Menstruation suppression is only a starting point. A more just and safe world for all bodies means shifting the questions we ask.
When hormonal contraceptive pills were first introduced to the public in 1960, they were initially packaged in a bottle, like other drugs. A few years later, Ortho-Novum was the first to create the circular dispenser that so many of us are familiar with: 21 days on, seven days off. This dispenser gave a sense of temporality to periods, as they occurred in a regular fashion every few weeks.
Chemical menstrual suppression, like hormonal contraception, represents the next step of what the historian Sharra Vostral calls “technologies of passing.” Menstrual management products were the first “technology of passing,” in that they allow a menstruating person to move through the world as though they are not menstruating.
Hormonal contraception, especially shorter-acting forms like pills, rings, patches, and injections, are a hassle, and users often report side effects, such as loss of libido, weight gain, vomiting, dizziness, and depression, as well as amenorrhea, irregular bleeding, and heavy bleeding. Two studies have reported some improvement in continuation among users with adverse side effects who received counseling, but the certainty of the finding was weak.
Significant side effects and high rates of discontinuation also plague the levonorgestrel-containing intrauterine device, or hormonal IUD. One study that examined the experiences of 161 women who had the hormonal IUD inserted at one hospital in the United Kingdom found that almost half of them had their IUD removed due to side effects, including “bloating, headaches, weight gain, depression, breast tenderness, excessive hair growth, greasy skin, acne, and sexual disinterest.
In a study interviewing physicians who administer hormonal contraception, respondents were less than understanding when patients requested early removal of the IUD. Physicians in this sample were often frustrated when patients were dissatisfied with their IUDs for any reason. Intent on getting as many people as possible to use them, a physician from the study confessed: “I don’t try to influence women’s decisions, but I do try.
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