Historia de la anticoncepción e historia oral, una revisión bibliográfica / Oral history of contraception: A review

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¿Una pequeña revolución sexual? Experiencias de sexualidad y anticoncepción de mujeres andaluzas entre los años cincuenta y ochenta del siglo XX / A small sexual revolution? Andalusian women's experiences of sexuality and contraception between the 1950s and 1980s

El artículo indaga en el impacto de los "modelos de género" oficiales del Franquismo, ligados al carácter pronatalista del régimen y a la criminalización de la anticoncepción que instaló, sobre las prácticas sexuales y reproductivas de las mujeres. Analizamos también como cambiaron estas prácticas en relación con el progresivo desmantelamiento de estos modelos durante la Transición Democrática. Nuestro objetivo es profundizar en la subjetividad y diversidad de las experiencias relacionadas con la sexualidad y el control de la natalidad de las mujeres españolas residentes en diferentes lugares de Andalucía durante las décadas del 1950, 1960 y 1970. Para ello, llevamos a cabo 22 entrevistas en la ciudad de Granada y en dos pueblos, uno de ellos en la provincia de Granada y otro en la provincia de Córdoba. Partiendo de sus relatos, pudimos constatar que la prohibición legal de la venta y divulgación de métodos anticonceptivos fue altamente ineficaz. Independientemente de la clase social o lugar de residencia, tanto las mujeres como sus parejas utilizaron diversos procedimientos y productos anticonceptivos para espaciar o limitar el número de su descendencia. Los relatos de sexualidad prematrimonial y búsqueda activa del placer de las mujeres y los azarosos procesos de toma de decisiones en relación con el tamaño familiar nos permiten matizar la imagen monolítica de la "represión sexual" en la España de Franco, poniendo en tela de juicio una negociación a nivel micro de los modelos de género y de la legislación anti-anticonceptiva en distintos entornos sociales y en parejas con distinto grado de compenetración y jerarquía. Las experiencias de las mujeres urbanas, que hablan de relaciones sexuales con y sin llegar al coito vaginal antes del matrimonio y de la importancia del placer contrastan con los testimonios de violencia sexual experimentada por algunas mujeres de más edad y del medio rural. Las primeras vivieron su revolución sexual, casi siempre dentro de una pareja formal con la que mantenían una relación igualitaria mientras que, para las segundas, la sexualidad y los embarazos fueron una herramienta de dominación masculina

This article addresses the impact of the official "gender models" of Francoism, linked to the regime's birth rate promotion and criminalization of contraception, on women’s sexual and reproductive practices. We also analyze how these practices changed in relation to the progressive dismantling of these models during the Democratic Transition. The aim of this article is to explore the subjectivity and diversity of experiences related to sex and birth control reported by women who had lived in the Southern Spanish region of Andalusia during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. For this purpose, we conducted 22 oral history interviews in Granada city and in two small towns, one in Cordoba province and the other in Granada province. Based on their accounts, we affirm that prohibition of the sale and dissémination of contraceptive methods was highly ineffective. Regardless of their social class or area of residence, both the women and their partners used various contraceptive techniques and products to space out or limit the number of their children. Tales of premarital sex, the active search of women's for sexual pleasure, and the somewhat random decision-making on family size, allow us to question the monolithic image of "sexual repression" in Francoist Spain. They also raise questions about micro-negotiations around gender models and anti-contraception legislation in different social settings and in couples with different degrees of mutual understanding and equality. Experiences of urban women, who spoke of pre-marital sexual relations (with or without penetration) and the importance of sexual pleasure, contrast with testimony of sexual violence fromsome older women in a rural environment. While the former lived through their sexual revolution, which took place within a formal and egalitarian relationship, sexuality and pregnancies were a tool of male domination for the latter group

Sexualidad y anticoncepción en la periferia española durante la transición democrática: Los Centros Asesores de la Mujer y la Familia en la Región de Murcia (1980-1982) / Sexuality and contraception in the Spanish periphery during the democratic transition: Advice Centers for Women and Families in the Region of Murcia (1980-1982)

