Still on the Pill?: Birth Control on Seinfeld

"The Sponge"

           In the above clip from Seinfeld Jerry asks Elaine about the status of her sexual relationship with the man she has been dating. Elaine tells Jerry and Kramer that while they have not slept together yet, it is “imminent” as she is shopping for birth control later that day. The men continue their line of questioning and inquire into her birth control of choice, with Kramer exclaiming, “Elaine are you still on the pill? …  What? [I think] birth control should be discussed in a open forum!” In this short interaction, several positive sexual health messages are enforced. First, immediately after sex is brought up the group discusses safe sex practices. In this world, the discussion of "imminent" sex is inseparable from sexual health. Further, the topic is not simply broached but also elaborated on by Elaine, Jerry, and Kramer- a male and female group that feels generally comfortable discussing practices of sexual health together. Additionally, multiple forms of birth control are talked about during this short conversation including the pill and “the sponge” which becomes the central theme of the episode. Later in the episode condoms are also discussed, bringing the overall count to three diverse forms of birth control.

            For young audiences or those not well versed in the language of sexual heath, this episode of Seinfeld has the potential to both teach and reinforce practical lessons. If combined with outside sexual health education, viewers can take away sex positive messages and practices from this episode of Seinfeld (Collins, 1119). In this episode many methods of birth control discussed and both males and females actively seek them out (Elaine and George). Thus the show does not place the onus of sexual health on one sex, exhibiting to viewers that both men and women are responsible for their own sexual health as well as that of their partner. However, is it important to remember that the positive sexual health messages seen in this episode of Seinfeld or other television programs cannot be solely responsible for providing sexual education. These messages and “examples” must be discussed in order to prove truly effective (Collins, 1119). 

Collins, R., Elliott, M., Berry, S., Kanouse, D., & Hunter, S. (2003). Entertainment television as a healthy sex educator: The impact of condom-efficacy information in an episode ofFriends. Pediatrics, 112(5), 1115-1121.