My word, I love this Sarah Haskins.
Every time I see one her spots, I just want to find her, dine on tofu pad thai with her whole making fun of stuff.

Sarah Haskins is so awesome. Find more of her!

I'm crying from laughing so hard.

I loooooooooove her. biggest. crush. ever.
Could Sarah write for feministing sometimes? Oooh, please?

Sarah Haskins is the person whose voice I wish I could have in my head while I work. That way I could laugh at her mockery instead of being frustrated by crappy rude customers.

I would look like a nut, of course, but I would be so damned cheerful!

Wow, I love this woman. I'm of the opinion that whenever someone claims that feminists are devoid of humor, they should be immediately forced to watch Sarah Haskins. She's just so awesome, and so funny.

Hilarious and insightful!

I never realized contraceptive ads never mention sex. "The pill is 99% effective..." At what? Say it! Say it!

But, at the beginning, why did her thoughts about sex have handcuffs for their icon?

"I never realized contraceptive ads never mention sex. "The pill is 99% effective..." At what? Say it! Say it!"

Ha! Yeah, I never really picked up on that either. My brain just sort of filled in the missing pieces.

What I really, really loved was her assessment of that Yaz commercial. I can't tell you how many times I've seen it, and I always think "Why does that woman sound like an automated brochure? Is this supposed to be appealing?" So it's nice to know that it irritates Sarah Haskins too!

I never noticed that whole never mentioning sex thing either... Hmmm...

Although, I feel I must speak up as someone who was initially put on the pill to control my periods (2 weeks heavy bleeding, 1 week spotting, 2 weeks heavy bleeding, 1 week... you get the idea).

So I don't find the concept of them being marketed that way offensive. But she's right, it is weird that they never mention sex. And while all the Viagra and Enzyte commercials always have the man and his female partner (don't gay men ever use Viagra?), birth control commercials don't show the woman with her male partner. I mean, sex sells right?

"Ladies, 'rock' the night away with his hunky stud, and don't get knocked up... Seasonale."

Maybe it's just me.

'Eat burrito!'
hahaha

And that Nuva Ring ad kinda creeps me out. I think it's the singing or possibly the animated people...

'Eat burrito!'
hahaha

And that Nuva Ring ad kinda creeps me out. I think it's the singing or possibly the animated people...

i hadn't noticed that the birth control pill ads didn't include discussions of sex until i watched this. it's strange and sad to me that we can have commercials on the topic of our periods but not of our sexual activity. when will it be okay for a woman to want to have sex without resulting in children? will that ever happen? Sarah Haskins is my new crush.

I am sad to admit, I never noticed that sex was never mentioned either.

I don't find the Nuvaring commercial so bad. Perhaps cause I'm on it and not a pill for the same reason. There is no way I could remember to take a pill every day. I took ritalin as a kid and the only reason I could remember to take it was because my parents would leave it by my glass of orange juice every morning.

The reason the handcuffs were shown was because of the obvious gag of Sarah not just being into plain vanilla sex (not that there's anything wrong with people who are) but that she's into some of the kinky bondage stuff.

seriously though, fuck the daily show, she needs her own show.

Ah yes, "Control that nasty shit, or no one will love you!" I think that answers why it is that no men (let alone women) appear as partners in the commercials- because not only is menstruation a "womans problem" that needs "fixing," and we certainly can't market birth control as (gasp!) controlling birth, but women who use birth control and are having sex are sluts who don't have a permanent partner to share with them the decision to use birth control! AAAARRRRGGGGG.

I love what Sarah does, but for hours afterwards I can't help but interrogate everyone about why MSM is so fucked up! Usually I just get an eye roll or at best, a "Oh, yeah, well I just ignore it."

LOL'd so hard at the English Degree comment. I like this lady.

Only if Sarah Haskins can be my best friend too. AWESOME.

"let's put these on the magazine website!" I lolled hard.

adminassistant: The one I get all the time is, "I think you're reading too much into it." Grrrr...

I actually remember seeing a commercial years ago which, while never mentioning sex, did at least suggest that that's what the BC is for. In the commercial, it showed a woman being driven home from dates. Most of them were obviously bad given the look on her face when she got out of the car, but then one of then was really good and it showed her giving him a good night kiss. The announcer said something along the lines of "you can choose the right guy, so you should be able to choose the right birth control, too".

