Join us for the GCI Speaker Series with guest speaker Dr. Sarah Hill, Psychology Professor from Texas Christian University, where she will present her talk titled "It's Time to Talk About Women's Brains and the Birth Control Pill."

Light refreshments will be served. 

Abstract:

The majority of women in the US will use the birth control pill at some point in their lives. Yet, there is very little information out there for women or their partners about what the pill does to the brain. This is critical information to have because - although women go on the pill for a small handful of targeted effects - sex hormones simply can't work that way. Sex hormones impact the activities of billions of cells in the body at once, many of which are in the brain. This means that being on the birth control pill makes women a different version of themselves than when they are off of it. In this talk, I will talk about what we know and don’t know about the pill and women’s brains and behavior. I will also talk about why this information matters for men and for those who care for women’s mental and physical health. Lastly, I will urge researchers to conduct better, more inclusive science that teaches men and women about who they are and how their brains work, whether they are on or off of medications like the birth control pill.

Dr. Sarah E. Hill earned her PhD from the University of Texas and she is currently a researcher and professor of psychology at TCU. Her research on women, health, and sexual psychology has been published in more than 75 journal articles and is regularly featured in news outlets like the New York Times, The Economist, The Washington Post, and many others. Most recently, Sarah has authored “This Is Your Brain on Birth Control” – a groundbreaking book about the effects of hormonal contraceptives on women’s psychology.