contraception

Definition of Contraception

(noun) Any act or device used to control or prevent conception.

Example of Contraception

• Using condoms during heterosexual penile and vaginal intercourse.

Contraception Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: con·tra·cep·tion

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˌkɑntrəˈsɛpʃən/
• British English – /kɒntrəˈsɛpʃən/

Usage Notes

• Plural: contraceptions
• Specific forms of contraception methods are called contraceptives and include birth control pills, condoms, and diaphragms.
• Also called:
  • birth control
  • birth prevention
  • contraceptive method
  • contraceptives
  • fertility control
  • prophylactic

Related Quotation

• “These days, most of use take birth control for granted. But that’s only because feminists fought so hard for it since the beginning of the last century. Margaret Sanger, one of the pioneers of the birth control movement, was arrested for passing out a leaflet that told women how to limit—as if mere knowledge of birth control was a threat to the status quo, which perhaps it was” (Kaufman and Kimmel 2011:18)!

Additional Information

• Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Sex and Gender Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “contraception” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Corsaro, William A. 2005. The Sociology of Childhood. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
• Ginsburg, Faye D., and Rayna R. Reiter, eds. 1995. Conceiving the New World Order: The Global Politics of Reproduction. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
• Sandhu, Jasmeet. 1996. Sociology of Fertility. Jaipur, India: Rawat.
• Solinger, Rickie. 2005. Pregnancy and Power: A Short History of Reproductive Politics in America. New York: New York University Press.

Related Terms

• family
• health
• power
• sex
• status quo

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Reference

Kaufman, Michael, and Michael S. Kimmel. 2011. The Guy’s Guide to Feminism. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press.

Works Consulted

Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).

Cite the Definition of Contraception

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “contraception.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 26, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/contraception/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

contraception. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/contraception/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “contraception.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 26, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/contraception/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“contraception.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/contraception/>.