~Fertility and Technology~

1. ~Fertility and Technology~ Team Entourage Stephanie Weldon Kimberly Juarez Briana Garcia Jose Cuchilla

2. Fertility and Infertility • Fertility: The ability to conceive and have children through normal sexual intercourse • Infertility: The failure to conceive after a year of regular intercourse without contraception Kimberly Juarez

3. Fertility Control • The temporary or permanent prevention of conception • Women controlled fertility • Hunter-gatherers all over the world • Iroquois, Australians, Brazilians, Fijian Kimberly

4. Methods of Fertility Control~Before 19th Century ~ • Cultural • Mental/Psychological • Physical • Herbal or Chemical • Surgical Kimberly

5. Early Fertility Technology • DrMarieStopes- Olive Oil • Mary Ann Leeper- Female condom • Queen Semiramis- Chastity belt • Dr. Evelyn Billings- Billings Method Kimberly

6. 19th Century Birth Control • US patent office refused to patent anything overtly described as a contraceptive • Patents began as early as 1867 Stephanie

7. Women inventors of the 19th century Stephanie

8. Condoms • Used in ancient times • Became well known during 1800s • Were unreliable • Feminist rallied against condoms • Banned in many countries • The only method to prevent spread of STDs Stephanie

9. 20th Century Birth Control Pioneers in modern birth control Rational Methods Male contraception Natural or cyclical methods Research Stephanie

10. Pioneers in Birth Control • Margaret Sanger • Coined the term Birth Control • Founded Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau (NYC) • First doctor staffed birth control clinic in US • Pushed Gregory Pincus to create first Birth Control pill Stephanie

11. Katherine Dexter McCormic • Educated biologist from MIT, B.S. in 1904 • Committed to find an effective contraception for women • Smuggled diaphragms into US for Sanger’s clinical research Bureau • Recognized the contraceptive potential of Pincus’s earlier experiments w/ progesterone as an ovulation suppressant Stephanie

12. Blanche Ames Ames • Artist, feminist, inventor • Co-founded Birth Control League of Massachusetts • Affiliate of Sanger’s national Leauge • Marie Carmichael Stopes • Crusaded to educate women • Married Love (1918) • Invented and patented several contraceptive devices • Founded England’s 1st Birth Control Clinic Stephanie

13. Rational Methods • Hannah Stone (1930s) • Diaphragm with spermicidal jellies • Dr. Connie Chambers Harris (1985) • Lower amounts of hormone in birth control pill Stephanie

14. Male Contraception • 116°F Sterilization Baths • Dr. Martha Voegil • Condoms • Latex in 1922 Stephanie

15. Natural Methods • Most used by women who cannot use chemical/hormonal birth control • Fertility Awareness Planning • “Lunaception”- Louise Lacey Stephanie

16. Research • THC • Carol Grace Smith • Disrupts menstrual cycle • Maybe toxic to developing egg cells • Gossypol • Male contraception • 99% effective in two months • Ann de Peyster Stephanie

17. Fertility Promotion • Three traditional fertility plants… • Pomegranate • Date palm • Moghat Briana Garcia

18. The technology of menstruation • Inventions and innovations related to women’s menstruation affect half the world’s population for roughly half their lives. • Women’s techniques for dealing with the menstrual flow are vital aids to the comfort and well-being of all women of reproductive age. • Ancient women’s inventions to catch the menstrual flow are clever, using natural materials. Briana

19. Ancient women’s inventions to catch menstrual flow

20. In the history of menstruation, a takeover has occurred. • The earliest attempt at male misuse of women’s power to bleed but not die, the blood that makes babies, was simple imitation. • The rites and practices of Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines, and Africa. • In this procedure, males slit the underside of the penis from root to tip, so that when the bleeding organ is pulled upward against the lower abdomen, it resembles a menstruating vagina. Briana

21. Myths of menstruation • Men took control of menstruation by portraying it as shameful and unclean. • Western anthropologists working before 1970 exaggerated and misinterpreted the concept of menstrual fluids and menstruating women as “polluting”. • In western culture men did not take over and professionalize or commercialize menstrual technology until the 20th century. • Men transformed menstruation from a source of women’s pride and strength to something shameful and hidden, into one of the many ways women had to feel inferior to men. Briana

22. 19th-20th Century Women’s Contributions • Menstruation Technology • Pads and Belts • Tampons and sponges • Menstrual Cups • Menstrual Extraction • Remedies for menstrual pain and difficulties • Prostaglandins • Diet Plan • Exercise Jose Cuchilla

23. Menstruation Technology • As late as the early 20th century women still created their own pads and tampons from sponges or soft cloths/rags. By 1883, the first patents for menstruation technology began to recorded, although many of these inventions were categorized as medical and surgical devices. • Between 1883-1894, 16 women patented catamenial sacks, monthly protectors, and suspensory bandages. Jose

25. Menstruation Technology • Pads • Belts • Tampons • Sponges • Menstrual Cups

26. Menstrual Extraction • The most revolutionary development in the field of menstrual technology is menstrual extraction. • Menstrual extraction is a technique used to help women gain and maintain control over their menstrual cycles and reproductive lives. • It was developed by two women of the Los Angeles Self-Help Clinic in 1971. • Carol Downer: founder of the self-help movement. • Lorraine Rothman: invented and patented the safer instrument now used by the clinics, the Del-Em (1974). Jose

27. Remedies for Menstrual Pain and Difficulties • Prostaglandins: a potent substance that acts like a hormone and is found in many bodily tissues. • Dietary plan • Exercise Katharina Dalton: Treated pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) as early as 1948, with monthly doses of prostaglandins and a dietary plan consisting of starches and avoiding birth control pills. Dr. Marcie Storch & Dr. Shelley Kolton: found that reducing salt intake helps limit water retention and a 300 to 500 mg dosage of Vitamin B-6 prevent the resulting headaches. Dr. Susan Lark: Developed a diet and exercise treatment for PMS symptoms.

28. Feminist Theory & Menstrual Taboos • Taboo: strong social prohibition (or ban) relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and forbidden. • Through a Feminist theory perspective, we see that menstrual taboos not only control the behavior of women, but also act as a basis for the existence of the patriarchal system. • Stigma surrounding menstruation makes it socially unacceptable to talk about it in public. • The topic itself is portrayed as unclean, dirty, embarrassing, and something to be ashamed of. • This internalized oppression holds the patriarchal system in place. • Examples…

30. Quiz • Name two methods of fertility control before 19th century • What was Margaret Sanger most famous for? • What are the three traditional fertility plants? • How have menstrual taboos affected society? • Why haven’t women received recognition for fertility control?