Birth Control Word List

BIRTH CONTROL

Reproductive autonomy technologies

WATCH

1. The Pill — PBS American Experience, 2003 · Documentary · The history of oral contraception and the revolution it made.

2. Unpregnant — Rachel Lee Goldenberg, 2020 · Film · Reproductive autonomy and the road trip to access it.

3. Obvious Child — Gillian Robespierre, 2014 · Film · Birth control failure and abortion treated as ordinary life events.

4. Miss Evers’ Boys — Joseph Sargent, 1997 · Film · Medical racism including reproductive coercion in the Tuskegee study.

5. The Handmaid’s Tale — Various, 2017– · Series · A world where birth control is abolished and women are reduced to vessels.

6. Ask Me Anything — Allison Burnett, 2014 · Film · A young woman navigating sexuality and reproductive choices without guidance.

7. Woman on Top — Fina Torres, 2000 · Film · Female bodily autonomy including reproductive choice as theme.

8. The Children of Men — Alfonso Cuarón, 2006 · Film · A world where birth control is moot because fertility has vanished; dystopian warning.

9. Never Rarely Sometimes Always — Eliza Hittman, 2020 · Film · The barriers to reproductive healthcare when birth control fails.

10. Reversing Roe — Ricki Stern & Annie Sundberg, 2018 · Documentary · The movement to restrict birth control alongside abortion access.

LISTEN

1. The Repro Wrap — Rewire News Group · Birth control policy and access covered weekly.

2. Contraception in America — NPR special · The history and politics of birth control access.

3. Guys We F****d — Corinne Fisher & Krystyna Hutchinson · Sex-positive conversations including birth control and reproductive responsibility.

4. Code Switch: Reproductive health — NPR · How race shapes access to and experience of birth control.

5. The Birth Hour — Bryn Huntpalmer · Birth and reproductive choice stories from those who’ve lived them.

6. America Dissected — Abdul El-Sayed · Public health including contraception access as a healthcare equity issue.

7. Lady Parts Justice League — Lizz Winstead · Reproductive rights advocacy with humor and urgency.

8. Planned Parenthood Podcast — Various · Birth control education and advocacy directly from healthcare providers.

9. Sex Ed with DB — Danielle Bezalel · Honest sex education including contraception for adults.

10. Hidden Brain: Reproduction — Shankar Vedantam · The psychology and biology of reproductive decision-making.

READ

1. Woman’s Body, Woman’s Right — Linda Gordon · The history of birth control as a political and feminist struggle.

2. The Birth of the Pill — Jonathan Eig · The scientists and activists who created oral contraception.

3. Killing the Black Body — Dorothy Roberts · Reproductive coercion against Black women including forced contraception.

4. No More Nice Girls — Ellen Willis · Feminist essays on birth control, sexuality, and reproductive freedom.

5. Reproductive Justice — Loretta Ross & Rickie Solinger · Birth control within a broader framework of reproductive rights and autonomy.

6. The Handmaid’s Tale — Margaret Atwood · Contraception’s abolition as the centerpiece of totalitarian control over women.

7. Our Bodies, Ourselves — Boston Women’s Health Book Collective · The foundational women’s health text including comprehensive birth control information.

8. Fixed: How to Perfect Nature — Lori Andrews · Reproductive technology, birth control, and the ethics of choosing who is born.

9. Taking Charge of Your Fertility — Toni Weschler · Natural birth control through fertility awareness; body literacy as empowerment.

10. Policing the Womb — Michele Goodwin · How the state criminalizes reproductive decisions including contraception access.