Great news out of Israel – that male contraceptive pill that they’ve been promising for the last 40-odd years may be only three years away thanks to breakthrough new research — not to be confused with any of the other breakthrough research that they’ve been reporting for the last 40-odd years. Because, as New Zealand Herald reporter Shelley Bridgeman points out, they promised in 2000 that the male pill would be ready …
.. in five years and 2005 came and went without the sperm-killing drugs hitting the market.
Bridgeman discusses the way in which both taking contraceptives and dealing with pregnancy is undoubtedly a concern and burden shouldered far more by women than men. Although a man might have to pay child support or otherwise take care of a child — wanted or unwanted — the sacrifice to a woman’s body, both through the use of contraceptives (which seem to turn most of us into ax-wielding, sexless psychopaths) and of course through the physical changes in pregnancy itself seem to outweigh any postpartum sacrifice on the part of the unwilling male parent.
The question is whether, in a society that currently views most elements of child-bearing as being a woman’s responsibility, would men take a contraceptive pill, and would women trust them to take the pills regularly and properly? The stereotypical sitcom dad is portrayed as a clueless oaf, his smart and organized wife keeping the family and house from falling into ruin, but these are stereotypes which conveniently place all responsibility on the woman’s shoulders to be smarter, better and more thoughtful — only within a domestic setting, of course. If men believe that no one can rely on them to consistently take a pill every morning or evening, then it’s easy — they shouldn’t have to. Which means they also don’t have to deal with side-effects and it’s certainly not their fault if pregnancy occurs.
It seems obvious that the delay in production of the male contraceptive pill is due mostly to the fact that we know men won’t take it — for any of the reasons listed above, or even because despite the fact that it seems many men want children later in life or not at all, somehow the thought of being infertile (through chemical means) is emasculating, unnatural and wrong.
In essence, it’s not the male pill that needs developing, but rather our cultural attitude regarding the gendered responsibilities of contraception, conception, pregnancy and parenting.
I’d feel rather concerned over my boyfriend taking the pill instead of me. Not because I don’t trust him, but because if I forgot to take it and fell pregnant, ultimately it would be *my* mistake, whereas if *he* forgot it, it would be his mistake but it would still be me who fell pregnant and had to go through the whole process, whether it was a pregnancy or an abortion. Since it affects me so directly, I’d rather be in control.
I’m with you, Miree. Since it’s my body that has to go through the pregnancy, I’d feel more comfortable knowing that it’s my body that’s preventing the pregnancy. Not that I don’t think the male contraceptive pill is a great idea. In fact, I think that men who don’t want kids should take it anyway, since even if the woman *is* using a contraceptive, they’re not 100% infallible (both of my sisters and my aunt have gotten pregnant while on the pill). Still, I personally wouldn’t rely on the male contraceptive alone, both for the reason stated above by me and Miree and because my husband – and I know that not all men are like this – is not as mindful as I am about doing daily tasks (I have to remind him to brush his teeth and take his daily vitamin, for goodness’ sake).
I agree with you – the reason I’d prefer to be the one taking the pill is because I know I’m not going to forget a pill or anything. But I think men should be in the same frame of mind – why would you chance someone else remembering to take a pill when you could have the peace of mind knowing YOU took your pill? I mean it doesn’t hurt anyone if both parties are on a contraceptive pill. And considering how many complaints you hear from men about having to use condoms, you’d think there would be more of a demand for a male pill.
You still need to wrap that rascal to keep STDs away.
For casual sex, yes, but many people in committed long-term relationships are just looking to prevent or delay pregnancy.
HPV comes and goes.
I made him get STD analysis after we broke up and he got on a rebound relationship with someone else. Lawl.
Ok, you know I was wondering about that, because we know about Rebound Girl.
Glad to see a young woman being safe!
Why don’t you both just take your respective pills in order to further reduce any accidental pregnancies. This way the only possible way you could get become pregnant is if the both of you either choose not to take your pills or both of you simultaneously forget (which is unlikely).
I would see it as a another layer of protection. My partner and I use condoms exclusively, and we’re near “perfect” users, but they is always a chance that despite that I could still get pregnant. I’ve tried the pill, and responded so poorly to it that it’s made me highly suspicious of any hormonal drugs. If my partner didn’t have those side effects with a new male pill, then it would be a win win situation for us and prevent the couple “scares” that we’ve had in the past.
