Every couple of years it’ll pop up on my social media feed again like flogging fake news:
“Ladies! Fret no more. A male birth control pill is coming soon!”
Each article an empty promise reassuring women the burden of birth control may be alleviated and shared—but it’s been over 50 years now since the development of the “pill.” Are we getting any closer to birth control for men?
Though I’m not trying to disregard the existence of condoms as a male contraceptive in this article, I will argue many men discard the contraceptive on their own accord, complaining it impedes pleasure (and hey, I hear you). Some men might’ve even convinced themselves that asking women if they are on the pill is them fulfilling their duty as a diligent and safe lover.
Male contraceptive gel
In October 2018, three cities in the U.S. launched a trial for a male contraceptive in a gel form which has since become one of the most promising developments of a hormonal male birth control to date. Couples in the study have even used the gel as the sole method of contraceptive since last year.
The gel, called NES/T, is a combination of testosterone and progesterone which inhibits sperm from maturing in the testicles.
Stephanie Page, the lead researcher of the study at the University of Washington School of Medicine said that the gel must be applied daily and its effects are reversible.
Page said there were three main obstacles when developing a male birth control. The first was the social reasons for prioritizing female contraception because of pregnancies, the second was understanding the suppression of sperm.
“Men make millions and millions of sperm every day,” said Page. “And so, there was a lot of work that had to go in to try to understand if we have to block every single one of those millions, or are a few okay for an effective contraception.”
The last obstacle was to figure out how to deliver the hormones safely and effectively while maintaining hormonal balance in men.
“All three issues have essentially been addressed and that’s why we’re making some progress now,” said Page.
As the news of the gel contraceptive rolled out in the media, many women expressed their opinions on Twitter, calling attention to the unfairness that men should receive a gel while women are poked and prodded, like when getting an implant or an intrauterine device (IUD).
Gender inequality in sexual health
The successful development of a male contraceptive could relieve many women who endure the debilitating side effects of hormonal birth control such as nausea, depression, mood changes and weight gain, to name a few.
In 2016, a trial for a male contraceptive injection was halted by the World Health Organization (WHO) because participants were experiencing side effects such as acne, weight gain, aggression and increased libido.
Women collectively rolled their eyes when they heard this, welcoming men to our Tuesday.
“So much of the responsibility falls on women and our ability to stay on top of our routine,” said Brittany Szczyglowski, a first-year communication and culture graduate student at Ryerson. “I feel like if they had the ability to become pregnant, there would already be something preventative for them.”
But alas, men can not get pregnant. Maybe if they could, they would revolt when their abortion rights were restricted. Perhaps being criminalized and jailed for pregnancy outcomes wouldn’t even be a possibility. Their eyebrows would furrow as a room full of women tell them they are in fact, not in charge of their own bodies. This, of course, is not the world we are living in.
“If men care about being pro-choice or pro-life even, it’s more important for those men to give a fuck and be more researched on how they can prevent unwanted pregnancies from happening,” said Szczyglowski.
Are men even willing to try hormonal birth control?
With the rollback on women’s rights and increasingly harder access to abortions, it seems men need to step up their support and acknowledge alternative ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
According to a study by WHO, 40 per cent of pregnancies in 2012 were unplanned worldwide. That’s 85 million unintended pregnancies affecting both men and women, yet birth control has been grouped as a “women’s issue” because we are expected to carry that burden. Yet, our rights and resources are restricted.
Pharmaceutical companies have little interest in investing in male contraceptive and NES/T still isn’t set to be on the market for another eight to 10 years.
And so, this all begs the question if men are even willing to take birth control if it was available to them.
Daniel Janicas, a second-year RTA sports media student said women should be the ones responsible for birth control in a heterosexual relationship, as she is the one carrying the baby in her body.
Teaching men about contraceptives should be more prevalent if we want to start seeing some changes. Janicas admitted he didn’t know much about female birth control and hasn’t thought about it if one were to come onto the market for men.
With the most promising hormonal male birth control still underway, we need men to start stepping up and understanding that sexual health isn’t just a “women’s issue.”