SOCIAL THOUGHT AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Social Thought and Social Change- Some aspect of the society during the first emergence of a cultural icon within the UK between 1900 - 2000



Social Thought and Social Change- Some aspect of the society during the first emergence of a cultural icon within the UK between 1900 - 2000

Introduction

             The research topic I have chosen is 'The Contraceptive Pill' more commonly known as 'The Pill'. I have chosen to investigate this, as I believe it is a worthwhile topic. Moreover, the contraceptive pill has been hailed as, one of the greatest scientific invention of the 20th Century by some commentators, emerging at a period of social and political upheaval in the UK. This topic counts as a cultural icon as it affected women's liberation, for the first time women had control over their fertility.

 Research Topic

            My research concern is whether 1900-2000 was a period of women's liberation in the UK due to the emergence of the contraceptive pill. In order to gain a more focused research objective I began to look at specific details of my research topic. My research concerns time frame of 1900-2000 is too large a period to cover, I looked at several ways to further break this down. Upon doing my research I found in 1961 the contraceptive pill first became available on the NHS. I believe taking the period 1960 and its subsequent years that follow would help me achieve a more focused research question.

My research question “The 1960's saw the rise of women's liberation; could this be attributed to the emergence of the contraceptive pill”?

 

Documentary Sources

             I used two types of primary source data for this investigation. The first, from the Office for National Statistics website titled 'Fertility Summary - 2010'. This is a quantitative statical document comparing fertility rates in the UK and the average age for childbirth in the four UK constituent countries. This document is extremely useful as it enables me to identify the effects of the emergence of the contraceptive pill on the birth rates in the UK.

Discussion

The year was 1960 and the contraceptive pill had been approved in the USA, sowing the seeds of a sexual revolution. (Zeilinger 2009: 2663-70)

After extensive testing by biologist Dr Gregory Pincus and other scientists on Haitian and Puerto Rican women, the pill was found to successfully inhibit pregnancy by copying the effects of the hormones oestrogen and progestyrone on ...