Agreed. The pill does wonderful things for my skin and period, so I definitely don’t mind taking it. But to have my boyfriend taking one as well as an extra layer of protection would be phenomenal. That way if I have to take antibiotics that kill the effect of my bc we won’t have to abstain or use condoms (which I really really dislike, I should add. I can feel the latex and it’s icky).
Wow, sex w/o condoms… now THERE’S a reason for male birth control (for me anyways). I don’t even know what that’s like. I’m too careful to not use a condom and the hormonal BC wrecks me.
I don’t use condoms with my boyfriend, I use the Pill and we’ve been together for two years. I would probably make him take the male pill… on top of mine! Haha.
I polled a group of male friends, every single one was in favor of male birth control. The only drawback was a concern that they’d go nuts like some females on some pills, and at least in the beginning they couldn’t conveniently switch to a different pill to leave off the crazy. But all were still willing/eager to try.
It turns *most* women into nutcases? I’m thinking that might not all be the pill…
I won’t entrust my non-pregnant body to any one form of birth control, so the more options the better.
I don’t think there’s any major male conspiracy to prevent it though – perhaps just not a huge feeling of urgency.
The only pill that made me crazy was a triphasic back in 94-96. Of course, it didn’t help that I was an undiagnosed bipolar and the hormonal swings were off the hook. Other than that, every pill has been my friend. My newest pill friend is Microgestin. I don’t get periods anymore and life is great: no freaking out because my PMS is exacerbating my bipolar, no more menstrual migraines, and no more periods! Happy dance!
“It seems obvious that the delay in production of the male contraceptive pill is due mostly to the fact that we know men won’t take it”
…
Isn’t that just a gross generalization? I asked three guys at work and two of them said they would take it including myself. Male birth control pills seems like a hell of lot better idea than condoms.
“Male birth control pills seems like a hell of lot better…
->’protection against unwanted pregnancy’<-
than condoms." Fixed.
.
STI's and STD's, nuff said.
I’ve been reading these false blue smoke and mirrors “the male pill is coming” reports for over two decades now. The first fact is that there are too women with kids born out of wedlock that are dependent on the government for the FDA (which is part of the government) to give a male contraceptive a fair review and approve it.
Because if they did that the out of wedlock birthrate drop so fast that the government bureaucrats and politicians that support them would lose their jobs and elected offices.
Another fact is that there already is a safe and effective homeopathic male contraceptive method that’s starting to get national attention and lots of users called the “t3 male contraceptive” at http://fatherhoodbychoice.org that was based on the work of Dr. M Voegeli from the 1940′s. And all it is, is warm tap water applied to the testis for 21 days. And any man can google that fact for themselves if they really want to control their reproductive rights.
But as a long time men and fathers rights advocate it pains me to admit that the feminist are right when they say the vast majority of young men from high school age to 32 that need a male contraceptive the most just aren’t smart enough to advocate for it.
Yes, heat lowers sperm count and may make it less likely to cause pregnancy. Yes, water is safe and natural.
But you’re a long way from ‘effective’.
Put it in there with ‘withdrawal’ and ‘the rhythm method’. You might end up with fewer kids that way, but if you want to avoid ‘daddy’ entirely, you might want to look at something real.
Speaking of homeopathic methods…
http://xkcd.com/765/
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@ no mireee it’d be both of your faults.
Actually, this looks like a much, much better solution:
http://theredpillroom.blogspot.com/2012/03/male-birth-control-its-here-and-its.html
I read all the the available information on this. As a chemical engineer, I can follow the principle of what they’re doing, and it sounds good to me. There’s been A LOT of setbacks, but on the bright side they’ve already started trials on rabbits in the US. There’s also talk about it being modified to similarly destroy a female’s egg as it pass through her tubes. Sounds much better than a hormonal IUD to me!
I think you’re wrong. All the surveys I’ve seen say men and women both overwhelmingly WANT a male birth control pill. I think the problem is that they’re not DEMANDING it. You’re not going to see men marching for anything unless they’re in a labor union or the tea party. And men definitely aren’t going to take on the religious right when they start protesting how the male pill will promote promiscuity, STDs etc. The only people with enough political clout to take on the religious right when it comes to reproductive issues are the feminists. I think the political and social reality is that feminists are the only ones who can convince the pharmaceuticals and the FDA to bring male birth control pills to market.
Pretty sure he fears the results of you getting pregnant more than you.