Contraception had been around for a long time, of course; there’s a reference to the withdrawal method in Genesis 38.9, fergodsake. America, however, a had long suffered under the draconian shadow of the Comstock Laws of 1873, which banned information on sexuality and STDs and information on and devices used for birth control and abortion. The law was overturned in 1936, but contraception was still illegal for married couples in 28 states in the early ’60s. In 1957, The FDA approved birth control pills, but only for severe menstrual disorders, not as a contraceptive. An unusually large number of women report severe menstrual disorders. Then finally, in 1960, The pill is approved for contraceptive use. The contraceptive pill had enabled pleasure seeking party people to cast off the cloak of convention and throw themselves into a social sexual revolution where the brakes came off and inhibitions became a part of the past. It’s an instant hit. After two years, 1.2 million Americans women are on the pill; after three years, the number almost doubles, to 2.3 million. But the pill is still controversial: It remains illegal in eight states.
The impact of The Pill was even more radical. It meant sex need not lead to pregnancy. But it wasn't just another form of contraception, it was an equalizer, a liberator, and easy to take. For the first time in human history, a woman could control her sexuality and determine her readiness for reproduction by swallowing a pill smaller than an aspirin. Critics warned that The Pill would spawn generations of loose, immoral women; what it spawned was generations of empowered women.
By the time the ’70s rolled around, widespread access to birth control had allowed women to pursue careers that required more commitment than their previous options and they started to apply to “medical, law, dental and business schools in large numbers.” “It gave employers more confidence that when a woman said she wasn’t planning to get pregnant she meant it.”
The '60s are gone, dope will never be as cheap, sex never as free, and the rock and roll never as great.