Girls and the Pill: Sex, Health and Managing the Self

This thesis examines the place of the oral contraceptive pill within the context of girls as subjects in contemporary Canadian society.In many ways, discourses that associate pill use with choice, reproductive rights and increased control over the body for women are still prevalent today.Yet, there is an increased emphasis placed on autonomy, self-realization and empowerment, as well as the life-style benefits of the pill; further, young women, not women generally, are the target of campaigns that seek to encourage pill use.In attempting to examine the discourses that constitute young women as subjects on the pill, I have brought together interviews with young women currently taking it and texts from the print news media, pharmaceutical advertising and public health communications.This thesis contributes to Foucault's later work on ethics and care of the self and practices of freedom, which examines how government of the self occurs within the context of relationships with others.However, through engaging in a dialogue with post-structural feminist accounts of gender and the body, feminist studies of science and technology and recent work on emotional regulation and emotion management, I consider the particular characteristics of subjects and the way that work on the self occurs on an ongoing basis in daily life.In this thesis I argue that young women are actively engaged in constituting ethical conduct, while at the same time the conduct of young women is shaped by various pill discourses.As such, in this thesis, I do not determine whether young women should or should not use the pill, nor do I establish the degree to which it enables or limits choice, reproductive rights and freedom.Instead, I am interested in how tensions surrounding the pill produce ethical dilemmas that young women navigate on an ongoing basis.This thesis represents many parts of me and during the course of my studies my life has altered dramatically.In studying the pill, I had many unexpected revelations, and I think my conclusions are stronger for it.As an academic, there is perhaps no greater joy than realizing you had it wrong.Thus, I am grateful to the women who participated in my research and took the time to share why and how they used the pill, as this research would not have been possible without their participation.Many individuals helped me to realize the end product.First and foremost, I could not have completed this thesis without the love and support of my partner, Mathieu Beaudoin.He is patient, kind, understanding and truly one of my favourite people in the whole world.Equally my two children, Amédée and Loïc, who were born during my studies, offered a wonderful invitation on a daily basis, to step away from my books and computer screen to engage with "reality".Indeed, my knowledge about birth control is arguably rivaled by my expertise in sharks.My favourite is the whale shark.My supervisor, Bruce Curtis is a brilliant and talented academic for whom I have the highest respect.I have truly benefited from his insight, inquisitiveness, and intuition!I am also very grateful for the wisdom and assistance I received from my committee members, Andrea Doucet and Valerie de Courville Nicol.I feel very lucky to have worked with such excellent and accomplished scholars.I would also like to thank my parents, Stan and Donna

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