Am I allowed to talk about birth control here? Or is that too personal for a supposedly non-personal blog? I think I will do so anyway. I'll keep an eye on over-sharing.

There have been a number of articles in Slate and Double X (Slate's sister magazine for us sisters) about methods of birth control American women don't seem to give much thought to. The first was about IUDs, which got a bad rap in the 70s, but might actually be one of the best options yet. Yesterday there was an article in Double X about natural methods of monitoring fertility.

My girlfriends and I have had many conversations about all these methods, like good girlfriends should. We've all had various issues with the tried and true methods, the ones we're supposed to like. Condoms are a necessary evil, though I know no one who enjoys them. As for the pill (which I fully endorse as one of the greatest innovations of the 20th century), most of us, at one point or another, have had issues with it. For some of us it made us feel fat, bloated, lethargic, crampy. For a few of us, it didn't stick and we had all kinds of break-through bleeding. For a good chunk of us, our sex drives were totally whacked. The latter is the often ironic outcome of the pill: it's supposed to give us more sexual freedom and yet totally hampers our desire to have sex. Is that a win or what?

So most of my circle of lady friends (myself included) have tried several options. A few of us have been lucky to find something we love. Some are still exploring.

But the thing I find really interesting is the willingness of women to get to know their bodies. I know which of my friends are more comfortable talking about this stuff, and which aren't. Personally, I've never been too uncomfortable with it (minus those first couple "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" years when you're, like, getting your period and don't know what's happening and can't talk about it). I taught a lot of my friends how to use tampons. I don't mind having a frank talk with my younger sisters, cousins, campers, students, whoever, about what a trip to the gynecologist will be like. Mostly, how my body works, and how to take care of it, is just a fact of life.

I do understand how adding sex to the equation gives the conversation a layer of just-maybe-too-private that stops women from wanting to share. Even just saying you're on some form of birth control comes across as a ringing endorsement that you at least plan on having sex, be it regularly or semi-regularly. And it's ridiculous that we think that's a bad thing. We're quite comfortable as a society pushing Viagra on TV. Men are supposed to want sex, and we applaud it and want to allow them to continue having sex as long as possible. But women? Nope. Respectable ladies are not supposed to feel the same way.

But that's slightly beside my point. Which I think is about women being more honest with themselves.

Mostly I wish more of the options were given more cred and endorsement by doctors. Not every woman's body works the same way, and yet many of us are pressured into using the status quo if only because it's the status quo. But I will react differently to one progestin than my sister would or my best friend would. Just because the pill can be great doesn't mean we should all use it. I will always love my lady-parts doctor for listening to me when I told her something wasn't working and she suggested other options.

So, ladies, know thyselves. Maybe we if we get more used to our bodies, the rest of the world will too.