‘Stopping the Pill turned me gay’: Bizarre case of 28-year-old woman’s sudden sexuality change is FOURTH linked to contraceptive

A woman has sensationally claimed that coming off the Pill left her ‘disgusted’ by men and ‘turned me lesbian’.

Amy Parker, from Adelaide in Australia, ditched her hormonal birth control in February after ending her seven-year relationship with her ex-boyfriend.

But it was only when the 28-year-old began to date again in May that the thought of meeting men filled her with ‘unease’.

After switching her dating app filters to ‘women-only’ she says she underwent a ‘sexual awakening’ and could now ‘never go back to men’.

She believes the 13 years she spent on the popular form of hormonal contraception somehow masked her true identity.

It comes after three women told MailOnline last year how they also only realised they were gay after coming of the Pill for the first time themselves.

There is little research in this area, but the internet is awash with anecdotes of the same thing happening.

The Pill has a long list of possible side-effects — from weight gain and nausea, to breast tenderness and menstrual cycle changes.

Amy Parker, from Adelaide in Australia, ditched her hormonal birth control in February after ending her seven-year relationship with her ex-boyfriend

But it was only when the 28-year-old began to date again in May that the thought of meeting men filled her with ‘disgust and unease’. Pictured, Amy with girlfriend Bonnie

But limited evidence suggests there could be some truth to the claim.

Experts in the field of evolutionary psychology have also long held that changes in women’s sex hormones play an important role in what a woman looks for in a mate.

Recalling her bizarre experience, Ms Parker said: ‘I’d heard before that the Pill could influence your sexual attraction, but not to this level.

‘I’m so glad I came off the Pill and discovered who I truly am and what my sexual preference is. This is me in my truest form. It’s very freeing.

‘It’s frightening to think how much this has influenced potentially the last 13 years of my life.

‘I’d always considered myself straight.

‘I went on the contraceptive pill at 15 for my periods and stayed on it every day. My doctor told me I didn’t need to have a break so I never did.’

Discussing her previous heterosexual relationship, she added: ‘I thought he was the one. We were head over heels for each other.

After switching her dating app filters to ‘women-only’ Amy says she underwent a ‘sexual awakening’ and could now ‘never go back to men’

She believes the 13 years she spent on the popular form of contraception influenced her true identity. Pictured, with girlfriend Bonnie

‘We had bought a house and built a life together. We were going to start trying for a family this year.

‘He was my absolute best friend and the one person in the world I trusted. By the end, we loved each other but we weren’t in love with each other.’

After downloading Hinge and Bumble she found she ‘couldn’t hold a conversation with any matches’ and ‘had no interest at all’ in pursuing anything further.

‘Within two weeks of getting the apps, it just got in my head what if I started chatting to women,’ she added.

‘I didn’t feel the same way that I thought about dating men, that disgust and uneasy feeling. I felt intrigued and excited and like I was doing something a bit cheeky.

‘I’d never done anything like this before or had any thoughts like this before. I thought what am I feeling and why am I feeling this way? I was very confused.’

It was then that she met her now-girlfriend of four months Bonnie.

‘Being in a relationship with a woman is not even comparable to being in a straight relationship,’ Ms Parker said.

After downloading Hinge and Bumble Amy found she ‘couldn’t hold a conversation with any matches’ and ‘had no interest at all’ in pursuing anything further

‘Being in a relationship with a woman is not even comparable to being in a straight relationship,’ Ms Parker said

‘The emotional intelligence and level of communication is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

‘Sleeping with a woman for the first time was a billion emotions at once. Of course, it was new and nerve-wracking but in the same breath exciting and I felt relieved.

‘I felt like this is what intimacy on a sexual level should feel like. It was this awakening, eye-opening moment. It felt like I’d been missing out on this my entire life.

‘I felt sadness that it took me 28 years to experience this type of intimacy. Now I would say I’m 100 per cent gay. I could never go back to men.’

