Making room for rubbers: gender, technology, and birth control before the pill
Author:
Andrea Tone a
| Affiliation: | a School of History, Technology and Society, Georgia Institute of Technology, 685 Cherry St, Atlanta, GA 30332-0345, USA. |
DOI:
10.1080/07341510290028756
Publication Frequency:
4 issues per year
Subject:
History of Science & Technology;
Number of References: 54
Formats available:
PDF
(English)
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Abstract
Before the Food and Drug Administration approved in 1960 the distribution of oral contraceptives, the most popular form of birth control in the United States was the condom. Scholars have often downplayed men's involvement in the history of birth control, relegating knowledge and use of contraceptive technology to a separate "female domain." This article explores the role of condoms in the evolution of the American birth control business, attitudes toward public health, and everyday sexual behavior, and suggests why the full complexities of the history of birth control are best captured by an approach that is attentive to broad gender dynamics as well as to the diversity of technological change.
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| Keywords: Sexuality; Gender; Women's History; Condoms; Contraceptives; Business |
| view references (54) |

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