Know Your Silenced History, Before Choosing the IUD

There is more to your birth control than meets the eye. 

Source: https://www.bedsider.org/features/643-iud-expulsion-is-it-as-scary-as-it-sounds

As a young woman exploring her sexual freedom, control over one's body is imperative, vital, and liberating. Birth control provides just that for women who wish to prolong or prevent childbearing, help regulate periods, and mitigate health issues. One of the most popular methods of birth control for women in the United States -almost 4.5 million to be exact- is the intrauterine device, otherwise known as the IUD.  The IUD definitely delivers its promises of granting its users a voice in their reproductive choices...

But at what price did this seemingly magical device come at?

The history behind the development, distribution, and marketing of the IUD is a troubling and hidden one. But it's one that matters.

Know your silenced history before choosing the IUD.

The troubled history of the IUD had its beginning in the 20th century as a method of population control for women in the global South. In other words, the IUD was used in poor countries as a means to keep these women from reproducing. Researchers used disturbing rhetoric to describe these IUD users from "less advanced countries" as women who lacked the "sophistication" and "motivation" to use the pill. Insinuating that these women were unwilling and unable to limit their own fertility, scientific studies strategically targeted them as the perfect candidates for the IUD. Instead of promoting this device for women in the global South as a means of reproductive freedom, it was instead used as a tool to control them and limit their fertility.

This idea also carried over to the United States by using the IUD as discriminatory mechanism for marginalized women, particularly women of color. This method of birth control specifically targeted women who received government assistance, were poor, convicted, and/or addicted to drugs and alcohol. It was also distributed to women who belonged to the Native American population and to  young inner city teens at school-based clinics. These carefully planned tactics were used to stop women who belonged to these "less favorable" demographics from having children. Rather than be what we all think of as the modern IUD, it was actually used as a mechanism to constrain the freedoms of these women.

The concept of scientific researchers developing and using the IUD as a tool to keep women of color from having children has left significant marks on American society, which can still be seen today in the form of marketing the IUD. In a commercial for the Mirena IUD, the audience is introduced to an African-American mother with two children. Throughout this entire commercial, there are constant reinforcements of the IUD's dark beginning history. While these problematic messages are no longer outright, they are still present in the marketing tactics of the IUD and influence how and to whom this form of birth control is distributed.

The center of this Mirena advertisement is the African-American woman and her upper middle-class family. She is married, well off, and at an age that traditionally would be deemed appropriate to have two children. In other words, she is seen as an acceptable mother. This commercial only promotes a constrained type of reproductive freedom for only certain types of women. It is no coincidence that this woman of this particular race is so well established in life. This key point is reflective of the prejudices that single and younger, less established mothers who belong to minority groups have always faced. This advertisement is portraying the fertility of an African-American woman as what is deemed the only acceptable and responsible way for a woman of color to have children. Furthermore, the children of this woman are horribly misbehaved throughout a majority of the commercial. The ad begins with these children making a mess at the grocery store and making life for their mother increasingly difficult. This is a deterrent in an ad that targets women of color from having more children or any children at all. The ideology of population control within these groups of women is no longer explicitly stated; however, there is no mistaking that these biased undertones are still prevalent.

In the making of one of the most important advancements for women's health, we often fail to recognize the long, dark history that preceded it. Although the IUD has now become a popular method of birth control that has successfully aided in the reproductive freedom of many women, it is still important to acknowledge the racial biases and prejudices that formed the foundation of the IUD. In order to contribute to the future, we must be aware of our past. The IUD is consistently shown in the present day as a device made solely for the liberty and comfort of all kinds of women. This is all we as consumers are shown. But now we know more. Women were targeted and selected so that their fertility could be controlled. These women were minorities, low-income, insulted, and used as tools in order to stop the reproduction of their kind. Women of color are still connected to this harmful history and have suffered for the freedoms we enjoy today. It is the responsibility of all to bring to light the history of systematic control over women.

Don't turn a blind eye to the injustices that made the IUD what it is today.