Men will never go for this. Never.

There might be a rare few who would get off on the remote-control concept of conception, with the option of giving the wife or the girlfriend an unexpected surprise...

Even the manly Mr. Biscuitbarrel, that paragon among testicle-bearers, turned pea-green at the very idea of messing with his precious bodily fluids. Came the time, I got the snips, not him.

Prepare for a Mattel Hot Wheels tie-in for this contraceptive device.

I'm all for this and I'm a male.

As a feminist guy who thinks that the women have had the burden of birth-control far to long, I can't wait for a solid medical method for guys to get birth-control. I almost always use condoms, even when I'm in a relationship.

But I have to admit, this sounds... well... unpleasant. Actually implanting something that messes with your reproductive system? I mean, the post you linked to talked about how many women are uncomfortable with IUDs, and I don't think it unreasonable that guys would feel the same weirdness.

I would certainly consider it, but maybe not until it had a few years out on the market, to make sure it's safe and everything. And I'd much prefer a pill of some sort. Until then, I'm sticking to condoms.

I agree. Something that goes on the outside like a condom - not guys' favorite, but they'll do it. Anything internal or hormonal - I doubt it.

Yes, all hormonal BC options do have side effects that have to be considered. I can't take the pill, and the other options all have things that would present problems for me: Nuva Ring - can cause migraines. Well, I already take medication for migraines, so that's out.

Depo - can cause weight gain, many women report gaining more than the estimated 3 to 5 pounds. No thanks.

Mirena? Well, I haven't had a child (I'm child free), so I'm not a good candidate. My doctor said there is a risk that it could be expelled or perforate the uterus. Yowza.

Diaphragm/sponge - I'm not big on methods where I have to reach inside myself a lot and make sure something is positioned just right. I'd constantly worry that it was in wrong. I'll pass.

Implanon - could work, but it does have to be implanted in your arm, can leave scar tissue, and some women stop taking it after a couple of months because it causes irregular bleeding. Gee, can I sign up for that?

So I made an appt. to talk to my doctor about getting a tubal. I'm 32, and have known for over 4 years that I don't want kids, and that hasn't changed. I hope they listen to me.

A perfect form of male contraception would be a hallucinogen that makes all women look and sound like "Dr" Laura Schlessinger or Ann "thrax" Coulter. My boner would wilt almost instantly: a cold shower in pill form!

Where do I sign up?

I have all the kids I can support the way I want to support them. My spouse and I were talking vasectomy, especially because we both love bareback fucking. But we both kind of worry that if, in the next few years, we lose one of the kids we'd be sorry about inducing infertility. A completely reversible, reliable solution? Sold.

I think this could be a great solution for guys whose sticking point on vasectomy is the difficulty of reversal. I don't know if it would sell for younger guys, for several reasons.

Marshall Lucky: Well, yeah, that'd be a perfect form of contraception, but it has a down-side: you know, all women being Dr Laura and Ann Coulter. That would be hell on earth.

Gotta ask: Who's that in the picture?

But why wouldn't people go for this, given that elective vasectomy is by no means uncommon? How is this any different?

Oscar: The effect would only be temporary -just long enough to prevent shagging for a few days.

GottaBeMe:

I doubt they'll do a tubal. I've been asking for over a decade. So far no luck. You might reconsider Mirena. I have it even though I'm childfree. Expulsion is a risk (so you have to check it regularly). Perforated uterus is also a risk, but not an enormous one.

First off, just want to clarify that I know there are a lot of guys out there who *would* go for something like this. I was more mocking the author of the post, and dudes like him.

SarahMC, the art is the art that appeared with the Gizmodo post. Only with the text in the bubble changed.

I would think an implant for men would be the corollary of the IUD for women. It's a great option for those who are almost positive they don't want any/any more kids but aren't quite ready for permanent measures yet.* It's not as great of an option for those who definitely want to conceive later. The risks for permanent infertility, while low, are still too high compared to other options.

The concerns about the device are valid, but it's frustrating that there's no acknowledgement in Gizmo's article that women have had to make these kinds of decisions forever.

Welcome to our world, indeed.

