So, there's been a big fuss about the announcement of a new jab that could be the Male Pill we've all be waiting for. And this one, by the sound of it, might just work. Mint. Finally, just like women nearly fifty years ago, men get to cast off their fears about pregnancy and become more sexually liberated and up for one-night stands and stuff like that, because it's about time. I'm already lining up a few mini-skirts for myself.
Thing is, whenever I read anything about a Male Pill, my mind goes back to the first nudey book I ever chanced across, in the mid-70s, and an advert I saw for something called The Vascectomy Club. On payment of a couple of quid - and I swear blind I'm not making this up - you could buy a tie and a blazer badge that would subtly let all the womenfolk know that you had had The Snip and wouldn't get them up the stick. And when applying for this club, did you have to supply proof of said snip? Did you fuck (70s wank mags were horrible like that - I must write about them one day).
But anyway, when you think about it, the idea of a Male Pill as a cure-all has been dead in the water for over a quarter of a century, hasn't it? Alright, let's say that a Male Pill (or a Male Jab or a Male Suppository or a Male Anything) comes onto the market, and it works. Putting aside the fact that a lot of men are more than capable of forgetting or not being arsed to take medication for heart problems, it's going to be a boon for those of us in monogamous relationships. But what about us single and eligible shag-rats? Here's a quick questionnaire;
If there was a Male Pill and it worked, would I take it?
Hell motherflippin' yes. Johnnies are horrible.
Would any woman I came into contact with believe me when I said I had?
In a pig's arse would she.
And what protection from STDs would this Pill give me and her?
Precisely fuck all.
And there you go. The Male Pill is an inevitability, but unless you could take it in front of your partner and it worked immediately, or if everyone who signed up for it had an LCD screen embedded in their forehead that flashed; "YES, HE'S ON IT, DON'T PANIC", nothing is really going to change, regardless of what the papers tell you. We're still going to have to wait for the pub toilets to be completely empty before furtively shoving three quid in the johnny machine.
17 comments:
I know of a few men who have had a vasectomy when they and their partner have felt they had enough children, only for that relationship to end. These men move on and find new partners and decide to try and have a family and try to have a reversal of the procedure for it to fail. Shame this came too late for them.
I don't like the idea of placing my fertility in someone else's hands, and not for the most obvious reason that men would lie about it and get me up the spout - quite the opposite.
Very few men these days are interested in having a family, while for many women it's a biological imperative which we can scarce afford to ignore when the urge strikes us - unlike men, we have a limited time in which we can have kids. This injection means that a man can now control his partner's ability to reproduce (with him) as well as his own. He can do this secretly, should he want to, and she may never know, not even when it's too late for her to have kids with anyone. All the while, he retains the ability to have children later in life with someone else.
And yes, I know that for years women have been able to pretend they're using contraception when they're not, but this is the flipside of the sexual revolution brought about by the Pill, and now by the male contraceptive injection. Our bodies, our wombs - we reserve the right to use them for the purpose for which they were designed. I don't believe we should hand that choice over to someone else.
I welcome the male 'pill'. Obviously it's best for men in stable relationships, but the fact that you mentioned it's a jab rather than a pill means that it's not something that needs to be taken every day, which makes it much easier for a woman to believe/trust that he hasn't made a massive cock up and is going to get her pregnant. When women get long term contraceptives like the jab and the coil we also get a bit of paper/booklet with the date that the contraceptive stops being effective, so it's not like the guy wouldn't be able to prove he was on it.
As far as the risk of STDs go - well, it's exactly the same as female hormonal contraceptives. (I hope) you wouldn't fuck somebody you didn't know the STD status of without a condom just because she was on the pill, so why would that change? In those situations being on the pill as well is just extra peace of mind. I think that condoms are just the price that have to be paid for hookups and short term flings.
Wow! I was going to make the point that if a man uses such a contraceptive, he's severely lowering the chances of learning that a brief encounter has led to what nature intended these encounters to lead to. Fathering a child when the two of you had no such plans is not how it should be.
