Birth Control and Men?
Would developing birth control be beneficial for men and women?
Since the 1950's the advancements in contraception and fertility control methods is considered to be one of the most groundbreaking and revolutionary pharmacological advancements of the twentieth century. Since its creation, the continued advancements in contraceptive medications and practices has continuously increased in varieties and forms that are primarily targeted towards women. How does the targeting of contraception primarily to one gender fair and equal in our twenty-first century? What justifications to men have to be exempted and excluded from new developments in contraception targeted specifically for men? What made big pharmaceutical companies decide to regulate this market to only one sex instead of both? These are only a few questions that have quickly gained and lost traction among the minds of sexually active people and media outlets within the last several years. As an adult thirty year old man living in the year 2017, I have to wonder why male contraception isn’t on equivalent to those made for women, why one gender is targeted and the other neglected. In order to understand some of the underlying causes, we must look at how male contraception not only impacts men, but what this means for women and our society.
Beginning with today’s standard practices, sexually active men have access to a small fraction of contraception methods that revolve around three principle methods: a condom, a vasectomy, or the immediate withdrawal just before they reach their climax. These three methods are just some of the ways men practice “safe” sex, but when we look at contraception for women, we see that there are numerous options available compared to those for men. Women have birth control pills, the patch/ring, Intra Uterine Devices (IUDs), hormone regulation shots just to name a few. Contraception options for women not only outnumber those available for men, but are also far more superior to the archaic practices of men.
Hypothetically, if we consider the possibility of developing a working male contraceptive drug, that is quick and easy to take with little side effects, wouldn’t this possibility be beneficial to both men and women? For example, young women who utilize monthly contraception pharmaceuticals are not necessarily utilizing them to aid their sex life, but utilize these drugs to help them regulate hormonal imbalances in their body. This helps women with different hormonal conditions regulate their body and works to help women balance the stressful changes that occur during puberty into their early adult lives. Some of examples of these hormonal imbalances can occur during Menstrual Cramping, Premenstrual Syndrome, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, acne, and among other menstrual symptoms Medical uses of birth control that can cause excess production of estrogen and its inverse affects within female bodies. This has not only made birth control popular practice that has been beneficial to both sexually active and inactive women.
Men on the other hand, do not share the same benefits of modern medicine as women do in this area. If men had similar contraceptive medication as women do today, a great deal of things would change that could help benefit men in different ways. Beginning with puberty and hormonal imbalances young men face today, I believe it would be extremely beneficial if men had contraceptive drugs to help them grown into their young adult lives. If today’s pharmaceutical companies could develop a drug that directly targets the over/underproduction of hormone imbalances in developing male bodies, the awkwardness of young men learning to mentally control their hormones (erections) would be extremely useful for these young adults. These men could consult with their physicians to solve problems like Involuntary Erections, Testicular Enlargement/Discomfort, and Breast Enlargement are some of the many concerns young adults can have during the effects of early/late puberty in men. Traditionally, these young men would have to remedy their situations by either consulting their parents/father, masturbation, or hiding their sporadic erection awkwardly during school hours. If men had access to a few contraceptive drugs, young men would benefit from these drugs in many ways and could ultimately help adolescences focus on other thoughts outside from their fear from sporadic enlargements.
Not only would young men benefit from the development of new contraceptive drugs targeted at men, but adult males could also benefit from such drugs as well. For adult men who are sexually active, taking contraceptive drugs would help men with their sexual excursions and help diminish post-sex fears of broken condoms or fear from their sexual partner forgetting to take their contraception. Contraception for men would give them a huge advantage in the field of sex because it can reinforce their assurances to prevent unexpected pregnancies to women. Not only does it provide men with the ability to take contraceptive medication themselves, but it also gives men the responsibility of accountability into their own hands.
So what happened to male contraception?
Recent studies and testing that have been conducted by big pharmaceutical companies and research institutions have developed a few methods that could have been useful to men. Unfortunately, several of these studies have resulted in positive results in experimental drugs and negative results in side effects in men. These studies argue that men within these studies experienced some sort of side effect that caused issues in male hormones that resulted from small side effects from acne to extreme cases of short/long term sterility in male subjects. Even though the study proved that how effective a two hormone injection that was 96% effective, the results from the side effects men experienced proved to be more of a concern than the success of the medication.
If big pharmaceutical companies and research institutions can develop a working contraceptive that provided slight side effects, why can’t we push for further developments and trials? Early developments of contraception for women also experienced side effects so why can’t men follow suit? Male contraception can become the twenty-first century’s new medical breakthrough and could become the cause for a new paradigm of sexual relations between men and women. So let’s urge men to be men and push for more contraception for men.
