The wellness and natural health influencer’s recommended birth control method is to eschew most contraceptives altogether. Comment Editor Safreen AC examines how valid concerns have been weaponised in service of reproductive health misinformation.
If you search the term “birth control” on Instagram or TikTok, you will be met with an avalanche of videos by various influencers in the wellness, natural medicine, and trad-wife spheres among others. While some of these videos discuss documented or under-discussed side-effects of hormonal contraceptives, many of these exaggerate risks or present outright lies as factual claims. These content creators also peddle “natural alternatives” in the form of unregulated herbal supplements, fertility tracking apps with expensive paid plans, or fertility awareness methods (FAMs).
FAMs are based around identifying the fertile days of a person’s menstrual cycle by observing fertility signs such as changes in cervical mucus, basal body temperature and hormone levels. While these methods are not entirely ineffective, a regular person who does not have access to high-quality medical equipment and the time that is required to achieve maximum efficacy. Additionally, FAMs are usually used alongside barrier methods or periods of abstinence, and while they are a viable option, they are not as effective as wellness influencers would have you believe. When it comes to herbal supplements, besides the obvious conflict of interest that comes with brand deals, people are consistently misled to believe that something being “natural” makes it safer.
Much of the anti-birth control content online is prefaced around a narrative of “fixing your hormones,” "returning to nature,” and “restoring your feminine energy.” Influencers in this space present their content as apolitical by framing it through the lens of personal experience which makes it more likely that the disinformation can spread beyond their immediate audience. Attacks on birth control are not new by any means, but the rise in this kind of content online has coincided with conservative attacks on reproductive health, particularly in the USA.
These posts reduce womanhood to the ability to ovulate (and conceive a child) and to no one’s surprise, there is a visible overlap between this type of content and those who push misogynistic and transphobic rhetoric online.
If you scroll for long enough, you’re also likely to come across content that suggests that birth control is the result of men having insatiable sexual urges and frame contraception as something that is done solely “for male pleasure.” This kind of rhetoric is problematic on many levels—it reinforces a binary idea of gender, erases women’s sexuality and desires, and perpetuates biological determinism. Some videos present the menstrual/hormonal cycle as something that connects women to “their divine feminine” and birth control as “binging in masculine energy.” Even outside of anti-birth control videos, it is not uncommon to TikToks or Instagram reels which suggest that people are at the mercy of their hormonal cycles, not unlike conservative talking points that paint women as more emotional or hysterical as a result of their bodily functions. These posts reduce womanhood to the ability to ovulate (and conceive a child) and to no one’s surprise, there is a visible overlap between this type of content and those who push misogynistic and transphobic rhetoric online.
People sharing their personal experiences—negative or positive—is generally a good thing. The problem with the recent wave of wellness or natural medicine content however is that influencers and others have taken valid concerns and weaponised them in service of anti-abortion and anti-feminist narratives. Influencers actively foster parasocial relationships with their audiences, which makes them feel more relatable and trustworthy than other people and sources. This then allows them to create an illusion of authenticity that serves as a smokescreen to make people forget that influencers are, more often than not, selling a product or a lifestyle. Wellness influencers who push anti-birth control narratives take advantage of the fact that people lack information about sexual health in service of building their own audience and success. Recent research has even demonstrated that TikTok exposes young people to a higher risk of unplanned pregnancies.
There is no one-size-fits-all option and it is essential to have healthcare providers who tell people everything they need to know about birth control, and who will take their concerns seriously should they arise.
It is important to note that those who have experienced side-effects and problems as a result of birth control should be taken seriously by the medical system. Many people are not provided with adequate information about contraceptive options and have their concerns dismissed by healthcare providers. For instance, videos and posts online have brought attention to the lack of pain management options available to people during IUD insertion procedures, and that in turn has empowered people to advocate for themselves when going to the doctor. Side effects are always a possibility with any kind of long-term medication or medical intervention. The problem is not their existence, but that the medical system often downplays potential side effects or fails to thoroughly consider individual risk factors.
The popularity of influencers who sell “hormone restoring courses” and encourage people to stop using contraception by exaggerating or lying about its effects signals the lack of public health guidance and support around contraceptives. The fact that these influencers also parrot anti-abortion talking points and reinforce biological essentialism is no coincidence either. It reflects a broader cultural shift in the discourse that needs to be combated before it causes further harm.
Different people will have different experiences with birth control methods. There is no one-size-fits-all option, and it is essential to have healthcare providers who tell people everything they need to know about birth control, and who will take their concerns seriously should they arise. It is critical that we continue to highlight negative experiences with navigating reproductive healthcare and push for change on that front.
At the same time, we need to remind ourselves that creators in the wellness, trad-wife, and “hormone balance” circles are not concerned about improving the medical system. At best, influencers are trying to sell a course, an app, or a lifestyle—and at worst they are actively working in service of anti-feminist, transphobic, and anti-reproductive health agendas.