Bijker’s Social Constructivist Framework
The place of design in the invention of the pill can be better understood by applying Wiebe Bijker’s theory of sociotechnical change from his book “Of Bicycles, Bakelites, and Bulbs.’ By viewing the pill through Bijker’s lens, the social construction of the pill lies in the design packaging of the pill; the package design has the power to define and dictate the way in which women consume it. As a 21 or 28-day routine, the design behind the packaging of the pill serves the purpose to help women remember to take the pill around the same time every day.
Bijker’s seamless web theory shows emphasizes how women’s interaction with the packaging of the pill is an ever-changing human construct that evolves over time with the varying attitudes and cultures associated with the practice of consuming the pill. Initially sold in a brown glass bottle, the pill was packaged to resemble any other over the counter medicine. The demand for discretion from the market shifted the focus of the package to undergo drastic change from a glass bottle to a medicinal sheet the size of a makeup compact, so that it could be carried about discreetly in women’s purses. In the 1960s, the design of the packaging transformed from one focused on discretion to using vibrant hot feminine colors like bright pink, gearing the focus of the packaging to one of convenience over discretion. This transformation reflects Bijker’s theory that the design of an artifact is not one that is meant to be seen as a linear evolution, but instead one that resembles a seamless web, where there is an interplay of different players such as the cultural perceptions, feminist movements and perceptions associated with the Pill.
Bijker’s seamless web theory shows emphasizes how women’s interaction with the packaging of the pill is an ever-changing human construct that evolves over time with the varying attitudes and cultures associated with the practice of consuming the pill. Initially sold in a brown glass bottle, the pill was packaged to resemble any other over the counter medicine. The demand for discretion from the market shifted the focus of the package to undergo drastic change from a glass bottle to a medicinal sheet the size of a makeup compact, so that it could be carried about discreetly in women’s purses. In the 1960s, the design of the packaging transformed from one focused on discretion to using vibrant hot feminine colors like bright pink, gearing the focus of the packaging to one of convenience over discretion. This transformation reflects Bijker’s theory that the design of an artifact is not one that is meant to be seen as a linear evolution, but instead one that resembles a seamless web, where there is an interplay of different players such as the cultural perceptions, feminist movements and perceptions associated with the Pill.
le tour’s Black Box Theory
Latour’s theory of ‘black boxing’ technology is one that is heavily present behind the primary design objective of the Pill – to present an accessible, simple and easy contraceptive solution, black boxing away the science behind the workings of the Pill on the female body. To cite Latour, “black boxing the way scientific and technical work is made invisible by its own success. When a machine runs efficiently, when a matter of fact is settled, one needs focus only on its inputs and outputs and not on its internal complexity. Thus, paradoxically, the more science and technology succeed, the more opaque and obscure they become.”
In looking at the design of the Pill through the lens of Latour’s black box theory, the design of the Pill has evolved to become one of an ‘efficient machine.’ The dually instructional and transactional relationship of the Pill, allows an individual to rely on its efficiency and effectiveness. The design of the Pill is one that focuses on the clockwork mechanical reliance, allowing for its design to black box any remaining unresolved questions, concerns or doubts that may be associated with the science behind the Pill. In this situation, it is simply the input and output –primarily the basic size, shape, and packaging of the pill that become a concern, no longer the scientific and technological design of the Pill.
In looking at the design of the Pill through the lens of Latour’s black box theory, the design of the Pill has evolved to become one of an ‘efficient machine.’ The dually instructional and transactional relationship of the Pill, allows an individual to rely on its efficiency and effectiveness. The design of the Pill is one that focuses on the clockwork mechanical reliance, allowing for its design to black box any remaining unresolved questions, concerns or doubts that may be associated with the science behind the Pill. In this situation, it is simply the input and output –primarily the basic size, shape, and packaging of the pill that become a concern, no longer the scientific and technological design of the Pill.
Skloot’s Ethical Lens
The Pill’s impact on society has been repeatedly stated, mainly through the empowerment and liberation of women. More specifically, the Pill shifted procreation from an accidental and often unplanned activity to one of purpose and intent. To better understand the impact of the Pill’s creation and its subsequent widespread adoption, it is important to examine the invention through an ethical lens, drawing on three main theories of justice, as well as Rebecca Skloot’s revelation and exposition on self determination.
The first theory of justice is utilitarianism, which seeks to maximize utility, or goodness, in society. To one of its greatest proponents, John Stuart Mill, utility is best maximized when happiness is maximized and suffering (the lack of happiness) is minimized. Understood through this lens, the Pill’s invention can be interpreted as a utility maximizing product for its users. By giving women the ability to control the size of their family and be more intentional about the timing of childbirth, the Pill in effect liberated all generations of women who could choose to use the Pill, therefore maximizing their utility. Moreover, by decreasing the pain associated with childbirth and the frustration that came with unplanned pregnancies, suffering was minimized.
The second theory of justice is libertarianism, which seeks to promote negative rights. Robert Nozick argues that beside the right to property, an individual should be given a right from anything that may interfere with the right to property. Understood through this len, the Pill can be regarded as a tool that allows women the right to refuse pregnancy. In other words, the woman lays claim to her body as her property, and that the Pill is able to protect her body from unwanted changes, such as a pregnancy, thus justifying its invention.
