Forget the pill, diaphragms, the patch, condoms, etc., - just watch TV!

Oh India, I thought you were smarter than this.

India plans on reducing its rapidly expanding population by providing electricity and television to its rural and poor areas. People will watch TV, instead of making love – instead of making babies. “80% of the population growth can be reduced through television,” claims Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Health and Family Welfare Minister.

Did the Minister not think that perhaps free birth control might prove useful in reducing birth rates?

And what about … education?

Studies from the CDC and from the United Nations show that when women are educated, they are empowered, autonomous – and birth rates decline. And in general, isn’t a literate and educated population of women good for society as a whole?

Of course, India believes the night-time TV will perhaps be enlightening and of some educational value.

Now what are the odds of that?

Dear John: Thanks for all that awesome sex!

John Billings died the other day. Not many know who he was, but I do. And I truly appreciate him.

Because of John Billings, eggs of mine that I did not care a whit about remained unfertilized. And one egg that I did care about – well it developed into my lovely daughter.

Billings promoted a natural method of birth control that some critics claimed was akin to the rhythm method and barely effective. But a version of Billing’s technique sure worked for me.

Using Billing’s method, a woman observes and charts the changes in her vaginal mucus. That mucus goes through rather noticeable shifts throughout a menstrual cycle.

I used a method called Sympto-Thermal, which along with tracking the changes in mucus also requires you to record your basal temperature every day. Yup – a woman’s temperature when at rest fluctuates throughout her cycle.

For about four years, I kept a daily chart of my observations – tracking the changes in my basal temperature, my mucus, and other physical changes. I became quite adept at analyzing the information and identifying when I was ovulating, when I was about to, and when the coast was clear – those times (brief and fleeting) during which I could make love without the use of birth control and have no fear of getting pregnant when I didn’t want to. And that gave me a certain amount of power. I could decide to abstain from sex, use birth control, or have sex without protection at no risk. I was not a big fan of the pill, IUDs, diaphrams, condoms, or contraceptive jellies and creams, etc. And I liked my sex au natural. But that comes with certain risks I wasn’t always willing to take.

Or, as I did with my daughter, I could also look at the chart and say to my husband, “If we make love today, we’ll probably make a baby. Wanna?”

We did. And my beautiful daughter was conceived.

Observing and charting the changes you go through during a cycle is time-consuming – and you have to be dedicated. But I gained a far more intimate knowledge of my body than I had before, a true understanding of how my cycles functioned – and the ability to decide when, and if, to use birth control.

So thank you John Billings. I’ve had a lot of really awesome sex because of you!

The War on Women

Clearly, the War on Women is experiencing an escalation (or as our sistah Condi would say - an augmentation).

Two key signs that indicate a sharp surge in this agressive effort against women:

1. As an “unintended” result of the Medicaid prescription drug overhaul, the cost of birth control pills is rising – sometimes doubling and tripling. Unintended my vagina. No doubt, this is just the thing the former Republican congress would do to pander to their Christian fundie base.

2. Africa’s Ivory Coast, home to the largest cocoa producer, has suffered a drought – which in turn will affect the cocoa orchards and the market. (C’mon Senator Inhofe – even a prick like you can now agree – global warming is a serious threat!) Although the current cocoa crop is not affected, chocolate prices are soaring and a shortage is anticipated – just in time for the end of the Lent and Easter Sunday – perhaps the impending chocolate shortage is not just part of the War on Women, but a part of the War on Easter as well. Could it be that the Christian fundies and feminists have a cause in common?

Girls, we'd best stock up on birth control and chocolate!