Yesterday you may have seen #MyPillStory trending on Twitter. Started by Kate Bevan in solidarity with Holly Brockwell, the 30 year old journalist who has been fighting to be granted a sterilization on the NHS for four years.
Over the years Holly has been subjected to 'a tsunami of crap', as Kate put it, and has consistently been told by medical professionals, non-medical professionals and simply the general public, to ‘just take the pill’.
I try not to go into the gross side effects but a lot of people think the pill is some magic thing that works for everyone and IT DOESN'T
I spoke with Kate and she told me how she had expected it to be picked up a bit, but was surprised at how it had ‘caught fire’. ‘I’m absolutely overwhelmed and really rather touched and delighted that so many people, and it’s women and men, who are sharing their stories.’
She was keen to be clear about point of the hashtag, that it wasn't a means of taking down the pill, but rather to raise awareness. 'We’re not saying that the pill is awful – it’s not. The pill set the women from my mother’s generation free. It’s an amazing development but it’s not the right choice for everybody and it’s not the universal panacea that everyone seems to think it is.'
They called upon Twitter users to share their experiences of the pill and what followed was lots of women sharing their, pretty horrific in some instances, stories.
It wasn't just women joining in, either. Partners of women affected by the pill also shared their stories.
And expressed their surprise at how extreme some of the side effects are, proving just how valuable this kind of information sharing is.
Some women also shared their positive experiences of being on the pill, showing exactly how the pill isn't 'one size fits all'.
Kate told me she was particularly surprised by people's openness at discussing the detrimental effect of the pill on their libido. 'I don’t think that’s something that gets talked about. Women’s sexuality and owning it is still quite difficult for women to do and to feel comfortable talking about.'
The #MyPillStory thread is ongoing so be sure to check it out.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.