by kwheele4 on March 4, 2021
Tangents
Birth Control: Not Just for Pregnancy Prevention
The creation of birth control as a contraceptive aimed towards the safety and protection of women astounded many when it was first introduced. Despite the fact that birth control safely prevents pregnancy and has many medical uses outside of pregnancy prevention, social acceptance of birth control is still lagging.
When taken, birth control creates the illusion within the body that it is carrying a child, which then allows for the body to stop the usual menstrual cycle. This has the ability to slow down the aging process and loss of eggs for the woman, along with other health concerns. It is also commonly taken to prevent acne and the pain and other side effects of the menstrual cycle.
Another health concern that birth control helps to prevent is adenomyosis, separate from its cousin endometriosis. Adenomyosis concerns the growth of uterine cells into the uterine wall, which can cause intense pain and even prevent pregnancy for women if gone untreated.
Since birth control stops a woman’s usual menstrual cycle, it prevents the growth of cells until the time of desired pregnancy, allowing the woman to stop any unwanted damage to her uterus, and can protect some women from experiencing acute pain throughout their lives.
Birth control continues to expand its possibilities of helping women of all ages and health. Unfortunately, without the continued support and acceptance of birth control from society, women who use contraceptives of all kinds will continue to experience discrimination and prejudice, making it difficult for women to appreciate all that birth control has to offer. It is time to support birth control for its many different medical uses aside from preventing pregnancy, and all the women who use contraceptives.
—Erin Garvey ’22
Group Fitness Is Far From Just a “Girl’s Thing” Everywhere Else but Here
It is a common misconception that group fitness classes, particularly those taught at Providence College, are solely for women and include “womanly exercises”— all negative connotations included. Obviously, everyone has their preferences when working out, which is completely respectable, but many men do not want to attend a group fitness class because it is “for girls,” “too easy,” or they would be embarrassed.
This is entirely false. Every class taught at PC, including various high-intensity interval training, yoga, spin, and body pump classes are meant for everyone at every fitness level. All of these classes taught in regular studios and gyms outside of the College are populated by people of all genders.
In fact, many professional athletes of all genders take these types of classes to challenge themselves, work out, and stretch. They are no easy tasks and are trusted at a high level of performance in organizations such as the NBA and NFL.
Aside from the misconception of their difficulty level, group fitness classes also hold many benefits. They build community, push students to do their best, add routine to daily life, and provide some of the best full-body workouts.
It is incredibly important that our fitness community at PC begins to recognize that fitness is all-inclusive. No matter what one does at the gym and no matter what class one attends, they are humans exercising! They are working hard on their mental and physical health. It is important we respect that and not judge anyone on their unique fitness journey.
—Olivia Bretzman ’22