Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.
It’s Time to Talk about Women’s Brains and the Birth Control Pill
Sarah E. Hill, Texas Christian University
The majority of women in the US will use the birth control pill at some point in their lives. Yet, there is very little information out there for women or their partners about what the pill does to the brain. This is critical information to have because – although women go on the pill for a small handful of targeted effects – sex hormones simply can’t work that way. Sex hormones impact the activities of billions of cells in the body at once, many of which are in the brain. This means that being on the birth control pill makes women a different version of themselves than when they are off of it. In this talk, Hill will discuss what we know and don’t know about the pill and women’s brains and behavior. She will also talk about why this information matters for men and for those who care for women’s mental and physical health. Lastly, Hill will urge researchers to conduct better, more inclusive science that teaches men and women about who they are and how their brains work, whether they are on or off of medications like the birth control pill. A book sale and signing will follow the program.
The program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Women’s & Gender Resource Center, the LGBTQ Center, the AAUW Carlisle Chapter, the AAUW Dickinson Chapter, the Pre-Health Program, and the departments of chemistry, economics, political science, and psychology. This program was initiated by the Clarke Forum’s student project managers.
Biography (provided by the speaker)
Dr. Sarah E. Hill is a researcher and professor at Texas Christian University (TCU) and is at the forefront of research on women’s sexual psychology. Her groundbreaking research has resulted in more than 75 research publications and has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Scientific American, The Economist, and television shows like Good Morning and Today. Most recently, Sarah has authored This is Your Brain on Birth Control: The Surprising Science of Women, Hormones, and the Law of Unintended Consequences, which sheds critical new light on the psychological impact of women’s sex hormones and the birth control pill.
Sarah E. Hill is on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook and her handle is the same across all platforms. Social Handle: @sarahehillphd