Dear Bedpost,
I have been dating this girl for a few months now, and we are only with each other. But, she refuses to get on birth control and makes me use a condom every time we have sex. How do I convince her to get on birth control?
Dear reader,
Kristin:
Ew. I don’t like this at all.
Chances are, your lady friend has had sex ed. She knows, most likely, that certain types of sex creates “the babies” and there are ways for there to be glorious sex and no babies. So chances are she is fully aware of what she’s doing with this no birth control thing.
Trust me dude, I feel ya. I believe everyone should be on birth control because babies scare the living daylights out of me. But, on a serious note, sex without hormonal birth control puts your partner at a high risk for pregnancy.
She is, however, the one who has to be in the body taking birth control/that has the shot/that has the IUD, so this is her call. You can’t convince anyone to do anything they don’t want to with their bodies. Nor should you, because she knows her body better and if you get on the wrong pill, birth control can cause some crappy effects.
So unless she just genuinely doesn’t understand how babies are made, I think she knows what she’s doing. Maybe have a chat and see if you can understand her concerns with taking birth control, and share yours as well. You should both be comfortable with this arrangement.
Ian:
You shouldn’t try to. Your girlfriend has made the decision to stay off birth control and use condoms as your safe sex method, so that’s what you should stick with.
People can only choose what to do with their own bodies, and I’m sure she has good reasons for avoiding the pill.
Considering this is the Midwest, chances are she comes from a conservative family, and telling them she’s going on birth control might be sending a message they wouldn’t be too thrilled about.
She could also just not be a fan of the idea of putting something in her body that changes the way it functions. When you think about it, those things do some super weird stuff to a lady.
But no matter what the reasons are, it’s her choice whether to use the pill, not yours. There’s no persuading you should be doing. That’s getting into manipulation territory and that’s never a good solution, especially with someone you’re close to like a girlfriend. Walter White convinces Jesse to do bad things so he can maintain his power. You shouldn’t be convincing your girlfriend to take a pill so you don’t have to wrap it up.
Kristin is a junior studying journalism and the Culture Editor of The Post. Ian is a junior studying journalism. Tired of wrapping it up? Email thebedpostpeople@gmail.com