I'm sorry but I have to say something...
Sure the topic of the blog is fine, sure it's a little humorous. But what really annoys me is the minute you hear (or see, or read) a man express his opinion on what he does or does not like when it comes to his reproductive health, you automatically assume that he some sort of male chauvinist who doesn't give a shit about what women go through and what they have to put up with. I am a man, the idea of having a radio controlled device inside me doesn't exactly thrill me, but it doesn't mean that I think methods of contraception for women that are equally intrusive are a brilliant fucking idea either. I'm just saying, making blanket statements about what you think men are like is no better than the sort of sexist thinking that this blog so adamantly works against.

this post is genius.

Well said, Ann!

I think my bf would definitely be up for something like this. He was weirded out by hormonal birth control for men, because the ones they were workign on pretty much involved taking female hormones, and he was afraid of getting man boobs or stuff like that. (And he has gamely offered to do condoms all the time if I ever want to get off my hormonal birth control, but after the ovarian cancer study, I think I'll stick with it for a while, because I probably have a genetic predisposition for ovarian cancer) He would totally be down for something like this though. In fact, we were reading about this implant (or a similar reversible vasectomy sort of plug) the other day and he was hoping it would be on the market soon. I'm not psyched about the chances of permanent infertility, because I want babies in about five years. :)

I don't think anyone has made blanket statemends, other than "I don't think many guys would go for this". Not exactly cursing men or calling them all women haters. We're just saying yeah, no shit, this is the stuff women have been dealing with for decades now.

I think that it's great there are beginning to be some options for men to use, since women have had to be the BC users since, um, forever. But I am the one who would have to bear the brunt if it failed, or if the guy wasn't using it right, or (and I know this is a vast minority) he lied about using it to get me to go bareback. So maybe this is me being paranoid or having control issues, but I wouldn't give up one of the female methods if I had a partner who was using one of the male ones.

I suppose the ideal situation would be to have both people on something.

chefmatt - Try reading some of the comments from the original article before "making blanket statements" about what what you think women are like. I read everything from the "women are the ones getting pregnant so why bother us menz with this shit" sentiment to (and this one's a real charmer) "stop being such a prude and start enjoying anal sex if you don't want to get pregnant" idea.

Yeah, poor widdle menz... Sorry, but when faced with idiocy of that magnitude, I prefer the blanket statement approach.

As a woman, I find the tone of this post unhelpful. It alienates our potential male allies and trivializes their health concerns.

Exactly, Mz.Stilletto. We are responding to some pretty specific sentiments here, not "men" as a whole.

Call the waaaahmbulance, SuzyQ.

Seriously though, nobody is trivializing men's health concerns. See my comment above.

Liza: Using multiple methods is a good plan anyway, I think.

And it occurs to me that if there's a radio transceiver in the thing anyway, it should be possible to add a generally-available way to query it. Say you could pick up a little wand at the pharmacy (like the sticks you pee on for pregnancy tests) and hold it near the guy's scrotum, and it would light up green if it detected whether he had the thing implanted and it was on, red if it was off, and blue if it wasn't detected at all, or something.

Talk about putting ourselves in your shoes. It's so unfair that women carry most, if not all, the burden when it comes to reproductive issues. Were that me, I'd just get a vasectomy, but I'm privileged with making my own choices without having to deal with the bullshit: all the attached harassment and negative stigma that women get. It helps us, as men, to empathize with women when circumstances arise that force us into the same position ya'll have been in for thousands of years.

Too bad most of us, again as men, just don't get it. I'm grateful that I'm starting to.

It alienates our potential male allies

Ah, the "if we're not really really really nice to the men, if we express any anger, exasperation, or dissatisfaction with the way their gender as a whole handles something, they won't play with us! They won't like us anymore! Better be nice girls if we want the men to take us seriously."

Fuck 'em. If they read a post like this and are so self-centered as to ignore the history of birth control and women, if any concern they might have for women's health and history is trumped by some babyish inability to handle snark directed at their dominance, they're not such good allies, are they?

Since when has being gracious and concerned earned feminists allies among men?

This is a great post pointing out the double standard when it comes to responsibility for contraception. How many of the guys who complain that they shouldn't have to deal with any inconvenience when it comes to contraception then turn around and complain that they have no control over what happens when a woman gets pregnant?

EG - Amen!