I think it might have been an early Yaz commercial.

also

"fewer periods, yay! Now we don't have to leave the tribe and sit in that hut for a week. that was a bummer"

I snorted, I laughed so hard at that part. The "eat burrito" thing was really funny too.

I cannot stand it. I really cannot stand how funny she is.

Especially on the nuvaring thing "Yes I really just said that." And I love nuvaring!

I want a nonspecific media job!

Yes! I've been waiting for the birth-control edition. Awesome as ever, Sarah.

By the way, has anyone seen that one commercial for some pregnancy test that actually doesn't treat it as a touchy feminine subject? It's mildly comical, it's narrated by a guy in the tradition of really melodramatic movie trailers, it's got a black background and glowy-techy-mechanical-type graphics, and it features no upbeat, generic, inoffensive music or upbeat, generic, inoffensive language or upbeat, generic, inoffensive women bending over backwards to show you that even though this product has to do with your girly parts, you can use it and still be acceptable to society. It could just as easily be an ad for a men's razor. It was a little sad how excited I was to see that commercial.

Hahahahaha!!!!! Love it! =)

That rocked. XD

Very hillarious and also informative. I will never see birth control ads the same. :)

Misspelled, is that the one with the tagline "The most advanced piece of technology you will ever pee on?" That commercial cracked me up, because at first, you think it's a cell phone or a car accessory or something. Awesome.

MLEmac, I saw that commercial too and actually found it a little creepy since it makes no mention of safe sex... just go on birth control and you can do it! But what about STDs??

But I love Sarah Haskins sooo much. She's my fav.

I wonder if Sarah knows how many feminists have crushes on her brain.

Misspelled, is that the one with the tagline "The most advanced piece of technology you will ever pee on?" That commercial cracked me up, because at first, you think it's a cell phone or a car accessory or something. Awesome.

Yes! I couldn't remember what that line was.

It's the Clearblue pregnancy test, BTW. When I have occasion to use a pregnancy test, I think I know which one I'll be shopping for.

Unless, you know, the women in one of the other commercials are eating sherbert and wearing ballet flats. I love sherbert and ballet flats so then I'd know that was the pregnancy test for me.

Almost all of the pregnancy test commercials I've seen have been women looking excitedly, wondering if it's finally the right time to have a baby. Then some emotional music plays. Right, like their main customers aren't terrified seventeen year olds at 7/11 in the middle of the night.

I love, love, love Sarah Haskins. I laughed so hard tears were streaming down my face. I really wish her Target Women segment came out more often. Does she have a blog?

I love Sarah Haskins toooo! I think her witty commentary would ameliorate any everyday task.

And I agree that she would be perfect on the Daily Show.

A quick wikipeida search tells me that the MobLogic host has starred in birth control commercials.

Ironic.

I find it really disturbing the way that a lot of women use the pill in order to stop having their period altogether and that this is encouraged.
One thing I also noticed was that it's getting more and more difficult to find thicker pads (at least in Australia and France), I have a heavy period and it's like the only thing I seem to find on the shelf is for 12 year old girls who just got their period!

First off....Love Sarah Haskins, think the commercials are ridiculous.

As for the marketing to control your symptoms of PMS and the comment mentioning that its disturbing to stop your period...I think its important to remember that its estimated 10-15% of premenopausal women have endometriosis (often undiagnosed). For years I complained about my period but nobody listened...cramps hurt, deal with it. Well when I was infertile at 29 I discovered I had Stage IV endometriosis. If I had gone on the pill and stopped ovulating I may have been able to control the damage that was occurring every time I got my period and preserved at least some of my fertility. Its not always about periods being "inconvenient".

But again, these ads are LAME and I wish someone would address the real issues of birth control like pregnancy and endometriosis.

I find it really disturbing the way that a lot of women use the pill in order to stop having their period altogether and that this is encouraged.

But from what I've learned, it's not medically necessary to have a period every month. Personally, I'm on the pill, but take it in a way to have my period every month (I like the reassurance that I'm not pregnant). My sister takes her pills so that she skips all of her periods and hasn't suffered from anything.

If women want to skip their periods, I say more power to 'em!

But letigreinfrance, when a woman who uses birth control has a period, it's a false period anyway because she's never actually ovulated. She's fooled her body into believing she's pregnant and it's holding its lovely uterine lining in preparation for the non-existent baby. That's why the docs say it's OK not to have a period when you're on birth control.

