T O P I C R E V I E W
one hot minute
Member # 1596
posted 10-31-2000 02:54 PM
hey i was reading in my history book and it was talking about birth control in europe in the 1600s and stuff...and it said that the French are the onese credited for coitus interuptus...and then it went on and talked about how the illegitimate children population was rising, and it was illegal to have 5 children sleeping with their parents in one bed...because parents would "accidentally" roll over and kill them...and it also talked about how masturbation was a sin
Pixie69
Member # 406
posted 10-31-2000 03:57 PM
I have no idea what half that stuff meant, too big of words, but it's so weird because I just had a dream about this (yeah I'm one of those freaks that remembers sooo many dreams and think they all have special meanings and will spend hours trying to figure out what my subconscious is telling me)I was way back in the day (think cowboys and indians) and I was about to have intercourse with this dude (which is weird in itself because I almost never dream of sex) and I remember thinking to myself, "oh crap, what kind of birth control did they use back in the day 'coz I so don't need a kid or STD right now"
Does anyone know what kind of birth control they used pre-latex condom?? it'd be interesting to know!
Brittany
------------------ I'm the good girl that everyone thinks is a bad girl pretending to be a good girl :D
Heather
Member # 3
posted 10-31-2000 04:08 PM
It's all over the map, and depends on what sort of methods you're asking about.Most of the first birth control methods that were NOT coitus interruptus (which didn't usually work) were natural blends of certain compounds to create spermicides, like fruits, plants and sugars combined and placed in the vulva on sponges in ancient Egypt (hey, don't try this at home, I mean it). A little more disgusting were those made of animal dung. Eeew.
In regards to condoms in particular, Some original condoms were made out of such things as linen or far worse on the grody-spectrum, animal intestines (also used for sausage casings). Makes you glad we've got latex now, doesn't it?
And you thought using a latex condom was icky or difficult. Ha!
(Your dream was better than mine last night, Pixie. I dreamt I was arguing with my mother who kept getting me to the airport late, to the point I'd missed five flights, all the while trying to juggle a small dog that was but wasn't my dog named Vincente. Go figure.)
-- God, I can't type sometimes. You guys really need to tell me when I plop out a pile of typo-gibberish.
[This message has been edited by Miz Scarlet (edited 31 October 2000).]
entropie
Member # 26
posted 10-31-2000 04:18 PM
Interesting topic I've wondered myself what the olden day contraceptives consisted of.. and tried to block out the whole animal intestine thing (that's just plain gross)..So I jumped on good ole google and found these interesting sites:
The Condom Page
The Hall of Contraception
(Long before condoms came in rainbow colors and exotic skins, legendary lover Casanova was sewing together strips of fine linen. Centuries before nonoxynol 9, young women in Constantinople shook the gritty sand from sea sponges and dipped them in lemon juice before insertion. Contraception has a long and inventive history. Now there is a museum dedicated to one of humankind's most persistent quests.)
I'm going to keep looking and try to find some more
entropie
------------------honeylaser's site
[This message has been edited by entropie (edited 31 October 2000).]
entropie
Member # 26
posted 10-31-2000 04:24 PM
From "The History of Contraception" The Birds, the Bees, and the COW DUNG?
Yes, indeed, at one time women used dried, ground up cow dung mixed with honey and placed inside the vagina as a form of birth control. One can only imagine how it worked, possibly by changing PH levels and as a result acting as a spermacide, or possibly by causing an infection that would cause a miscarriage. Not something your doctor should be recommending in this day and age.
Other ancient forms of birth control have included such things as bloodletting, glass or metal diaphragms, cotton soaked in lemon, dried fish (also mixed with lemon) used vaginally, doses of mercury, and various herbs and chemicals. Many of these items probably worked to some degree or another, but the side effects could vary from the mildly uncomfortable to the deadly. Some, such as the cotton soaked with lemon, work as a spermacide, changing the PH level of the vagina to make it a more hostile environment for sperm.
May I be the first to say "wow!"
entropie
------------------honeylaser's site
Milke
Member # 961
posted 10-31-2000 05:07 PM
From what I understand, a lot of what was used to stop kids happening in past centuries was used after intercourse; abortifacients, basically. Various herbs and some chemicals, like the mercury entropie mentioned (mercury?! That sounds safe!) are known to sometimes cause miscarriage, and in a lot of cases this was the best there was. Actually, I know that when my grandmother was younger tonics for 'ensuring menstrual regularity' (read between the lines here) were still commonly available in drug stores, so it wasn't that long ago at all.
Milke
Member # 961
posted 10-31-2000 06:43 PM
What I just forgot to say: I don't think condoms were always used out of concern for whether the woman got pregnant or not as much as because the guys were afraid of catching something. But this would have been back when stuff like syphillis was known to cause disfigurement and death, so --
StarryRedhead
Member # 607
posted 10-31-2000 07:04 PM
Wow, very interesting. I have always wondered what forms of birth control were used back in the day. But dried up cow dung!? Wouldn't that cause some awfully uncomfortable infections? And the condoms they used, ugh, ugh.
All I can say is, thank goodness for being alive in todays times!
------------------ }{*Starry Ali*}{
"You flicker. And you're beautiful. You glow inside my head. You hold me hypnotized, I'm mesmerized..."
~Alisons Life~
Pixie69
Member # 406
posted 11-01-2000 12:42 AM
Oh oh, Brittany just thought of the great quote. Next time a guy says he doesn't want to use condoms, just say with a completely straight face "it's the condoms or the cow dung, it's your choice, but if it were me I'd pick the condoms" haha, I crack myself up..Brittany
------------------ I'm the good girl that everyone thinks is a bad girl pretending to be a good girl :D
Hanne
Member # 100
posted 11-01-2000 07:51 AM
My personal fave has always been the practice of using fish swim bladders as condoms. Mmmm, nothing like having to go disembowel a nice fresh fish and wrap a big ol' piece of fish guts around the old tallywhacker to turn *me* on.Thank God for latex, that's all I can say.
------------------ Hanne Blank Co-Editor, Scarleteen
Start a Revolution -- Stop Hating Your Body!