The third theory of justice is justice as fairness, which seeks to assign rights to individuals based on a position one would have taken under a “veil of ignorance” , as argued by John Rawls. Rawls argues that all must have basic liberties, which can include positive rights, equality of opportunity, and the least advantaged must be the most benefited. Understood through this lens, the Pill’s invention is clearly a positive right to each women, as its availability and consumption represents a woman’s right to access health care, or more specifically in this case, birth control, as a form of social welfare. However, regardless if birth control can be considered social welfare, the theory’s focus on equality of opportunity is something that the Pill has directly contributed to. As mentioned in the “Societal Impact” portion of this website, the Pill has enabled the average number of children reared by the American woman to drop to under 2.0 in just 20 years after its first invention, and in 40 years, 70% of women with children under 6 worked, a reversal from 1970. Without the Pill, it would have been unlikely that any of these statistics, among many others, could have been accomplished, thereby increasing fairness as justice in society.
In relation to Rebecca Skloot’s book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the Pill’s availability and effect can be associated with the question of self determination raised by the book. In The Immortal Life, Skloot chronicles the life of the woman Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were intensely reproduced following her death and has allowed for great advances in medicine, a development unknown to Lacks while she was alive nor her family until recently. With regards to the Pill, Lacks’ inability to determine what her cells would be used for can be seen as a parallel to a woman’s inability to determine whether or not she would get pregnant, and thus lose control over the rest of her life’s trajectory.
Through the ethical lens, the Pill begs the question of whether or not denying a woman her ability to decide when to be pregnant is fair, or if the converse is more fair. Utilitarians are likely to argue that if more utility can be derived from the child’s birth than lack of birth, and further outweighs the suffering of childbirth, then the Pill should be denied. Libertarians would argue that neither society nor any individuals has authority to tell the woman what she has a right to, as her body is her property and therefore protected from intervention. Fairness proponents would argue that since the Pill promotes equality of opportunity and can be interpreted as basic liberty to welfare, there is no doubt the Pill is beneficial.
The first theory of justice is utilitarianism, which seeks to maximize utility, or goodness, in society. To one of its greatest proponents, John Stuart Mill, utility is best maximized when happiness is maximized and suffering (the lack of happiness) is minimized. Understood through this lens, the Pill’s invention can be interpreted as a utility maximizing product for its users. By giving women the ability to control the size of their family and be more intentional about the timing of childbirth, the Pill in effect liberated all generations of women who could choose to use the Pill, therefore maximizing their utility. Moreover, by decreasing the pain associated with childbirth and the frustration that came with unplanned pregnancies, suffering was minimized.
The second theory of justice is libertarianism, which seeks to promote negative rights. Robert Nozick argues that beside the right to property, an individual should be given a right from anything that may interfere with the right to property. Understood through this len, the Pill can be regarded as a tool that allows women the right to refuse pregnancy. In other words, the woman lays claim to her body as her property, and that the Pill is able to protect her body from unwanted changes, such as a pregnancy, thus justifying its invention.
The third theory of justice is justice as fairness, which seeks to assign rights to individuals based on a position one would have taken under a “veil of ignorance” , as argued by John Rawls. Rawls argues that all must have basic liberties, which can include positive rights, equality of opportunity, and the least advantaged must be the most benefited. Understood through this lens, the Pill’s invention is clearly a positive right to each women, as its availability and consumption represents a woman’s right to access health care, or more specifically in this case, birth control, as a form of social welfare. However, regardless if birth control can be considered social welfare, the theory’s focus on equality of opportunity is something that the Pill has directly contributed to. As mentioned in the “Societal Impact” portion of this website, the Pill has enabled the average number of children reared by the American woman to drop to under 2.0 in just 20 years after its first invention, and in 40 years, 70% of women with children under 6 worked, a reversal from 1970. Without the Pill, it would have been unlikely that any of these statistics, among many others, could have been accomplished, thereby increasing fairness as justice in society.
In relation to Rebecca Skloot’s book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the Pill’s availability and effect can be associated with the question of self determination raised by the book. In The Immortal Life, Skloot chronicles the life of the woman Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were intensely reproduced following her death and has allowed for great advances in medicine, a development unknown to Lacks while she was alive nor her family until recently. With regards to the Pill, Lacks’ inability to determine what her cells would be used for can be seen as a parallel to a woman’s inability to determine whether or not she would get pregnant, and thus lose control over the rest of her life’s trajectory.
Through the ethical lens, the Pill begs the question of whether or not denying a woman her ability to decide when to be pregnant is fair, or if the converse is more fair. Utilitarians are likely to argue that if more utility can be derived from the child’s birth than lack of birth, and further outweighs the suffering of childbirth, then the Pill should be denied. Libertarians would argue that neither society nor any individuals has authority to tell the woman what she has a right to, as her body is her property and therefore protected from intervention. Fairness proponents would argue that since the Pill promotes equality of opportunity and can be interpreted as basic liberty to welfare, there is no doubt the Pill is beneficial.