Mandy Moore’s new campaign is all about empowering women to talk openly about birth control
Do you remember where you were when you first heard the song “Candy?” Were you browsing Claire’s for some sick earrings at the local mall? Or perhaps you were working up courage to approach a crush at the bowling alley? Regardless of where, or when you first heard the song, most of us have grown up and evolved a lot since our first run-in with the multi-talented Mandy Moore. The same goes for Moore herself, who has expanded her view far beyond the scope of acting and singing all while still making us ugly weep on This Is Us.
For her latest project, Mandy Moore has partnered with pharmaceutical company Merck for the Her Life. Her Adventures campaign. The partnership is focused on promoting education about birth control, and opening up conversations between women and their doctors. Moore joins lifestyle blogger and newbie clothing designer Gabi Gregg, dentist and travel photographer Tiffany Nguyen, professional rockclimber Emily Harrington, and momtrepreneur Christine Andrew for the new campaign.
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As part of their research, Merck polled 2,013 women in an online national survey. Findings showed that starting a family wasn’t a priority for 40% of the women without children, and 39% of those with children. Also, of the 908 women using birth control, a quarter of the women picked their birth control in less than 15 minutes. Needless to say, their research only further proved the need for a campaign encouraging women to educate themselves.
HelloGiggles was lucky enough to sit down with the lovely Mandy Moore herself, as well as Dr. Pari Ghodsi of the San Fernando Valley at Northridge Hospital, to chat about the campaign.
HelloGiggles: What inspired you to launch the Her Life. Her Adventures campaign?
Mandy Moore: Speaking as a 33-year-old woman, the messaging of this campaign really resonates with me. I love that I can use my platform to inspire this dialogue around women’s health. Her Life. Her Adventures is basically an educational campaign, so women can think about their options and what they want out of life and be able to execute that. And, if that plan includes birth control, obviously encouraging women to speak to their doctor.
HelloGiggles: Do you think the Trump administration’s threats on women’s health care access has increased an urgency in this conversation?
Pari Ghodsi: I think that it’s caused a relevance in this conversation, that’s why it’s so important to also talk about it from a women’s health perspective. That’s what we’re really focusing on, is the education part. Urging women to talk to their doctors about what their birth control options are.
MM: Yeah, I don’t think we’re so much interested in politicizing this particular issue. It’s being talked about out there in the world enough. We want to bring it back to the education component and letting women feel empowered about what their options are.
HG: If you had to break it down into three bullet points, what would they be?
PG: I would say, number one is talk to your doctor. I think that a lot of times people are intimidated to talk to their doctor, or they’ve been rushed. There have been studies showing women spend less than 15 minutes deciding what birth control they’ll use, while they’ll spend a week picking out a vacation spot. Talk to your doctor. Number two would be know what your options are, again it feeds back to the first one. As a practicing physician I notice a lot of women are creatures of habit. They say, “This is the first thing I started on.” That’s why we’re passionate about Her Life. Her Adventures — depending on where she’s at in her life, she might need new options. Number three, continue the conversation. We want women to talk with each other, as well as with their physicians, about birth control.
HG: Are you hoping to spark an multigenerational conversation between older women and younger women?
MM: Absolutely. That’s why we’re encouraging women to visit the Her Life. Her Adventures website, because there are women there to share their stories and where they’re at in life. I’m sure that can be inspiring to us from every different walk in life.
HG: Do you see a link between a woman’s right to choose a birth control plan and when/if she has children, and a woman’s right to express herself through makeup and fashion?
PG: I think the key that ties all of that together is that it’s all different personal decisions. Birth control is a personal decision, and it’s the same thing with fashion or beauty. You want to do what best suits you.
HG: For your career, has having your own plan empowered you to make decisions about your career and acting?
MM: Absolutely, that’s part of the reason I want to be a part of this campaign and champion this particular cause. I have been very lucky, but I’ve had my own challenges and ebbs and flows in both my personal life and my career. It’s brought me to where I am today and helped me see the bigger picture. I’m an organized person and I’ve been lucky in that I’ve always known what I wanted out of life and from my career. Part of my plan right now includes birth control, but that might not always be the case.
