Target Women: Birth Control

This is a video from a current.tv show online called InfoMania.
Recently I’ve been hooked on watching every single “Target Women” installment that is available online, since one was posted on the Feministing blog about the pitfalls of Disney princesses. They’re short, funny, made by the only woman host of InfoMania, and are a beneficial model for critiquing product and media influences on women. One of my favorites is this video on birth control commercials and their interestingly vague approach to promoting contraceptive’s main purpose: preventing pregnancy. Allowing for the fact that this video segment edited commercials for their main purpose: producing a compelling video proving that they are vague, I still have a lot of experience watching these commercials and wondering if I buy a NuvaRing if my wardrobe will become as adorably trendy and flattering as their actresses. Basically, birth control commercials will address women’s universal desire to decrease the amount of time spent menstruating or being effected by “hormonal” symptoms that are unpleasant to experience and make us women unpleasant to be around, but they’ll leave out the essential concept: No Babies Please! Since I’m planning on doing my final project on birth control and clinic access in Minnesota, it has been interesting to see and think about what birth control companies are projecting as their ideal. An ethnically diverse cast of heterosexual women, who all mysteriously having lots of sex but not talking about it and are of the same upper middle class status, are shown shopping and eating salads and dancing playfully and on their laptops researching birth control diligently! No mention of sexual activity, pregnancy or babies is made. Why can’t a commercial be real and address concerns like ACCESS or affordability or even how well one brand of hormone will protect you in comparison to another? Instead, each brand boasts how well it can control your irritability, cramps and general desire to avoid talking about sexual activity at all costs. It’s all about the language of being discreet to achieve a plateau of hormonal levels that will keep you peppy, smiling and looking put together all day, every day with your best pals that are doing the same! Anything beyond that, talk to your doctor if you have specific concerns, or just in general want to know why women who use birth control are all so dang happy about it.

http://current.com/items/89157733_target_women_birth_control