Technologies of contraception and abortion

Soon to turn 60, the oral contraceptive pill still dominates histories of technology in the ‘sexual revolution’ and after. ‘The pill’ was revolutionary for many, though by no means all, women in the west, but there have always been alternatives, and looking globally yields a different picture. The condom, intrauterine device (IUD), surgical sterilization (male and female) and abortion were all transformed in the twentieth century, some more than once. Today, female sterilization (tubal ligation) and IUDs are the world's most commonly used technologies of contraception. The pill is in third place, followed closely by the condom. Long-acting hormonal injections are most frequently used in parts of Africa, male sterilization by vasectomy is unusually prevalent in Britain, and about one in five pregnancies worldwide ends in induced abortion. Though contraceptive use has generally increased in recent decades, the disparity between rich and poor countries is striking: the former tend to use condoms and pills, the latter sterilization and IUDs. Contraception, a term dating from the late nineteenth century and since then often conflated with abortion, has existed in many forms, and techniques have changed and proliferated over time. Diverse local cultures have embraced new technologies while maintaining older practices. Focusing on Britain and the United States, with excursions to India, China and France, this chapter shows how the patterns observed today were established and stabilized, often despite persistent criticism and reform efforts. By examining past innovation, and the distribution and use of a variety of tools and techniques, it reconsiders some widely held assumptions about what counts as revolutionary and for whom. Analytically, it takes up and reflects on one of the main issues raised by feminists and social historians: the agency of users as patients and consumers faced with choice and coercion. By examining practices of contraception alongside those of abortion, it revisits the knotty question of technology in the sexual revolution and the related themes of medical, legal, religious and political forms of control

Venus Libitina: Liebe und Tod

The focal point of the paper is the interpretation of the name and the figure of Libitina, the Roman goddess of the graveyard. It deals with the arguments of her Etruscan origin and finds them lacking in convincing evidence. Instead, the paper is undertaking to establish Libitina's ancient association with the Latin stem lib- (lub-) is right. The assertion that she belongs to a series of figures formed from the same Latin stem, as Lubia / Lubentia / Lubentina, proves to be correct and the creation of such series is to be seen as a usual procedure for 'Sondergötter'. Her secondary identification with Venus is not a misunderstanding, on the contrary, it is based on the general idea of humanity, that love and death are organically connected with each other. This is corroborated by many ancient and modern examples

Jungfrauen in Waffen: Camilla Virgo, Iuturna Virago

The paper starts with the analysis of the ambiguous figure of the “Italic Amazon” Camilla in the Aeneis. Two main factors are analysed, the role of the spear in the life of this “armed virgin” and her relations with natural surroundings, especially with rivers like the Amasenus and with lakes and marshes generally. Both prove to be fateful. The second factor is also noticeable with the other armed virgin of the Aeneis, Iuturna, who emerges as an upgraded and contrasting parallel to Camilla. Iuturna virago shows similarities with another famous virago of Latin literature, the Paluda virago of Ennius, and this gives an opportunity to evoke other women of the Roman tradition in connection with rivers and marshes, a phenomenon which proves to be a suitable topic for future exanimation