My best birth control now is just to leave the lights on.

In this one-liner, Rivers uses shock humor and self-deprecation to turn a topic often treated seriously—contraception—into a joke about aging, desirability, and the realities of long-term sexuality. The punchline hinges on the implication that “leaving the lights on” is enough to deter sex, either because it reveals unflattering truths or dispels the romantic illusion. Typical of Rivers’s comic persona, the line weaponizes candor about the body and intimacy, inviting laughter through taboo-breaking while also gesturing at cultural pressures around women’s appearance and sexual value.