Of all the names Millennials have been called the nickname the “pullout generation” is one of the most telling and interesting. This term refers to the heterosexual women and their male partners who rely on the “pullout method” while having sex rather than condoms or the pill to avoid pregnancy. Though we were taught in health class in 11th grade that not using birth control and a condom could have serious consequences, more and more people are choosing to forego traditional methods of birth control for the pullout method.
It is perhaps the oldest method of birth control and was in previous years seen as irresponsible and naïve, but is now quickly becoming much more popular. Attitudes toward the birth control pill have changed in recent years. Women complain about the unwanted side effects they experience from the pill, and instead opt to go off of it, and men don’t want to use condoms. The result has been a return to what was once considered the most irresponsible form of birth control.
In a study conducted by Duke University of more than 2,000 women, 31% reported using the pullout method “at least once”, and other studies suggest that it is becoming a more popular method of birth control among young people. “Many contraceptives…require a lot of action on the part of a woman. Using a condom, having a condom, going to the store or pharmacy to get one. Refilling the pill, taking it every day, getting a prescription refilled. Travel and moving. So many issues make these contraceptive methods difficult to use or to be consistent about,” said Dr. Kari Braaten, quoted in an article originally published in US News. Yale University also recently published a study that showed that only 47% of students reported using condoms all the time.
The degree of difficulty using these methods has apparently been too much of a burden for women to bear. Though Generation Y has endured criticism for their entitled attitudes, it could be that Millennials’ feelings of entitlement have extended to their views on sex. While the burden of contraception has largely been on the women in previous decades, the movement away from birth control comes, ironically at a time when it is most readily available to us, thanks to Obamacare. The reluctance from both men and women to use what have been proven to be the most effective forms of birth control is somewhat surprising from a generation who seems to want putting off having kids longer than couples have in the past. The ease of accessibility to the pill has not shown to slow down this slow resistance to using it, but it seems the attitudes of millennials have shaped their views on sex more than anything else.
According to statistical evidence, the pullout has been proven to be less effective in preventing pregnancy, and these feelings of entitlement to unprotected sex without the unwanted side effects of birth control is without a doubt risky. We can’t know how this shift in attitudes will affect sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy, but one thing is for sure: a STD or unwanted pregnancy is probably the polar opposite of “liberation”.
With endless options for contraceptives, it’s hard to imagine why women would choose to risk unwanted pregnancy, especially outside of a monogamous relationship, but some are still willing to risk it.
Most importantly, though, it’s crucial to consider how this new trend is affecting the norms in terms of how we use contraception: just because it may becoming less popular to rely on birth control or condoms to prevent pregnancy doesn’t mean you should be more reluctant to insist that he put a condom on.
Sources:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/09/05/pullout_generation_withd…
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a35617/survey-says-yale-studen…