literally: “anti baby pill” / meaning: birth control
Is Germany a child-friendly nation? Well, not really, some might argue. In our country, children are held to the same standards as if they were under-grown adults.
There are few places and situations where they can really let off steam and behave according to their nature. Everywhere else, they are perceived primarily as a noise nuisance. This perception is also reflected in language. Nowhere else does the contraceptive pill nonchalantly bear a name that labels the not-to-be-born life like a disease that needs treatment.
In fact, Antibabypille sounds like something inebriated frat boys would have come up with in a burst of sarcasm. However, it’s what Germans actually call it. There would have been so many opportunities for a less hostile framing. The GDR used the much softer sounding Wunschkindpille (“planned child pill”)—but what about the likes of Freudenvögelpille (“pleasure-bang pill”) or Anti-Rauszieh-Pille (“anti-pull-out pill”) if it has to be anti-something?
