It’s hard to think of an invention that has been more transformative to women than the birth control pill. Suddenly, American women possessed a power that women never before in history had: They could control when they got pregnant. They could have sex like . . . men.
The pill—and the profound legal, political and cultural changes that the sexual revolution and feminism ushered in—liberated women. Those movements have allowed women to lead lives that literally were not possible beforehand.
But here we are, half a century later, with a culture in which porn and casual sex are abundant, but marriage and birth rates are at historic lows. And many people are asking: Did we go wrong somewhere along the way? Was the sexual revolution actually bad for women?
The debaters:
Jill Filiopvic is an author and attorney who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and many other publications. You can follow her writing on her newsletter.
Louise Perry, based in London, is columnist at the The New Statesman. She is the author of the new book: “The Case Against the Sexual Revolution.”
Wanna know why young women don’t identify with feminism? Listen to Jill for 5 minutes.
What an episode. Bari just keeps on DOING it. :)
I’m glad I read through the comments before posting this. A lot of folks saved me some writing. That said, what an awesome group of folks who listen to "Honestly" and read Common Sense!
I’m wondering how “shame” and “stigmatism” have become so unpopular, yet people reveal time and again their hypocrisy in using both not only in name-calling/labeling folks they disagree with, but to outright cancelling some they really disagree with. Are we simply trying to avoid the truth that both shame and stigmatism have their uses? No offense to anyone, but isn’t that a bit childish? I mean, I know there are really terrible words that rarely if ever need to be used, but I believe these two have useful utilitarian value in society's vocabulary (e.g.“Pedophilia is shameful and all proven offenders should carry the stigmatism for the safety of the rest of society.”) if anything. People KNOW when we mean to shame someone. And folks also know when they're being stigmatized. Is the truth that their definitions are simply too much for us to admit now? Strange.
Jill. She gave it a shot. Good on her for that. As much as I disagree with the bulk of what she said, I’m glad she gets to say it. Folks certainly need to hear her side as well. I get the feeling she doesn’t really like men much though. I hope I’m wrong, but that’s the vibe I got the entire podcast. And perhaps her obsession with sexual pleasure blinds her to the realities that await her in her later years. For many reality is the wall you run into while chasing after foolish dreams.
Louise. I literally pre-ordered the Kindle version of her book because of this episode. I’m SO looking forward to August 29th (the book's release date) now. Well done by you dear lady! She's certainly on my radar now. And may motherhood be even more of a blessing than she ever expected.
Bari Weiss. I just keep smiling and shaking my head at the force that she has become. As crazy as this may sound, I’m so glad about the NY Times incident. Look what it unleashed.