Re:
Contraceptives
Now there's a tasteful representation of the subject.
Trouble is, as a tech (i.e., societal milestone) "contraceptives" is kind of inexact. Sort of like saying "women working" rather than "feminism" or "suffrage movement". As I understand it, contraceptives in the form of rudimentary condoms (goat skin) and even crude IUDs existed well before humans began keeping records, and medically induced abortion existed in Christ's time (though neither he nor his followers found it important enough to even comment on at the time - he never mentions homosexuality either, but I digress).
There have been some related milestones, though:
Malthusian Theory (1798) was, I think, the first scientific examination of the limitations of population growth;
The Comstock Laws (1873) prohibited dissemination of information about contraception as well as obscenity - remnants of those laws are still in effect today;
Planned Parenthood (1921) was founded as a concept and an organization (originally called the American Birth Control League) by Margaret Sanger, although her early advocacy for
eugenic sterilization marred her otherwise good intentions;
The Pill (1960) revolutionized contraception, sparked a rebirth of the Women's Movement and is credited with remaking western culture and society; and
Roe v. Wade (1973) - the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the U.S., and intensified a moral and political debate that continues to this day. Those are just a few of many related concepts.
It is interesting to note that the "population bomb" was very much a subject of hot debate in the 1960's (remember the movies
Soylent Green and
Logan's Run?) but dropped right off the radar in the '70's due to a shift in birth rates - down to 1.7 births for white women in the U.S. by 1976 - and its unpopularity as a topic among minority populations eventually made "population control" very politically
un-correct. Then there was China's one-child policy that freaked everyone out. There is lately some tentative re-emergence of interest in the subject - for instance, it was a topic on last week's "To the Contrary" program on PBS.
I'm not saying you should change anything; I like the icons. I just thought I'd throw some thought-snacks onto your table, since you've raised the subject.
