See both Phoebe and also The Hairpin on Rush Limbaugh, the contraception debate, and the ways in which ignorance about how contraception works skews the argument. I wholeheartedly agree with Phoebe that male ignorance about contraception drives much of the issue.
In the comments there, I raise a suggestion that the most vocal constituency in favor of restricting contraception also tends to know the least about it: it's not so difficult to be a part of a family that objected to a school's sex education curriculum and so removed their kids from it, remain celibate into one's 20s, acquire a religious view that makes the use of contraception a positive evil, and therefore not have any concrete ideas about exactly what they're opposing in wanting to ban contraception. This is a problem because a lot of these people congregate in DC, and a lot of them end up in politics or policy--i.e. having an influence disproportionate to their number in the general population. Which is a problem if you are concerned, as I am, about the future of the Republican party and the conservative movement in general.
"Thou shalt not extinguish thine anger, but shall master it,
that thy conscience may not be blunted by adjustment
to wrong causes."
-The Dutch Ten Commandments to Foil the Nazis
1 comment:
I see what you're getting at, but am left wondering, for people in this category, would it really matter if they knew what contraception was? I mean, let's say a woman has had three sexual partners ever: a college boyfriend, a post-college boyfriend, and the man she ultimately marries, but sleeps with before the wedding. Let's say that once married, she continues to use contraception, except when specifically trying for a kid. In general terms, it would be difficult to say that such a woman is/was "promiscuous," or a participant in the "hook-up culture." But if you think all non-marital and non-procreative sex is wrong, if you think "three" sounds like enough partners to mean a woman's been around the block, such a woman is indicative of the dangers of secular modernity.
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