The Pink Pill Pipeline and the Online War Against Birth Control

It starts with aspirational lifestyle content about “embracing your femininity,” but ends with alt-right ideology and conspiracy theories about reproductive care. This is the pink pill pipeline — one of the primary ways young women are radicalized online today. Seemingly innocuous content about dating advice, wellness tips, and pop culture leads to increasingly conservative and extremist talking points about how birth control is causing the fertility crisis or how women don’t need to vote. It’s all wrapped up in a glossy veneer of feminine empowerment. Reporter Kylie Cheung joins to discuss how seemingly apolitical content online is shifting the cultural narrative around reproductive rights through coordinated misinformation campaigns, and how to spot pink pill content for what it is.

Guest:

Kylie Cheung, staff reporter at Abortion, Every Day

Further Reading/Listening:

How Celebrity Smear Campaigns are Inspiring Attacks on Birth Control — Kylie Cheung, Abortion, Every Day

Far right coming for women’s autonomy; birth control on chopping block — Cassie Miller, Southern Poverty Law Center

We Need to Talk About the Pink-Pill Pipeline — Jessica Valenti, Abortion, Every Day

I Caught a Secret Right-Wing Influence Operation Running In My Feed — Emily Amick, Emily In Your Phone

The Long Campaign to Turn Birth Control Into the New Abortion — Katharine Mieszkowski, Reveal

Inside Anti-Abortion Groups’ Campaign to Sell Women on Unreliable Birth Control “Alternatives” — Kiera Butler, Mother Jones

Trump Is Going After Birth Control. Here’s Why. — Mary Ziegler, Politico

The Trump Administration Is Overhauling Birth Control Access for the Pronatalist Movement — Jessica Washington, The Intercept

Read the Transcript here

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Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.

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