“Praise the pill, bless our pads”

‘Praise the pill, bless our pads’ was the motto of the women of the 1960s counterculture.

The counterculture rejected suburban domesticity and replaced it with spiritual, creative and sexual liberation. It devalued social dogmas which had been traditionally masculine - aggression, material success, domination, war, independance; and instead celebrated love, sustainability, cooperation, empathy, intimacy and intuition.

Women of tha are often unfairly reduced to stereotypical hippie chicks, earth mothers, nymphs in peasant dresses and their pivotal role in advancing the Women’s Movement is overlooked. But the slogan ‘Praise the pill, bless our pads’ reveals to us their ethos. The pill safeguarded women from unwanted pregnancies and sexually liberated them, allowing them to reclaim ownership of their bodies and sexual relations.

Accessible female hygiene products and healthcare were the very societal advancements which brought power to women to reject societal norms and pursue alternative lifestyles.

This notion resonates with us now more than ever after the US Supreme Court overturned its 50-year-old Roe v Wade decision, meaning millions of women in the US will use their constitutional right to abortion.

✿.✿.✿

Resources:

The Atlantic, The Flowering of the Hippies - Mark Harris

Praise the Pill, Bless Our Pads

Hippie Chicks: A Different Feminism - L.D. Burnett

Women and the 1960s Counterculture - Rochelle Gatlin

Daughters of Aquarius - Women of the 1960s Counterculture

Words & graphics by Elena Demireva

(also featured in Bloom I06)

Follow Elena’s Instagram

✿