En los últimos años del franquismo y durante la transición democrática se produjo en España una fuerte actividad a favor de la legalización de los métodos anticonceptivos, prohibidos en España desde 1941, y del desarrollo de infraestructuras que facilitaran su accesibilidad a las mujeres. Una de las características de este proceso fue la interacción entre los intereses de carácter social y político (feministas, democráticos, pro derechos humanos) y científico-sanitarios que confluyeron en él, así como la creación de centros de planificación familiar caracterizados por una gran diversidad regional en cuanto a su origen, desarrollo y consolidación. La investigación que se propone pretende analizar en qué medida los centros de planificación familiar creados en Murcia, una región donde la Iglesia Católica ha ocupado un lugar central en la sociedad, contribuyeron a la expansión de los derechos de las mujeres a la salud, al conocimiento de sus cuerpos y de su sexualidad. De modo particular, este trabajo se centra en los Centros Asesores de la Mujer y la Familia, dispositivos puestos en marcha por el Consejo Regional Murciano en 1980 y vigentes hasta 1982. La existencia de un feminismo organizado e independiente de los partidos políticos jugó un papel relevante en las prácticas de estos centros, más allá de permitir el acceso de las mujeres de amplios sectores sociales a la anticoncepción. La estrecha vinculación entre las organizaciones feministas y el movimiento de mujeres con los Centros Asesores posibilitó la transferencia de determinados conocimientos y prácticas del movimiento de salud de las mujeres a estos centros, que los difundieron a su vez, mediante estrategias educativas, a mujeres de las clases populares

During the last years of Francoism and Spain's transition to democracy, a social movement emerged to promote the legalization and mainstreaming of contraceptive methods (prohibited in Spain since 1941). One of the key features of this process was the interaction of social, political, scientific, and healthcare interests pursued by participants in the afore mentioned movement, which included feminists, human rights and pro-democracy activists, and medical professionals. Another feature was the creation of family planning centers characterized by a wide regional diversity in their origin, development, and consolidation. This study analyzes the ways in which family planning centers in Murcia, a region where the Catholic Church has played a central role in society, contributed to the expansion of the health rights of women, their knowledge of their own bodies, and their sexuality. This paper focuses on the Advice Centers for Women and Families created by the Regional Council of Murcia in 1980, which were active until 1982. The existence of an organized feminist movement that was independent from political parties played an important role in the practices of these centers, which went far beyond offering contraceptive methods to working-class women. The close connection between feminist organizations and the Advice Centers allowed for the transfer of specific knowledge and practices linked to the women’s health movement, which were in turn disseminated amongst working-class women

The condom: A turbulent history.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The literature concerning the history of condoms is replete with errors. The paper Youssef published in 1993 is in our opinion the best. We update and expand the information. METHODS: To mention only established facts, we accessed primary sources, which are identified in the article. FINDINGS: The origin of the term 'condom' remains an enigma. Plausible hypotheses are that it is derived from either (i) the Latin 'condere' (to sheathe) or the corresponding noun 'condus' (receptacle); or (ii) the Venetian variant 'gondon' of the Italian word 'guantone' (glove). The earliest identified mention of a similar barrier method is in the legend of Minos and Pasiphae written (in the 2nd century AD) by Antoninus Liberalis. A penile sheath, made from animal gallbladder, was advocated in the 10th century by the Persian physician Al-Akhawayni. The earliest surviving condoms made of animal membranes date back to between 1642 and 1646. Such 'skin' condoms became increasingly popular for prevention of venereal disease, but as early as the 18th century their value as contraceptives was appreciated. Rubber condoms were available from 1855; since 1930, they are made of latex. We mention, in parallel, the most striking changes over time in sexual mores and behaviours, and illustrate these by referring to colourful figures such as, among others, Boswell, Mrs Philips, Casanova, Marguerite Gourdan, and Richard Carlile. CONCLUSION: Papers related to this topic often contain errors, which we identify. Condoms over time evolved from animal gut receptacles to reliable contraceptives protecting also against certain sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Contraception in historical and global perspective.

This chapter describes the rise in contraceptive practice and fall in fertility from around 1880 to the present day. Two main phases are identified: the first confined to European populations and involving methods of low efficacy, and the second embracing the whole planet involving modern methods. Today, sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where low levels of contraceptive use and high fertility persist. Nevertheless, nearly half of pregnancies worldwide are still unintended, and much scope remains for improvement in contraceptive protection. The main international priority is Africa, where demographic factors jeopardize the goals of reducing poverty and hunger.