To GottaBeMe and Kristen: If you can, find a feminist-oriented gyno. I went to Planned Parenthood to ask about a tubal a few years ago and was given a list of local doctors they recommended. I made an appointment at a women's clinic based on those recs.

The doc agreed to the surgery. I was 24, unmarried, and without kids. She brought up some studies showing that women under 30 sometimes regret their decision to get a tubal, so she wanted me to wait a couple weeks to make sure I was certain. I was, and she said, "OK, it's your body and you should be able to decide what you want to d with it."

So if your first doc turns you down, I recommend getting a list from your local PP. Don't write off all doctors, just be more targeted in how you search for one.

I'm a guy, and don't find the tone of this post alienating at all. In fact, I've always been a bit ashamed of the lack of male contraceptive options. I always figured that was because the number-crunchers concluded that asswipes like the ones commenting on Gizmodo are a large enough segment that male contraception is a money-loser.

My SO was on the pill for a while, but it screwed with her body way too much, so we made a decision to avoid all methods that fiddle with body chemistry. Now we stick with condoms. Not either of our favoritest, but the best of a bunch of bad options.

This sounds to me like a great option, in that (if I understand it right), it's a physical barrier. The body still functions as designed, it's just that the pipe is blocked. Right? I admit that the potential for permanent infertility is worrying. But how high is the chance?

I'm completely with Liza on this control-thing.

If I am to stupid/unconcentrated/lazy to use my BC right, its my fault and I have to live with the resluts (be it having unwanted children or be it abortion, neither sounds so cool to me). But what if I got pregnant because the person I slept with was stupid/unconcentrated/lazy/an asshole? He could run and hide at someplace in Barbados, leaving me to live with the consequences of HIS fault.

I am happy to hear, that there actually ARE attempts in developing BC for men, but personally I would not trust them - at least until they had some testing time.

Gee, getting rid of this daily medication, the fear of all those sideffects would make me sommersaulting. But still I am easier to know that I am the one in control.

Mz. Stilletto - I actually thought the comments on the original site weren't that bad. Sure there was the idiot you quoted and one or two others, but also some supporters. Mostly just a lot of guys asking silly questions about the tech, which, given the topic was remote-controlled BC, didn't bug me at all. Some of those guys will never stop laughing at the idea, but some will stop laughing and be for it. I don't think it's unreasonable for laughter to be their first response though, cause it's REMOTE CONTROLLED BC.

I hope they would be careful with the frequency than they were with, say, garage door openers. It would kinda suck to get a little surprise because your neighbor decided to open his gates...

But what if I got pregnant because the person I slept with was stupid/unconcentrated/lazy/an asshole? He could run and hide at someplace in Barbados, leaving me to live with the consequences of HIS fault.

These are valid concerns. From my point of view, though, I feel better using two forms of birth control rather than one. It would be nice to evenly divide that up between both of us, especially since all of my backup methods are less convenient than the pill for one reason or another.

Both genders should have a range of safe and reliable options; and I don't think we should harp on the inevitable assholes that may lie or be less than consistent with its use when like women, the majority of male BC users will probably know what's at stake and act responsibly in their own best interest.

Then the advice would be the same for both genders - if you don't trust him or her, make sure you insist on a method you can validate.

GottaBeMe:
Best of luck on getting a tubal. I really hope it goes through for you. I know doctors don't like to make things easy for childfree ladies.

I like the idea, though, as others have pointed out, there are some issues. Long term effects, radio frequency, etc.

However, I find the caption on the picture a little insulting. Getting kicked there HURTS - it isn't a laughing matter.

vtcheme, the pic came from the original article. The original caption was "Oh no, not my boys" or something to that effect. The man in the pic was ostensibly lamenting birth control that he fears will affect his testicles, not responding to being kicked.

I really don't think the author of the Gizmodo post was expressing genuine nausea nor do I think he was expressing genuine worry that his doctor might secretly switch the vas deferns floodgate controller with the garage door opener. I think the author was joking in an attempt to ease men into thinking seriously about a potentially uncomfortable topic. Yes, I know many, many women deal with this issue every day without making a big deal about it, but most men do not. So to get men to seriously consider an invasive procedure as an option, their initial resistance will have to addressed somehow.

That said, I'd pick a vasectomy over this garage door opener deal any day. Radio controlled=infrared radiation, and my nether regions are warm enough, thank you.

