One little daily pill has caused a tremendous amount of discussion and controversy. Supporters praised it for opening the doors to sexual freedom and giving them the option to have worry free bareback sex if they so choose. However critics link it to irresponsible and risky sex practices and they often make a point of mentioning that diseases like herpes and syphilis are still a danger. In addition questions about the reliability plague early research data. Some of the more boisterous critics, like Rush Limbaugh, have even called users “sluts and prostitutes.”  While he is on the more extreme end, early users of the bareback pill have been looked at with judgement and labeled as cum hungry sluts by many around them.

Of course the pill I’m talking about is the infamous female birth control pill. This pill was designed to prevent pregnancy so women could have condomless sex without fear of the long term consequences. While the birth control pill doesn’t prevent every disease it does prevent child birth which is most (straight) people’s number one fear. If you look back at the history of the pill the early data was not 100% concrete and left some questioning it’s safety. The women of the 50’s and 60’s who did take birth control were seen as feminist trailblazers by some and sexual deviants by others.

If you haven’t noticed, almost every detail of the history of the female birth control pill is remarkably similar to that of PreP. Early PreP users are often looked at as cum hungry bottoms who want to ditch condoms for more pleasurable sex. But how are they different from those women back in the 60’s? It’s literally the same type of sex just with a different consequence. A good question to ask yourself is, do you consider women currently on the pill to be responsible females taking control of their sexuality or ravenous sluts who just want to be used as cum dumpsters?

One thing that helps with the overall acceptance of the pill is the decades of data behind it. It will take a long time for PreP to get to that level making that sure long term side effects and reliability remain at acceptable levels. Until then all I ask is that you keep an open mind. Is your opinion of PreP based in logic and reason or do hints of religious and patriarchal judgement creep in. We all like to think we’d be on the side of those early liberal feminists if we lived in the 60’s but that’s easy to say looking back in hindsight. When faced with the possibility of a large social shift right now which side of the isle do you end up on? Do you open your mind to the possibility of change or do you come from a place of fear by judging and persecuting others.

Personally I am not on PreP although I’ve considered it. The biggest reason I’m not is my general wariness of being on too many prescriptions. I’m already on two long term prescriptions so the idea of adding another isn’t appealing. Plus all medications have side effects that must be considered. PreP is new and long term data is still unavailable so I applaud those who are taking it because they are like the sexual beta testers of the world. With convictions much like those early feminist, they are taking on risk and social stigma in order to give the world more sexual options in the future.

For more information about the history of the birth control pill visit Planned Parenthood