The Wednesday Weigh-In: Male birth control edition

It’s no secret that dudes love to talk about hormonal birth control. But until now, their more direct involvement, namely, being able to take it themselves to effectively prevent against unwanted pregnancy, has been somewhat limited, as there are no options for male hormonal birth control out there just yet.

Well to all my sistas tired of being the only ones to shoulder the burden of taking hormonal birth control, Christmas may have come early this year. The LA Times is reporting that a method of birth control targeted for men is showing some strong potential:

“A birth control gel for men sharply lowered sperm counts with few side effects, researchers reported Tuesday. The gel, containing testosterone and a synthetic progestin called Nestorone, will require substantially more testing, but it has the potential to become the first effective chemical birth control agent for males.”

I think most people would consider it a positive thing to have more options on the table when it comes to contraceptives, especially when those options involve more possibilities for men AND women. Feminists have long been making the case that we need better birth control. Plus it doesn’t seem fair (for women OR men) that women are the only ones with a hormonal birth control option, especially when you consider that it’s not exactly cheap.

Thus, today’s weigh-in centers on gel, sperm count, and ‘having it all’:

For those of you who are sexually active, who bears the primary responsibility for contraceptive use? How would access to a male hormonal contraceptive affect your life? Are you psyched, freaked out, or ambivalent that researchers are looking into male methods of contraceptives?