Deliberate control in a natural fertility population: southern Sweden, 1766-1864.

In this article, we analyze fertility control in a rural population characterized by natural fertility, using survival analysis on a longitudinal data set at the individual level combined with food prices. Landless and semilandless families responded strongly to short-term economic stress stemming from changes in prices. The fertility response, both to moderate and large changes in food prices, was the strongest within six months after prices changed in the fall, which means that the response was deliberate. People foresaw bad times and planned their fertility accordingly. The result highlights the importance of deliberate control of the timing of childbirth before the fertility transition, not in order to achieve a certain family size but, as in this case, to reduce the negative impacts of short-term economic stress.

Hormonal contraceptive methodology: an historical review.

The introduction of the first hormonal contraceptive was one of the most important events of the twentieth century for women. The availability of oral contraceptives (OCs) provided women with greater control over their reproductive lives. As OC usage steadily increased, so did concern over health risks associated with their use. Concluding that adverse events were dose-related, scientists sought to develop lower-dose formulations. In the four decades since the first OC, women seeking contraception have benefited from the development of non-oral hormonal delivery systems, including injectables, intrauterine devices, implants, a vaginal ring, and a contraceptive patch. It is hoped that this expanding menu of choices affords women opportunities to find methods better suited to their individual needs. Clinicians should continually evaluate their patients' hormonal contraceptive needs, and provide adequate counseling so that every woman is afforded the opportunity to achieve contraceptive success.

"Simple methods" and "determined contraceptors": the statistical evaluation of fertility control, 1957-1968.

PIP: This paper discusses the use of two US research projects in legitimizing fertility control through the authority of scientific research. The projects included field trials of "simple methods of contraception" and IUDs that were sponsored by the US Population Council and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Research was used to test whether simple methods and the IUD were safe and effective. In 1957, contraception research did not have the support of the academic medical leadership, and most state health departments did not distribute birth control literature. The clinical field trials were conducted through 95 PPFA-affiliated centers under the direction of PPFA's Medical Director Mary Calderone during 1957-64. The institutional affiliation served to give legitimacy to PPFA and to validate use-effectiveness of creams, jellies, or spermicides with a diaphragm. The Population Council reactivated the National Committee on Maternal Health (NCMH) with Christopher Tietze as head and as a member of the Advisory Committee of the new PPFA Clinical Investigation Program. Clarence Gamble, who believed in the "anything that works approach," severed his relationship with NCMH. Calderone thought that "any method was better than no method, but the most critical factor in effectiveness was availability." What was innovative about these trials was the study of the practice of contraception and the use of a statistical measure. The trials found that the diaphragm was the most effective and acceptable method. The EMKO brand was the most popular foam. Tietze's evaluation of five different IUDs during 1963-68 did not meet the rigorous criteria of Louis Lasagna, but did determine the regularity and continuity of contraceptive practice. Life table methods were used to demonstrate a statistically valid result. By 1964 contraception became recognized in the medical field. By 1968 a statistically valid result among "determined contraceptors" established the medical legitimacy of the IUD, and global distribution ensued.^ieng

Safer sex now and then.

That longstanding aid to non-procreative sex, the condom, may have come into its golden age in the time of the AIDS epidemic. Di Tibbits sheds some light on the condom's dark past, and looks at the history of other methods of safer sex.

PIP: Even though many men complain that condoms reduce their levels of sensation and sexual pleasure during sexual intercourse, latex rubber condoms when used correctly do in most cases block the transmission of sperm and infectious agents between sex partners. Condoms were used as disease prevention devices as early as the 16th century, with animal tissue condoms advertised in Europe by the 18th century for both disease prevention and contraception. Early condoms were tied on with ribbons and reusable. Rubber condoms were developed in 1843. When the use of these latter devices against sexually transmitted disease was first mentioned in the Australian medical press in 1870, however, critics cried that condoms would only encourage immorality. Thinner latex rubber condoms were developed in the 1930s. Condoms and other contraceptives became widely available in Australia by the late 19th century. The author discusses the history of the condom and some other methods of safe sex in sections on the condom, contraceptives, morals, population concerns, restriction of condom availability and promotion, chemical disease preventives, the history of chemical prophylaxis, prophylaxis for soldiers and civilians, the prophylaxis debate, prophylaxis in Australia, and safer sex now.