There are two main types of birth control pills for women — combined oral contraceptives, also called ‘the Pill’, and a progestin-only pill.

Both are prescribed by a doctor and taken at the same time each day, with women advised to take a week’s break each month.

The combined pill contains artificial version of the female hormones estrogen and progestin, which are produced naturally in the ovaries.

It works by preventing the ovaries from releasing an egg each month and thickening the mucus in the neck of the womb, so it is harder for sperm to penetrate the womb and reach an egg.

Side effects of the pill including nausea, breast tenderness or enlargement, headaches, weight gain, missed periods, mood changes, decreased sex drive and vaginal discharge, have long been shared

The NHS says natural family planning can be up to 99 per cent effective when done correctly and around 75 per cent if not used according to instructions. By comparison, the Pill, implant, IUS and IUD are 99 per cent effective with perfect use, while condoms are 98 per cent

The proportion of Brits taking oral contraceptives has fallen by more than two-thirds, from 420,600 in 2012/13 to 126,400 in 2022/23, according to NHS data. Around 555,400 women turned to the health service’s sexual and reproductive health services in 2022/23 — equivalent to four per cent of 13 to 54-year-olds

The progestin-only pill – sometimes called the mini-pill – only has one synthetic hormone, progestin, and works in a similar way.

Estrogen has been linked to some health conditions so women at risk may be recommended this pill.

While it may sound outlandish, there is some evidence the combined and progestin-only oral tablets can alter how women perceive attractiveness.

Research suggests that women who take the Pill have a continued preference for less masculine men.

Women who don’t, meanwhile, experience a preference for more masculine men at the most fertile period of their natural cycle, and less masculine men during the second half of their cycle — when levels of the hormone progesterone are high.

One study involving 2,000 women, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, also explored sexual satisfaction and partner attraction among women who met their partners when they were on the pill versus those who only started using birth control after starting the relationship.

Results showed women who met their partners when they were on the pill scored lower in both measures.

They also rated their partner’s body and sexual adventurousness lower than the control group.

Last year, NHS figures also suggested thousands of British women had ditched the Pill in favour of a celebrity-inspired ‘natural’ contraception trend.

Oral contraception use has dropped by more than two-thirds, from 420,600 in 2012/13 to 126,400 in 2022/23.

WHAT DO THE STUDIES SAY?

Researchers from the University of Stirling looked at whether women might choose different more or less masculine-looking partners when they are on the pill than they would have chosen off of it.

The 2013 study recruited 55 straight women and used a computer program in a lab that allowed them to manipulate human features in photographs of different men and women.

After the first session, 18 women were given a prescription for a daily birth control pill while the rest were not. Both groups returned three months later to run a similar attractiveness test.

When the researchers compared the two sets of images created by the non pill-takers at each test session, they found no differences between the faces they created.

But they found that women who had gone on the pill preferred images of males with less masculine features than their non pill-taking counterparts.

A 2011 study of around 2,000 women, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, explored sexual satisfaction and partner attraction among women who met their partners when they were on the pill versus those who only started using birth control after starting the relationship.

Results showed women who met their partners when they were on the pill scored lower in both measures. They also rated their partner’s body and sexual adventurousness lower than the control group.

However, another study published in 2018 by University of Glasgow researchers found that women’s preferences for masculine faces were generally stable regardless of whether they took the pill or were ovulating.

Over 500 heterosexual women were recruited by the researchers to look at 10 pairs of randomly selected male faces at the same time and were told to pick which one they were more attracted to.

They also were told to rate each photo’s level of attractiveness.

The facial features of the men in the images were slightly manipulated to look more feminine or masculine such as by sharpening the cheekbones.

Testing sessions asked women to consider which type of partner they would prefer for short-term as well as long-term relationships.

The team found no evidence that women’s face preferences tracked changes in hormone levels or changes in their use of oral contraceptives.

In fact, they found that women generally preferred masculine men regardless of their own hormonal status.