is it possible that this has contributed to low birth rates in our country…I mean besides those who choose not to have kids?
In my corner of the woods I heard a PSA about medication collection day. People who had old meds and vitamins are urged to take them to a drop off and from there they would be taken to a hospital. The hospital would then incinerate the meds because it’s too dangerous to flush them down the toilet. The pill has been getting into our water for decades now and it’s scary to think about those implications.
We’ve heard about the studies about how much medication does end up back into our water, like anti-depressants for example. We’ve heard those studies about how taking the pill influences a woman’s choice in men.
The pill was and is bad news and I’m not even touching on the philosophical and theological points here.
And maybe the pill explains MOOBS?