at a time when so many bad-faith actors are eager to weaponize any anecdote as an argument to eliminate the rights to birth control and abortion altogether. Different forms of birth control can elicit different side effects from users, and within a healthcare system that routinely gaslights and traumatizes people with uteruses, we can simultaneously listen to and validate people’s unique experiences and turn to doctors and experts to dispel disinformation.
“I would never want to say that I don’t believe the experience of an individual person, and that being said, we know that all forms of birth control on the market are safe, may or may not be right for some people,” Barker said. Her hope is that individuals experiencing “a bothersome side effect from their contraception, like a change in libido” could “talk to an expert who’s going to offer them real science and evidence, and also compassion.
This is what Barker hopes patients and possible birth control users take away from the conversation about hormonal contraception and sexual orientation. Ultimately, whatever perceived side effects or concerns arise for a birth control user, they should “turn to a trusted physician, maybe try a different form of birth control, or stop birth control, if that’s what’s right for them.