Jezebel: seasonale

Seasonale And Lybrel Are No More "Unnatural" Than Old School Contraceptives

Jessica — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST

In the Fall issue of Ms., The American Prospect's Ann Friedman gets the real story behind Seasonale and Lybrel, the pills that allow women to menstruate only four times a year or not at all, respectively. Some opponents of these kinds of pills have argued that not having a period is "unnatural," and others say these pills "pathologize" menstruation.

Friedman points out that the original pill was manufactured on a 28-day cycle as a way to convince Catholics that it was natural, not because it was actually any more natural than these newer versions. Friedman also notes that "the uterine lining does not build up as quickly for women on the pill, there's actually no medical need to slough it off every three weeks."

In other words, all the research thus far has shown that these pills are safe, so why all the fuss? As Sarah Haskins told us already, it's all about marketing.

When Seasonale first came on the market in 2003, it had Candace Bushnell as a spokeswoman. In the ads for the pill, the Sex and the City scribe said, "When you think about what women have accomplished with thirteen periods a year, think about what we can accomplish with only four." This makes the pill sound like a lifestyle choice, rather than a real medical decision with discernible benefits, Friedman points out. These benefits can include lower risk for uterine and ovarian cancers and hindering the progress of endometriosis.

On the anti-pill side is anti-choice crazy Leslee Unruh. Leslee said of the period supressing Lybrel, "[It's] a war on women and children…[it's proponents are] wanting us women who are feminine and have fertility…to be like men." Of course, neither Bushnell nor Unruh have it right: regulating your period in whatever way you see fit is neither a lifestyle choice nor unnatural. It's a decision to be made with research and medical professionals.

Like A Natural Woman [Ms. — Article Not Online]

Earlier: Sarah Haskins Wishes You A Happy Period Control
The Many Contradictions Of Leslee Unruh, Anti-Abortion And Purity Advocate

Annuale: The Birth Control Pill That Will Grow You A Second Vagina

Jessica — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:00:00 EST

Those who are creeped out by Seasonale — the birth control pill that enables women to menstruate just four times a year — will enjoy this parody from last night's SNL. It's a commercial for Annuale, the pill for women who only want to bleed once a year and don't mind side effects that include axe-wielding, binge-eating, and bestiality, among other things. (At the end of the fauxmercial, a voiceover warns potential consumers: "Do not take Annuale if you plan to ever become pregnant, as it may turn your baby into a firemonster... Notify authorities in your town when your period is imminent as they may want to incarcerate you preemptively like a wolfman.")

Earlier: Is Menstruation A Girls-Only Gift Or A Modern Inconvenience?

Your Birth Control Is Killing Unborn Babies, Fatheads

Jessica — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:30:00 EST

Lots of anti-birth control pill news on the wires today. The first story comes from the Economist by way of Canada: A Canuck scientist has found that extra estrogen, which can get into rivers and lakes through the toilet-flushed urine of birth control takers, kills fish. Karen Kidd, an ecotoxicologist at the University of New Brunswick, "poisoned" a small lake in northwest Ontario with estrogen, and she found that the smallest fish in that lake, "fathead minnows," were feminized because of the excess hormone. According to the Economist, "[The fathead's] sperm production was delayed and they started producing eggs. After two years of treatment, the fathead minnow population collapsed." The bigger fish eventually started having fertility problems as well, but it took much longer for the estrogen to permeate their populations.

As much as aquatic vertabrates are important to the ecosystem, of primary concern to pill-poppers is not getting knocked up. Our second story: Kroeger supermarket pharmacies are selling generic versions of Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen for a mere $9 per 28-pill pack. This is especially excellent news for college students, as the cost of birth control at universities had skyrocketed as a result of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

Still, $9 is a sight less than you'd be paying for name-brand and newer drugs, like Seasonale, the pill that only gives you a period four times a year. Marie Claire, the magazine we loved to hate on earlier today reports that the brand is now being advertised on male-directed media properties like the pages of Maxim and Spike TV. "Maybe this is just a clever way to get guys who are skeeved out by the bloat and the mood swings to sell the Pill for them," MC's Sarah Z. Wexler concludes, since Seasonale will shorten your PMS time by 2/3. Don't submit! Think of the fishes!

A Poison Pill: Human Contraceptives Are Bad For Fish [The Economist]
Birth Control Pills For A Mere $9 A Month [US News & World Report]
A Birth Control Pill for Men [Marie Claire]