THE LONG HISTORY OF BIRTH CONTROL & OTHER NEWS
Welcome to the Adult Sex Ed Newsletter. It's my first time, be gentle.
Hi Everyone,
Happy hump day and thanks so much for reading this newsletter! If you were already subscribed to my personal newsletter, I’ve migrated everything related to ADULT SEX ED over here. I’m really excited to write some funny educational deep dives for you all!
This is a weekly newsletter from me, Dani Faith Leonard. It’s an extension of the live comedy show ADULT SEX ED that I’ve hosted since 2018. The show is about plugging the holes in our education as adults, so I’ll be doing just that. Each week, I will take a deep dive into a topic that I’ve explored for the show. Every so often, I’ll also publish a funny essay about something going on in my life. I’ll also include updates about upcoming live shows and podcasts, plus I’ll send recommendations about things my friends are doing (if you want to know more about this newsletter, here’s a description on substack).
Ready to get a little smarter? Okay, let’s go!
Dani
THE LONG HISTORY OF BIRTH CONTROL
Last Summer, I did a deep dive on the history of birth control for the Los Angeles show in July and New York show in August. I love researching history segments for the show that illuminate just how wrong we are if we ever assume that any conversation about sex is a new one. Here’s what I learned:
Birth control methods have been around since the beginning of time. There was a big narrative in several ancient cultures that men were not supposed to “spill their seed,” which has persisted over thousands of years. In the Bible, God killed men for wasting sperm—it was better to do something silly with that sperm, like impregnate your sister-in-law, rather than waste it. In Ancient China, men were encouraged to save their semen by bending forward and trying to ejaculate in their own buttholes (If you walk away from this newsletter with one image in your head, I hope this is it).
Also prevalent since ancient times - the belief that preventing pregnancy is a woman’s responsibility. And women in ancient cultures had some methods that still work today.
Ancient Greek women made sperm blockers out of pomegranates, while Egyptians stuffed themselves with a paste of crocodile dung and honey. Crocodile doo doo is alkaline to a degree similar to contemporary spermicides and the paste acted as a blocker. They were literally willing to stuff shit inside them to not get pregnant, in case you were wondering how much it mattered to them.
The Talmud, an ancient Jewish text, recommended that sponges be soaked in vinegar and used to prevent pregnancy. Sponges are still effective and used today, and also set the scene for one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes.
Native Americans used plants, like stoneseed, as oral contraceptives, hundreds of years before the pharmaceutical industry developed birth control pills.
Guess what? WHEN MEN CREATED BIRTH CONTROL, IT WAS USUALLY POISON.
Soranus was a 2nd century Greek gynecologist with a truly perfect name. He told women to drink the water that blacksmiths used to cool their metal. Hundreds of centuries later during the Great Depression, Lysol advertised itself as a douche to prevent infection and odor and subtly hinted that it could be used for birth control. Not surprisingly, some women died from using it, but they smelled lemony-fresh.
Cut to today. The IUD dates back to the early 1900s and the hormonal birth control pill has only been around since 1960. But it’s important to note that indigenous and ancient people invented methods of birth control that are actually still deemed effective today. Whenever there’s an argument over birth control access, it’s important to remember that it’s been widely used since the beginning of time. And whenever someone tries to make an excuse about wearing condoms, you can remind that person that Ancient Egyptians literally used shit.
PS - The history of the condom is far less interesting and we’ll discuss at a later date!
THREE STORIES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
#1: Florida may ban girls’ period talk in elementary grades (even though it’s not uncommon to get your period between ages 8 and 16) - AP News
#2: Pope Francis indicated he would review the Roman Catholic Church’s rule of priestly celibacy, referring to the rule as temporary. I assume he’s horny and here’s a wikipedia list of other priestly horndogs - Wikipedia
#3: Sex Ed is a culture war issue in the U.K., too - Dazed
YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT
Tomorrow night, March 23rd // Frequent ADULT SEX ED guest performer Natalie Wall’s show, Awkward Sex & the City is back with an amazing line-up in NYC (she’s crushing it, touring all over). 8PM at C’mon Everybody. GET TICKETS
NEWS FROM 2022 PARTNERS
November’s live show sponsor, Blink Date, launched their dating app that sets up in-app first dates for you, so you don’t waste hours of your life swiping.
Singles spend an average of 10 hours a week swiping, only to end up with an inbox full of “hey” messages and conversations that go nowhere. Blink is for singles who want to actually connect with potential partners. It was designed to break the endless cycle of swiping and messaging – daters just input what they’re looking for and when they’re free and the app schedules them for in-app first dates. Check it out here.
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This was hilarious and informative thank you! "Soranus" ahaha oh no!