Sacrificing Our Fertility on the Altar of Hedonism — Is the Pill Working Against You?
For decades now, the Pill has been hailed as the greatest invention since man invented the wheel or discovered fire. And with good reason. The Pill has awarded women a level of sexual freedom that was, until that point, unprecedented. Unburdened by the dangling threat of unwanted pregnancy, modern women are able to pursue sexual liberation and even promiscuity to their heart’s content. What’s more, whereas before, a great deal of contraceptive responsibility lay with the man (as, ironically, did a lot of sexual entitlement), now a woman holds all the cards.
And yet, she may be losing.
Are contraceptives sabotaging your relationships?
The science says maybe.
Although much of our modern society focuses on hedonistic, carpe diem attitudes, particularly in regard to sex and relationships, the biological truth is that our choice of mate is made, largely, by our monkey brain. In other words, you might profess wanting fast, string-free sex all you like, but your brain is unlikely to be selecting mates solely on that basis. Quite the contrary, we are built to seek out mates with whom we may copulate, and further the human species.
And that is a choice impacted by hormones. Let’s face it — our caveman’s brains aren’t reasoning logically through a potential partner’s pros and cons. They’re using primal, hormonal receptors to determine their fitness as a reproductive partner.
Bingo. Most contraceptive options (birth control pills, injections, etc.) are basically hormonal shots that would make a baby improbable, if not downright impossible. And our potential partners are feeling that.
In his groundbreaking study, “The Decline of Males”, Dr. Lionel Tiger, Ph.D., observed the reproductive habits of macaque monkeys that were periodically injected with the Depo-Povera shot (a contraceptive progestin shot administered every 3 months). After injecting two test groups of female monkeys with the shot, Dr. Tiger, a Rutgers U professor at the time, observed the behavior of the alpha male in the group.
Almost immediately, the alpha male, nicknamed Austin, abandoned his chosen mates, in favor of other, un-injected females. When the injections wore off and other females were injected, the alpha male began exhibiting signs of confusion, and even outright aggression.
“He began to attempt rape, masturbate, and behave in a turbulent and confused manner. […] But no matter what he did, there was never the usual episode of intercourse.”
Indeed, numerous other studies go to extreme lengths to explain that men find women more attractive when they are fertile. This is also why some visibly pregnant women note receiving more male attention than before they got pregnant — they are walking, talking proof that they are a reproductive success.
From an evolutionary perspective, we all want to score that juicy biological jackpot. And women on contraceptives just don’t seem to be it. Which seems to pose other problems. For instance, the generally accepted idea seems to be that you can take birth control pills or shots for a while (even years, at a time), during which time you meet the perfect person for you, get married, then presumably come off those contraceptives, when you decide the time is right to have a child.
But how could you attract the right person, to begin with?
Once again, science seems to think so. The idea behind contraceptives like the Pill is that they will create a chemical pregnancy to fool your body into avoiding a real one. However, there is ample evidence that pregnancy seriously impacts our interactions with other human beings, including how much we depend on others. While pregnant, women (and studies show that reproductive choices of pregnant and contracepting women are worryingly similar) are far likelier to seek out comforting, docile partners that will make them feel safe, but who are not necessarily a healthy genetic choice. Moreover, women on some form of hormonal birth control are more prone to choosing partners who are closer to their own genealogical anatomy.
In other words, women on the Pill will choose men who have similar genes to their own.
Which is not how evolution is supposed to work. Ideally, reproductive pairs should be as varied and diverse as possible, to improve the chances of survival that your children have. Basically, you’re looking for a partner with different genes from your own, so that your child inherits more ample genetic information.
So getting back to our alleged timeline of your life, birth control might be causing you to make the wrong choice, in terms of a partner. In fact, studies that looked at women’s romantic preferences both on and off the Pill found that many couples formed while the woman was on birth control eventually separated (at her initiative) after the woman stopped taking the Pill.
The Pill: hindrance or necessary evil?
The purpose of this isn’t to bash hormonal contraceptives. Not in the slightest. Personally, I remember thinking it was the single greatest invention in the history of mankind when I first discovered the Pill.
And yes, hormonal contraceptives can be such a phenomenal ally for women everywhere, from those struggling with hormonal irregularities, to those who are pursuing more varied sex lives, to those who are simply just a little lost. It’s a safety net, and often, a very necessary one.
But it is not without its perils — some of which, we’re warned about right when we buy that little pill box. Headaches, acne, blood clots — for decades now, women have accepted these potential (though rare) side effects as a necessary evil.
I find it interesting, however, that there’s no warning telling you you might end up making the wrong mating choices while on the Pill, or that it might repel that person you’re so desperately looking for. I figure, maybe we need to know that, as well…