But it's sad that someone really believes "few men" are interested in having a family. I hope she finds someone soon. Meanwhile I hope she controls her urges and focuses a loving dad for a planned baby, rather than trapping a sperm donor and financial sponsor.
I had a pal who took part in medical trials for a male pill back in the late 70s early 80s and he said that the idea died because no woman would believe it was true!
The keeping contraception or non-contraception secret from a partner is a different matter.
It has been a possibility for the ladies for years, now it's possible for blokes too - equality at last! No?
Wow, anonymous 2. A sperm donor is a man with enormous compassion who donates to a clinic so that other people can have kids they desperately want. A man who gets a woman pregnant from a quick shag because he isn't using contraception is a DAD. Whether he likes it or not. If you don't think you can trust women, use condoms.
I've had the same experience as Ad, that many men just don't want kids, and it has left me childless at 42. I managed to restrain myself from trapping a man into giving me a child when he didn't want to, at pretty high cost, and believe me an awful lot of single women are honourable enough to do that too. So enough of the patronising advice to complete strangers, please.
A lot of people play games with contraception - men as well as women. I know of men who've put holes in condoms as well as women who've lied about being on the pill. It even happens when you think you can trust someone. These days when we have the CSA and genetic paternity testing, surely men who don't want kids have a big incentive to use the jab?
The Pill messed my hormones up so I definitely won't be going on it again. If there was a male version for my boyfriend then I'd happily want him take it. I trust he would take it cos he's the sensible type.
As for women not believing the guy has actually taken it: if it's some random one-night-stand then you should always use condoms, other wise God knows what you're passing around. I've never understood people who sleep around without using condoms. If it's your partner then I would assume you have trust in the relationship or/and you could at least trust he doesn't want to have kids yet.
Crikey! This is an emotive one isn't it?
"The Pill messed my hormones up so I definitely won't be going on it again. If there was a male version for my boyfriend then I'd happily want him take it. I trust he would take it cos he's the sensible type."
So its ok for us men to have our hormones fucked up?As well as drinking your oestrogen in our water supply?
If he's the sensible type,he won't touch the male pill with a barge pole.Or drink fucking tap water.
Use a fucking condom you dicks.If you can't turn the interruption into part of the fore play,maybe you should just stick to wanking.
Wow, that's a cynical view of humanity you have right there when all you can say about the progress of medicine and sexual health is that the men will lie or be irresponsible, the women will be untrusting and suspicious and everyone will be stuffed full of syphilis anyway.
Nice.
The author of this article clearly misunderstands the purpose of the male contraceptive pill.
It doesn't, and is not intended to, protect against STDs. If one wants protection against that in a one night stand, one uses a condom. In this, it is no different from female contraception, but that doesn't mean the female contraceptive pill is redundant.
What it is meant to do is the very same thing as the female contraceptive pill: give the individual taking it more control over their reproductive life. What this means is that it is not for the benefit of the female who now doesn't have to worry if she doesn't have to take her own protection (she still should). It is for the male who now knows that he will not reproduce assuming his partner is lying to him (see, for example, the Dubay v. Wells case in the States).
This article's painful naivety aside, I want to add that Kegler's response to Ys seems very strong given all she said was that she had hormone troubles. Many women do have hormone troubles on the pill, if the male pill doesn't give her partner any health problems then why shouldn't they consider this a good option? If they are in a monogamous relationship and that is easier, more convenient and more comfortable than a condom, it's a good option for them.
The author of the previous anonymous comment clearly misunderstands the meaning of irony.
I've missed you, blacksilk.
The author of this article clearly misunderstands irony's use, subtly, and limitations.
Oh dear. Tell you what, duck - tell me where you're from, and the next time I write something similar, I'll face your direction and do a massive wink and a thumbs-up, OK?
I'd prefer it if you just looked up irony in the dictionary or had paid attention during your English classes at school, but I guess you'd be doing something more meaningful than writing all this if you did. C'est la vie.
Missed me? I didn't even hear you fire!
sounds good! Maybe me and my bf can take it in turns to get messed up hormones lol! Kind of lighten the load a bit on myself!
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