I'm a man and I'm not offended at all. My first reaction to the idea of a radio-controlled anything in my dick is YIKES!. With my luck the sensors that open and close doors in supermarkets might make my cock shoot backwards or turn inside out or something.

But it gave me a good idea of what women go through when it comes to birth control. This is very similar to the way that passing kidney stones gave me a clue about the pains of childbirth.

I'm a man and I'm not offended at all. My first reaction to the idea of a radio-controlled anything in my dick is YIKES!. With my luck the sensors that open and close doors in supermarkets might make my cock shoot backwards or turn inside out or something.

But it gave me a good idea of what women go through when it comes to birth control. This is very similar to the way that passing kidney stones gave me a clue about the pains of childbirth.

Fuck 'em. If they read a post like this and are so self-centered as to ignore the history of birth control and women, if any concern they might have for women's health and history is trumped by some babyish inability to handle snark directed at their dominance, they're not such good allies, are they?

As a male who is entirely supportive of increasing contraceptive choices, for men in particular, I found the tone of this post, and some of the comments, to be a bit disturbing. The author rightly points to many of the difficulties involved with contraception technology/attitudes as they currently stand, and rightly points out that partly because of biology and partly because of history, much of the burden of and problems with contraception fall on women.

None of that, though, invalidates a particular man's uneasiness with a particular piece of contraceptive technology. I've got to say I'm not crazy about the notion of having someone implant a radio-controlled device in my body. I'd feel better about the notion of a pill, injection etc. but that's me. I DO have a problem with men who use their discomfort with certain contraceptive technologies as an excuse to be irresponsible and not take (or ensure that their partner is taking) ANY measures to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. That indeed is arrogant and inconsiderate to say the least. It should not follow, though, that the mere expression of such discomfort be construed as a babyish indifference to the difficult contraceptive choices that women face. I know women who are uncomfortable with the notion of an IUD. I would never presume to ridicule their discomfort or imply that it was illegitimate.

We should all work for better, safer, less disruptive contraceptive options for both sexes, rather than ridiculing the legitimate objections that anyone - male or female - might have to particular options that they find distasteful.

I must admit that hormonal methods freak me out a bit (particularly as a first generation product), but this new method would be great. If it proves to work well, long term, fully reversible birth control would absolutely be worth a little short term discomfort. I would love to have the option of ditching condoms (in a monogamous relationship) while maintaining control or my reproductive capacity. Even outside of such a relationship, it would be great to have a back-up for condoms which I could control. Bring it on.

With my luck the sensors that open and close doors in supermarkets might make my cock shoot backwards or turn inside out or something.

I have to say this would be FREAKING AWESOME. It would be like some kind of Marvel Comics superpower. "By all appearances, Fred Smith is an ORDINARY MAN with an ORDINARY JOB and and ORDINARY PENIS. But when he ENTERS A WAL-MART, he becomes SUPER GENITAL INVERSION PERSON."

Heaven forbid that men have a conversation regarding mens health.

Okay, off topic a bit but...

"Implanon - could work, but it does have to be implanted in your arm, can leave scar tissue, and some women stop taking it after a couple of months because it causes irregular bleeding. Gee, can I sign up for that?"

Seriously, I'm on my second implanon and I swear by it. The scar is actually smaller than the one you get from that BCG vaccination, and while my bleeding is more irregular, for about 4 years it was also a lot lighter, so that made it worth it.

But yeah, remote control BC does sound a bit odd... I'd personally prefer a less sci-fi crazy contraceptive for men, like male implanon or a male injection.

I am so sick of birth control. I would love for there to be a male version.

The question is, would men take it if it decimated their sex drives, like hormonal birth control can do for women (this is why I am really tired of BC)? I have a feeling that that side effect would be a deal breaker that wouldn't mean it wouldn't even get approved, because men are entitled to a sex drive (hello, Viagra!) no matter what, whereas for women it's optional.

Gottabeme and Kristen: to echo cupcakebandit re: tubal ligations: I live in Atlanta and here we have a feminist women's health center. It's the only place where they would give my 21 year old friend (no kids) an IUD. If you have one in your area, I'm sure they would be able to fix you up with a doctor who would be willing to give you a tubal ligation.
This is Atlanta's:
http://www.atlfwhc.org/

And a quick search on google shows feminist women's health centers in California, Washington, and Michigan. There might be one near you! :)

I didn't detect any condesencion from the author of the article toward women or any sentiment that women have it eaiesr and/or should be forced to deal with birth control on their own.

