A conservative order of Catholic nuns from Ohio called the Children of Mary released a new video last weekend (although it’s so poorly produced you’d be forgiven for thinking the video is a relic from a bygone era) that attempts to frighten women into ditching contraception by linking it to an alleged “increase” in male homosexual activity.
In the video, titled “You Deserve to Know the Truth: Contraception,” the narrator claims that because contraception tricks a woman’s body into thinking it’s pregnant, it blocks the release of pheromones that attract men to women. She asks, “What is a man to do when the majority of women are contracepting [sic] and he no longer finds them desirable?” The answer comes just a short time later — essentially, the Children of Mary claim that a lack of female pheromones confuses men and causes them to turn to each other for sexual gratification. The video, which was reported on Monday by Queerty and picked up by the Huffington Post, cites a 1970s-era study where male monkeys were injected with birth control drugs and began to have sex with one another.
Check out the video below:
From Huffington Post:
“With the prevalence of contraception, it’s no wonder adultery is on the rise, as is promiscuity, homosexual behavior, and even abortion due to failed contraception,” the narrator proclaims.
After noting that “the entire world’s population could fit quite comfortably in the state of Texas,” the narrator adds, “Contraception is the path that has led us to the culture of death that is prevalent in the world today, but it doesn’t have to be the path of our future.” She then concludes: “If someone you know is contracepting [sic], tell them to stop. It will destroy them.”
The Children of Mary apparently hope to put this ad out to Catholics in all 50 states before the presidential election next month. More than likely, though, this small order will remain on the fringe — most of the attention this election cycle is on a much bigger, much more progressive group of Catholic nuns whose views on social justice and sexual morality are grounded in our current age rather than the Stone Age. And more importantly, a clear majority of Catholics reject the anti-woman, anti-LGBT propaganda contained in this video: 98% of Catholic women use or have used contraception, and a clear majority support LGBT rights, including marriage equality. So really, outside of a very small group of reactionary supporters, this frighteningly ignorant-yet-hilarious video won’t have much resonance at all.
