This Wednesday, November 15, people across the country are sharing the reasons why they love birth control in celebration of Thanks, Birth Control Day. While Thanks, BC is a national event, celebrating in Mississippi is especially important for teens and young adults who are just starting to make BC a regular part of their lives. Read on to learn more!
Addresses Stigmas
A national survey found that 68% of teens don’t take birth control for fear of their parents finding out (and judging them for having sex). For Mississippi teens, the fear of mentioning sex, or getting birth control, can stem from many places.
Sex stigma can be cultural, like from purity culture or abstinence pledges, or it can be institutional, like from abstinence-first sex education that prioritizes “saying no” over comprehensive and factual breakdowns of how health, life, and social groups can influence a person’s decision to have sex.
So, how does “Thanks, Birth Control” Day help address stigmas? By bringing them to the forefront of the conversation–and, in a way, breaking the ice! Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of women participate in Thanks, BC Day and offer their personal stories on how birth control changed their life.
And that can be empowering–just getting the message out and sharing your own perspective. It also helps teens see that while birth control is a personal choice, it doesn’t have to be a silent one. Talking about sex, and the decision to do it safely, is normal!
Calls to Fact-Based Sex Ed
Thanks, BC Day is also a call to engaging with fact-based sex ed, with organizations like Power to Decide and Bedsider sharing toolkits and resources full of medically-accurate information on BC.
With so many resources available, participating in the celebration can be a fun way to make “the decision” on what kind of BC to ask your doctor about. You can learn more about it, write up questions, and then locate your nearest clinic using our clinic finder.
Makes Sharing, Empowering
Above all, Thanks BC helps empower people to share their perspectives, learn, and even take action around the decision to use contraception. For Mississippi teens, this celebration can help them take a more personal approach to BC, tackle stigmas, and start conversations of their own.
Knowing, and sharing, is empowering. Share this post with someone you know who may have unanswered questions about BC and invite them to tune in on November 15! Help break the silence and show support for organizations working to increase access to fact-based sex ed. For more info on Thanks, BC Day, check out this blog post.