I hope this hits the market soon. Geezus, its about time!! We couldve had so many more pregnancy prevention methods if there wasn't the gender bias element in our society.

I hope this hits the market soon. Geezus, its about time!! We couldve had so many more pregnancy prevention methods if there wasn't the gender bias element in our society.

A perfect form of male contraception would be a hallucinogen that makes all women look and sound like "Dr" Laura Schlessinger or Ann "thrax" Coulter. My boner would wilt almost instantly: a cold shower in pill form!

That would make any women go dry too! Or Fred Thompson, or Chris Matthews!! Sex would stop!

@Ayla: I too did not detect any condescension, but I did think that the article implied that until male birth control gets considerably safer and easier, men may as well leave it to the women to take the risks.

Could Marshall Lucky, Oskar and GopherII kindly stop spewing misogynist crap? Fuckin' hell.

For those of you talking about wanted permanent sterilization, you should think about Essure. It's like tubal ligation, except these coils are inserted into you fallopian tubes. It is supposed to be less invasive a procedure, with quicker healing.

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ppcw/sterilization-female.htm

Planned Parenthood offers it, and they are better about offering permanent solutions to childless women. I personally LOVE my non-hormonal IUD, paraguard.

I dont understand all the bitching on here (by both men and women) about these birth control options.

If you dont like having something inside you, USE A CONDOM!

If you dont like taking pills with side effects, USE A CONDOM!

I know this must be a radical idea for both men and women, but condoms are extremely easy to use, cheap, and without all the side effects of the other methods. And to the ladies, if your man refuses to wear a condom, then quit fucking him and kick his ass to the curb!

Medical Student29, first, may I say, thank you for the use of the term "bitching." Lovely. Secondly, not everyone can use condoms. Some people are allergic to latex. Some women are in abusive relationships and can't so easily "kick his ass to the curb" if he refuses to wear a condom. Some women don't like condoms. Condoms are not as cheap as you say. It was waaay cheaper for me to be on the pill than it was to use a condom every time I wanted to have sex. Condoms break. Condoms slip off. Condoms have a higher failure rate than hormonal birth control or IUD's.

I don't like condoms, b/c I'm simply not comfortable with 97%. I can't take hormones. B/c Mr. KMP is not ready to take children off the table, any permanent measures aren't workable. I'm 24 with no children and a tiny uterus. I was lucky enough to find a doctor who would try an IUD with me, but if it's expelled, what would you in your infinite, arrogant wisdom have me do? Be celibate until menopause kicks in?

"I agree. Something that goes on the outside like a condom - not guys' favorite, but they'll do it. Anything internal or hormonal - I doubt it."

What about the men who choose vasectomies? Also, remember this?

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2006/03/30/new_male_contraceptive_clears_hurdle.html

"...RISUG's chief developer, Prof. Sujoy Guha of the Indian Institute of Technology, says myths about men not being interested in contraception are just that: myths. 'I get letters from men all over the world who beg to come to India and participate in this study at their own expense.'..."

I know that this is an article about male contraception, but I gotta put in a plug for the contraceptive choice study at Washington University. It will provide free (reversible) birth control for 3 years if you're a woman living in the St. Louis area. I'm pretty sure that they're still enrolling. They don't have a website, so sorry for the long URL, but that's a pamphlet with more contact info, or just google it.

http://research.medicine.wustl.edu/OCFR/Research.nsf/c8dac6228ea2c84886256aab006d8886/d299eac5f4d902d4862570f200298f9f/$FILE/Choices%20Flyer07.24.07.pdf

That being said, I have an IUD, and I can understand how guys might not want an implantable device...it does take a little getting used to the idea, and for the first few months, you are very aware that you have something foreign in you.

Kissmypineapple-

1. Dude, last time I checked, you could get condoms in most places for FREE. If you choose to spend more on shmancier ones, that's your bag. If you live someplace so remote that you can't find a Planned Parenthood or other clinic that will allow you to stock up a coupla times a month, I'm very sorry.

