Grant: CIHR Journalism Award

Over eighty per cent of Canadian women have taken the birth control pill at some point in their lives. The pill figures prominently in popular beliefs about what caused the sexual revolution and the liberation of women. Yet, the answer to one question has been illusive: how does it affect women sexually? The medical answer to that question has been inconclusive. As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the pill, there is no scientific consensus about whether the pill improves sexual arousability, worsens it, or has no effect whatsoever. In the meantime, women are making their own conclusions. Sexual problems threaten their relationships and well-being. They are frustrated by their doctors' inability to provide counsel grounded in scientific consensus. At time of writing, a researcher, Dr. Ellen Wiebe, is trying to publish findings, not yet peer-reviewed, that suggest many women experience sexual side effects to the pill. I have followed her work for a year. I completed my Master's of Journalism thesis project (with CIHR's HRCA support) on the pill and sexual side effects and would like to continue following the story, creating a radio documentary, a magazine article, and a newspaper article on the topic. I would use the funding to travel to interview other sex and birth control researchers in Canada, and to take the time to create high quality radio and print pieces.