It makes more sense to be disturbed that women are stopping their ovulation, but thus far the risks seem to outweigh the benefits. Your chance of getting breast cancer increases slightly, but your chance of getting ovarian and endometrian cancers decreases, plus yout get lighter, shorter periods. Also, there's the not getting pregnant thing.

All that said, I'm stopping the pill next month after ten years, because, liberated and informed as I am, I'm a little disturbed that I haven't actually ovulated since I was 17.

But letigreinfrance, when a woman who uses birth control has a period, it's a false period anyway because she's never actually ovulated. She's fooled her body into believing she's pregnant and it's holding its lovely uterine lining in preparation for the non-existent baby. That's why the docs say it's OK not to have a period when you're on birth control.

It makes more sense to be disturbed that women are stopping their ovulation, but thus far the benefits seem to outweigh the risks. Your chance of getting breast cancer increases slightly, but your chance of getting ovarian and endometrian cancers decreases, plus yout get lighter, shorter periods. Also, there's the not getting pregnant thing.

All that said, I'm stopping the pill next month after ten years, because, liberated and informed as I am, I'm a little disturbed that I haven't actually ovulated since I was 17.

WOW. Hilarious. And Morgan -- I laughed for almost the rest of the segment just at that comment. "Well I didn't get my English degree for nothing!"

What are the laws like for drug advertising in the US? These ads look like they were made for ordinary daytime TV - maybe during Oprah? - which seems so bizarre to me. I live in Australia, and prescription drugs aren't allowed to be advertised to the public here, which I think is very sensible.

So ARE there any laws in the US that regulate how and when and what types of medicine can be advertised? Because that might have something to do with the spin that all these companies are putting on contramenstr... sorry, contraceptives. Does anyone know more about this?

Ellestar- Ahhh okay, I actually didn't realise that.

It does seem though that the encouragement of abandoning periods altogether seems to come more from a sexist idea that periods are 'dirty' and as it used to be called, 'a curse'.

Posted by nerdalert Author Profile Page | August 1, 2008 8:50 PM

A quick wikipeida search tells me that the MobLogic host has starred in birth control commercials.

Ironic.

That is ironic. And saddening. Lindsay Campbell was my girlcrush. :(

I couldn't be amused by this. I loved the bit about "want to have sex but not have babies? try birth control!", but Sarah lost me right after that. I practice period control both for convenience and medical necessity, and I am thrilled that there are medications out there now which allow a woman to skip her periods when she wants to. When I first started BCP to skip my periods, neither Nuvaring nor Seasonelle was on the market. I took monophasic pills and tossed the sugar pills. Well, when you do that, you need more than 12 packs per year, and that introduces a level of hassle that I don't even want to describe. Yay for Seasonelle, yay for Nuvaring, and yay for advertising them so that women who want or need the option of period control know which products are available.
Seriously, skipping periods may not be for you, but some women really like it and some women really need it.

the best part of the yaz commercial was "having random media jobs." awesome. and to all the nuva ring users: we're excited about your vaginal ring!!!! :)

Re Rosie: I live in Australia too and you are correct in saying that prescription drugs, including birth control, cannot be advertised to the general public, however they certainly are to doctors via drug company reps. Discussing drug options with a qualified person, ie a doctor, is preferable to people being sold on a brand by an advertising campaign in the media, but I always question how doctors are influenced by the advertising/promotions they are subjected to. They always seem to have little sample packs to hand out... Anyway, I was in hysterics watching this. I have seen ads for prescription drugs in American magazines, with all the disclaimers following them, but I have never seen ads for TV before. They use exactly the same tactics as if they're selling shampoo! And I love the way they talk about everything except what birth control is really designed for, that being having sex without becoming pregnant! It's all so sanitized. And notice too how all the women are attractive in the stereotypical way usually found in advertising aimed at women. Obviously in advertising land only these sorts of women have sex, even though it's only implied and never actually said. What is really insidious, however, is the way both the varieties of the pill and the vaginal ring are marketed in a way which suggests that they can help women rid ourselves of the very things that are part of being a woman - like having a period,as if our biology is just one big inconvenience to be controlled by their wonderful products. The part of being a woman which is not mentioned, of course, is the fact that sex leads to pregnancy, but the role these products play in ridding of us of that "inconvenience" (that is if we do not wish to become pregnant) is never even mentioned! Somehow I think that may be because certain powerful lobby groups of a religious nature in the US would stop the ads if that were so. Or am I just being cynical?

