Kathrin Ahäuser

Hi. This is me behind the pill blister, photographer in Dortmund, Germany. My work focus is set in the area of portrait photography. When portrait and text are not sufficient to tell something, I am making multimedia short films.

Personal Statement

Throughout different phases of my life (born 1986), I have been on the pill several times, but I did not know a lot about what I was taking on an everyday basis.

I am less critical towards the pill in general than about the way information about the pill is provided and accessible. But education about the pill is very important since quite a lot of women use the pill as contraception, but also for other, e. g. therapeutic reasons. The female sex hormones contained in the pill, namely progestogen and estrogen, can cause several negative physical and psychological side effects that many girls and women are not aware of. The possible positive side effects in contrast, generally well known under the key words “regular cycle, beautiful skin and hair”, seem to push the knowledge about disadvantageous, dangerous or even life-threatening side effects into the background. Of course, the pill is not always responsible for every symptom. But to be able to review that, women first need to know which effects and side effects the pill may have.

Women who use the pill should decide self-determined and self-consciously for or against the pill as long as they do not have any dispositions or risk factors. When talking about the pill, it is often dismissed that there are certain preconditions for taking it that need to be fulfilled.

The reasons for going on the pill should neither be a trend that one follows blindly nor a feeling of duty to fulfil others’ expectations. Many partners, but also parents, take it for granted that the pill is taken by girls or women. The pill as a medication should be taken for specific purposes. For some women, the purpose of being on the pill is contraception, for others fighting diseases like endometriosis or the wish for a regular withdrawal bleeding.

This work is my contribution to more education.
Enjoy watching the shortfilms!