2. If women are in abusive relationships with partners who won't let them use condoms, their partners probably won't use birth control either. Their partners probably will try to prevent them from using birth control.

3. "bitching" might not be my favorite word and "kick him to the curb" is perhaps not the right phrase to use for women in abusive relationships, but if you replace "bitching" with "complaining" and "kick him to the curb" with "get the fuck away as soon as you can and seek help if this is too hard to do on your own," medstudent29 still has a point. If you are unhappy/incompatible with currently available birth control, USE A CONDOM. It's your best remaining option.

3. Hormonal birth control alone is not even 97% for some people, as individuals have more or less luck with different methods depending on their individual bodies.

4. There are condoms for people with latex allergies.

Oh HELL NO. HELL FUCKING NO, do not tell me that men are whining about the minor ways in which birth control would fucking affect them. You know what, fuckers? This weekend, I got a call from my high school best friend who was on the Ortho Evra birth control patch, and it gave her TWO FUCKING BLOOD CLOTS IN HER LUNGS. One of her co-workers found her passed out, and she had to stay in the hospital for a week and almost died. Now she's on coumadin for at least six months, and might have to be on that shit for the rest of her life, meaning every tiny cut she gets from now on will be at LEAST a significant health risk for her, if not a major one. So DON'T fucking whine to me about this shit if you're a guy. You have no fucking, bloody, goddamn clue how easy you have it. Fucking whiny-ass weaklings.

(Oh, and it's not guys who support male contraception that I think are whiny-ass weaklings -- just the ones who, well, whine about it.)

Tempting as it is to snark away with this, I think we can agree to the fundamental premise that birth control/STD prevention is the responsibility of BOTH partners. Lots of people feel uncomfortable with one BC method or other, and men do have fewer options than women. So doesn't it make sense to put some public funding into refining current BC methods and coming up with new ones so that women don't have to take the biggest risks and men have more options? Whaddya say, folks-shall we vote to make this a political issue?

Sera,

*Dude*, last time I checked not everybody lives that close to a clinic. I lived in Indianapolis, and my local PP's did not have condoms for free. They had a basket of them for a quarter a piece, which still added up to more than my birth control. I was responding to the flippant attitude of someone who comes stomping into a thread concerning birth control and the lack of palatable choices for men and women like their particular method is perfect and everyone who isn't happy with their options is a raging dumbfuck for not using condoms.

I'm looking forward to having another option when it comes to birth control. I'm not sexually active at the moment, but next time the situation arises, I'll be glad for the extra options.

Oh man. They're having a serious bro-down over on the comments section of that post. They're going on about "what if a mad scientist got a master remote!?!?!!" and "So...is it a ball valve?"
My favorite: "I weep for the future."
Me too dude, but trust me, I'm not crying over your poor, oppressed semen.

Good for the men who will use it, and for the women who are their partners.

Especially good if I never have to hear "oh, she tricked me into pregnancy" or "oh, I had no options" out of a man ever again.

Hahahaha.....ball valve.

Re: Medical Student29: "Use a Condom" Yeah, except if you have a latex allergy and/or end up with a horrible rash or infection like I always do. To top things off I've got endometriosis, and had to be on BC and other forms of hormone for over 10 years, I'm not going to be using the pill anymore because of the risk of using it for too long. So this is where the male contraceptive options come in. I'd definitely be interested in the male contraceptive because my options are limited. This is why it's important for men to learn they need to share in the responsibility, because there are some of us whose options are very limited. As a medical student you should know better than most that there's people out there (like me) who just can't use condoms or the pill.

This is a little off topic, but it also has to do with contraceptives. It had me wondering, when those anti-women extremists talk about restricting BC options, don't they know that many women take the pill for reasons other than contraceptive, like I did? Almost every other woman I've known with Endo or chronic pelvic pain have been given the pill at one point or another. I mean it's not right to restrict access to the pill and other contraceptive options for whatever reason they are used for. But, it just really freaks me out because medical treatment for Endo is very limited, basically surgery or hormones. It also freaks me out for the obvious reasons too. Just wondering.

I think it's more shocking, that the "male pill", the contraceptive method for men is out there!
It's been tested and it works, it had no side effects, no health risks, it didn't even have to be taken daily! Just every 3 Months a small Gestagen Tube was implanted.

