60 Years of the Contraceptive Pill

It’s 60 years since the contraceptive pill was made available on the NHS. It has had a revolutionary impact on women’s lives and on society. In 1961 women often married at an early age and many were expected to stay at home and raise a family while men went out to work. The ability for women to have control of their own fertility meant they could choose to have children and a career on their own terms. The availability of the pill undoubtedly changed the nature of sexual relationships, even if it was not the single cause of the sexual revolution. While many view sex without the possibility of pregnancy as integral to a woman’s moral agency, social conservatives argue that separating sex from reproduction threatens the traditional family unit, which they see as the foundation of a stable society. More recently, there has been a backlash by some women against hormonal contraceptives to try to reclaim autonomy over their bodies. 60 years on, we live in a very different society but can we say we have made progress when it comes to attitudes towards women and sex? Teenage girls report sexual abuse in schools and on social media, while concern is growing among experts about the impact on children of readily-available pornographic images. If this isn’t where we hoped we might be, where do we go from here? Where now for women’s liberation? Is it time for another sexual revolution? With Dr. Sarah Jarvis, Caroline Farrow, Emma Chan and Louise Perry.

Producer: Dan Tierney.