Definition
Birth control relates to any method of preventing conception while engaging in sexual intercourse. This can include avoiding intercourse while the woman is fertile (e.g., rhythm method), pre-ejaculatory withdrawal, and barrier methods (e.g., condom, uterine cap) which prevent sperm from reaching the egg. So far as we know, choice of these methods has no effect on women’s mate preference. This entry is instead concerned with modern hormonal methods of birth control (especially the oral contraceptive pill) which achieve contraceptive function by manipulating women’s reproductive physiology and function.
Introduction
Birth control (BC) is one of the most successful and widely used of all medical interventions. More than one-fifth of women of reproductive age (15–49) and in a relationship use the “pill”, injectable or implant BC methods across the world, and these rates are typically even higher among...
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Roberts, S.C. (2018). Effect of Birth Control on Women’s Preferences. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_13-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_13-1
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