Quote: (03-29-2012 09:11 AM)Samseau Wrote:
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It used to be that sex was coupled with pregnancy. Women did not have the opportunity for casual sex without consequence. It used to be that having a baby came with a need for a lifetime provider.
This is completely false. Birth-control has always relied on two things:
1. Coitus-interruptus
2. Infanticide
Infanticide has been widely practiced throughout every era of history, in all cultures. Go look up the history of orphanages. Today, we've made infanticide easier than ever through abortion, which allows women to get rid of a child without going through the pains of birth. That's not that significant of a change.
The far bigger changes has been allowing women to go to work. Now that women have their own cash flow, there's no need for them to have a husband.
In SE Asia herbal abortifactants are well known and very effective. Similar abortifactants used to be available to the ancient Europeans as well. My girls in Thalland, the Philippines, and Indonesia have used them to good effect. But when they fail the modern abortifactants can still work. And when those fail the modern abortion makes it possible to safely avoid bringing the baby to term or to even get to the point of looking obviously pregnant.
And some forms of contraception have also been possible for a long time. However surely you will concede that current contraception technology has lowered the risk of unplanned pregnancy dramatically - especially the pill. It's not a subtle difference.
Infanticide may have been more common in the past, however women and men quickly get attached to babies. It's an unstoppable physical reaction, and it's very powerful. Even having an abortion can be emotionally difficult for some women. Infanticide is never going to be as painless an option as reliable prevention.
We agree that women not needing support lowers the need for a husband. One of the main reasons a woman needed support used to be the extra support needed by the child. The child that would come due to sex. Men used to also quite worry about having to marry some girl just because he knocked her up.