Why isn't it on the market?

The men it was tested on complained about hormonal imbalances and mood swings. That's funny, because the control group, that was taking the placebo had the same "problem".

So "Schering" the worldwide ONLY pharmaceutical company that was doing the research for the "male pill" decided drop the produkt.

Kissmypineapple,

First off, yes, I sort of like, mentioned that not everybody lives that close to a clinic. I'm not assuming that everybody does, but that most people are able to get out there at least once or twice a month and stock up, and I still think I'm probably right, since if you're only doing it once or twice a month, a long commute becomes less of a big deal. Ultimately, the goal should be to get clinics closer to everybody, of course, since it shouldn't be ridiculously inconvenient to find cheap-to-free birth control options.

25cents is not "too expensive" for someone who can afford internet access, but I am deeply upset to hear that they're charging anything. That sucks.

I will refrain from using the word dude in the future, as you apparently find it difficult to take me seriously when I do.

Meeneecat, as I have said, there are non-latex condoms.

I thought it should be mentioned that one reason there wasn't an equivalent of a "male pill" is that it took a long time to find a hormonal contraceptive that didn't mess with men's sex drive as well as stopping (or altering) sperm production. Men and women are a bit different (duh) and it wasn't like anyone wasn't looking; the literature is full of (failed) attempts going back to the 70s.

Yes yes, I know that women have had the responsibility for most contraceptive methods and that burden is unfair. And the pill also does things to hormonal balance and sex drive.

I'm just saying that it wasn't entirely a lack of will. People forget that the mechanism of sperm (and egg) production wasn't really well understood until the 1950s, and hormones were a fantastically new idea then. Um, The pill was only invented in 1960. That's pretty recent, when you compare it to other medications we commonly use (Aspirin dates back a good 100 years+, and morphine further back than that).

It took some time for people to get funding for male contraception because once the pill was invented it seemed like the problem was to some extent solved. A method that gave women rather large degrees of control over their pregnancies was a huge deal.

Yes there is sexism in the drug industry, and some of it is institutionalized. But that isn't the whole dynamic. There have been people working on the problems of male contraception for quite a while. It just took some time to get something that worked for the same reason birth control pills were in development for a decade before they hit the market.

Jess: Indeed! I was reading somewhere about how it is relatively easy, in comparison, to figure out how to stop one egg a month from dropping then it is to block millions of sperm from being produced, and it definitely made sense in my not very science oriented head.

Wow. And they say men don't cry. Hah! I'm excited to see that their developing ways for men to take responsibility for their side of birth control. But, as usual, a lot of the fellas commenting here want to shoulder the women, once again, with the burden.

Weak!

We can should do better than that. We need to stop hiding behind our privilege and institutionalized sexism (thanks, Jess, for that term).

sera--she didn't say that the 25-cent condoms were EXPENSIVE, she said they cost MORE than hormonal birth control.

Sera, I really don't understand why you're intent upon ignoring the realities for some people. Many people don't have cars or access to great public transportation and don't live close enough to a clinic that even once or twice a month to stock up works for them. Secondly, thanks for making assumptions about my income level, but my internet access is free. I don't pay for it, thanks, and even if I did, I still don't see what that has to do with my ability to pay for contraceptives. Some people require internet access for their jobs or for school, and don't have the option of just forgoing it. Since most people don't have the option of just forgoing contraceptives either, they need to be very inexpensive. Compared to my prescription birth control which was covered by insurance, yes, again, condoms were more expensive.

It's great that you think condoms are such an easy fix. Clearly, they must be for you. They aren't for a lot of people. If they were, everyone on earth would use them. Since that's not how it works, more options is better, and it's perfectly fine for people to be upset that they can't find a method that works as well for them as they'd like. Being able to discuss what works for them and what doesn't, as well as what they'd like to see in the future helps development of new methods or improvements on old methods along. You think the Nuva Ring just appeared? Or perhaps was it the result of demand on the part of women to have an option that wasn't permanently put in their bodies that they didn't need to think about as much as a pill?

that would be freakin' AWESOME.

Though I do think the "what if someone fucks with the controls?" question is important. Not that they would secretly block my all-important little spermies (/sarcasm) from swimming on their merry way, but that I would think it was working when it wasn't.

Which is why I got a vasectomy.