Re Fruminous: Taking hormonal birth control in a manner to prevent periods does not work for all women. I have tried and had breakthrough bleeding when I would have had a period, and at other times as well, so it was back to the monthly packs for me. I'm sure these products would tell you that in the fine print once you get them, but the TV ads sure don't. And of course, you don't know how your body will react until you try the product. These products are certainly not "one size fits all". In fact, the contaceptive pill never has been, with many women unable to use it for various medical reasons. This is where the need for expert medical advice comes in, rather than being influenced by a slick advertising campaign and thinking, "That's for me!" Surely a doctor should decide, in consultation with a woman, the birth control option which is best suited to her, rather than her fronting up telling doctor that she wants "Yaz" or whatever because she's seen a clever advertising campaign?

Alicat:
Taking hormonal birth control in a manner to prevent periods does not work for all women.

I never said it did. I did not advocate for any woman to take BCP for any reason, either period control or birth control. What I said, in summary, was:

Seriously, skipping periods may not be for you, but some women really like it and some women really need it.

This Target Women episode has caused a lot of amusement at the very idea of marketing a product designed to control women's periods. While everyone is being amused and, in some cases, outraged, I would like people to keep in mind that for some women period control is a medical necessity and it's a little insensitive to dismiss it as a marketing ploy by the drug companies.

Alicat:
What is really insidious, however, is the way both the varieties of the pill and the vaginal ring are marketed in a way which suggests that they can help women rid ourselves of the very things that are part of being a woman

Am I now less of woman for not bleeding? I'm sure post-menopausal and transwomen everywhere are thrilled to hear that it's the blood that imbues womanhood.
What's insidious to you is fucking awesome to me.

I also never really realized that they don't EVER talk about the sexual use of birth control pills.

I don't think this was as much her condemning women for actually USING birth control for period control, but the fact that the media and society wants to advertise it as SOLELY for that purpose and not for the purpose for which I and many other women use it--not having babies. Sure, the whole predictable-period thing is awesome, but I love the whole "not having a baby" thing more. It's just interesting how they try to associate it less with its sexual use--because only sluts have sex without wanting to procreate!--and more with the emotional benefits.

Being an English major, the line about The Great Gatsby ALSO made me laugh.

Get Sarah Haskins on the feministing team NOW

Thank you for your supportive comments, Kelsey. And to FruminousB, it is a pity you read into my comments attitudes and assumptions that I clearly do not hold. To assert that I equate womanhood with having a monthly bleed is totally inaccurate. If you read my post carefully, you would realize that I actually tried the skipping period approach but it did not work for me, so how could I possibly condemn women using hormonal birth control for period control when I have tried it myself? I don't care what women use birth control for, nor in what form, as long as it serves their purposes and they are properly informed of risks, side-effects and effectiveness. These ads are dishonest in the way they market their products as if their main purpose is for period control. Sure, this can be a perfectly legitimate use of them, but the real purpose for which these products are developed is to prevent conception. This is never stated nor even implied, because it would reveal that women actually have sex for the pleasure of it, and not to have babies. Shock! Horror! Also, by marketing the products for period control, they can be aimed at all menstruating women, including those who are sexually active but not in "sanctified" relationships, being marriage. Would the drug companies dare market a contaceptive product to single, sexually active women for the purposes of preventing conception in the present "moral climate" which exists in the US, and its focus on controlling women's choices in all facets of their lives, but particularly their sexuality? Again, I emphasise that period control IS a medical necessity for some women to live their lives fully. My question is why the drug companies take this angle in their advertising, rather than stating clearly that the products are meant for birth control? What powers and pressures are preventing them from doing so?

I fancy myself a pretty observant person...especially after a few years in women studies, I just can't help but have a feminist analysis of a lot of things in our culture. For some reason, I never noticed how terrible birth control commercials are! I was annoyed by the Yaz commercials but never quite realized how ludicrous it is to talk about Viagra with sexual gratification and yet birth control is sold as period control. But that is gender stereotypes and the stigma of birth control: women on birth control = women preventing pregnancy = women enjoying sex = slut. Let's hope one day slut will be better understood as sexually empowered.

Like Sarah's other videos, I can never look at the featured commercials the same way!