Dublin Core
Title
Sex in the laboratory: the Family Planning Association and contraceptive science in Britain, 1929–1959
Creator
Natasha Szuhan
Date
2018/09
Language
en
Type
Journal Article
Zotero
Item Type
Journal Article
DOI
10.1017/S0007087418000481
ISSN
0007-0874, 1474-001X
Abstract Note
Scientific and medical contraceptive standards are commonly believed to have begun with the advent of the oral contraceptive pill in the late 1950s. This article explains that in Britain contraceptive standards were imagined and implemented at least two decades earlier by the Family Planning Association, which sought to legitimize contraceptive methods, practice and provision through the foundation of the field of contraceptive science. This article charts the origins of the field, investigating the three methods the association devised and employed to achieve its goal of effecting contraceptive regulation. This was through the development of standardized methods to assess spermicidal efficacy; the establishment of quality, strength and manufacturing standards for rubber prophylactics; and the institution of animal trials to ensure the safety of specific contraceptives. The association publicized the results of its scientific testing on proprietary contraceptives in its annual Approved List of contraceptives. This provided doctors and chemists with a definitive register of safe and effective methods to prescribe.
Access Date
2018-09-27 08:48:17
Date
2018/09
Issue
3
Language
en
Library Catalog
Cambridge Core
Pages
487-510
Publication Title
The British Journal for the History of Science
Short Title
Sex in the laboratory
Title
Sex in the laboratory: the Family Planning Association and contraceptive science in Britain, 1929–1959
URL
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-for-the-history-of-science/article/sex-in-the-laboratory-the-family-planning-association-and-contraceptive-science-in-britain-19291959/82CB447E28496B7A2D9EF148F3B4679B
Volume
51
Attachment Title
Snapshot