The birth control pill and its consequences for German women and society

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Medicine - History, grade: 1,0, Technical University of Munich (TUM School of Management), course: Consumer History, language: English, abstract: A tiny little pill has changed the life of many women around the world and in Germany. In 1961 the first birth control pill was introduced to the German market and after some initial difficulties established itself as the most prominent contraception method with more than 50% of women making use of it in Germany today. I personally found the topic very interesting because it gave me the opportunity to research and reflect about a product I might be taking for granted today, but which in fact has come a long way and has left its marks. This paper will discuss the influence of the birth control pill on the Germany society by travelling through time and also by elaborating on the role of women throughout the process. Furthermore some of the learning targets of the seminar will be scrutinized and later on adressed in the allocation of results: • The influence of users on the innovation of the pill • The appropriation of the new technology pill by consumers as part of the innovation process • The consumption good pill as technical product that works as cultural sign