The Male Contraceptive Pill

Huh, so I'm in the rare position of having no tests or quizzes to study for coming up, no homework to do, and my next class not starting for another hour. Wellllll...

Remember this topic is about primarily discussing male contraceptive pills, not any tangentially related topics, and you know which one I'm talking about

Okay, so for the longest time, there have been three primary varieties of contraceptives on the market that don't make you go sterile permanently: The male condom, female condom, and contraceptive pill for women. If you guys have any knowledge about contraceptives, you'll all know these have various drawbacks and has the unfortunate tendency to make not getting pregnant mainly the girl's responsibility since the pill is typically tenfold better the condoms at the very least.

So, you'll be interested in the fact that there exist male contraceptive pills now, they are indeed a thing that have been in making for 40 years.

Okay, so what took so long? Why aren't these on the market yet?

Well, first off, realize the difference between the male and female sex organs. Women have all of their eggs made and ready to go long before they actually have to start worrying about them and only release a single egg per month. This makes designing a pill for them significantly easier since it only has to work on a monthly basis and doesn't risk the female going sterile by stopping her production of eggs, because, well, they've already stopped.

Men, on the other hand, every time you orgasm, that's thousands of sperm going all over the place. That's a heck of a lot more than just one egg and so it's a lot harder to stop them. And if you want to stop them at the source, you've got to take into account that men have to constantly produce more sperm, so any method of stopping sperm production can go overboard and make the man sterile permanently. So, it's a lot harder to make a pill for men that works without significant drawbacks for the majority of the population. Men, you can thank major league sports for causing this breakthrough, by which I mean steroids. See, by taking testosterone, your body gains masculine features, and more importantly, tells the body to stop producing sperm. The research has, since finding that out, been finding the magical amount and application to make it work for the majority without said horrible backfiring or general modifying the body beyond stopping the sperm temporarily.

Now then, there was also the lack of funding. See, for whatever reason, male contraceptive research hasn't exactly been popular to fund in any part of the world while female contraceptive research regularly brings in millions. Why? Well, this might answer the market question too. See, there's a lot more at risk for a woman, you know, the whole pregnancy thing that you're trying to stop in the first place, thus by definition, if either of the partners screw up with the contraceptives, the girl is the one with the load to deal with. Mix that in with the rape problem and it doesn't become so hard to understand why the pill for females was developed a lot faster and had such high demand.

The male contraceptive pill, and other methods, isn't getting this funding for a variety of reasons. For one, lack of interest. To quote an, um, acquaintance of mine "It isn't my problem that she doesn't want to get pregnant". Hold your horses, I'm not supporting that view, and secondly, it does answer a lot of questions about society, since many men don't want to have to handle that level of responsibility. Women don't either but it's significantly less "optional" for them. Least to say, responsibility is at a premium as always.

Combine this apathy with general ignorance surrounding the pill for males makes people unwilling to test this stuff. For example, people apparently think it'll keep the male from being able to orgasm or weaken his ability to enjoy sex (neither of which is true, you'll be able to enjoy the same things as before to the same extent, just minus sperm being shot out). Actually, responsibility and ignorance are just the bare bones, there's a lot of psychology around the male libido and why the male contraceptive pill idea is much more popular among married men than bachelors.

Anyway, one more thing of note is a method being developed and actually marketed in India that allows you to take a needle shot the testes and go sterile but still have it be completely reversible years later. As in, take the shot and get off of it whenever you want, and it's relatively cheap too. We'll be seeing how that goes since reactions are, again, mixed. Something between "Holy shit, that's awesome!" to "Needle to my balls, nooooo!".

Actually, one more gender myth to bust before we're done here: A kick to the crotch will cause women far more pain and be more likely to cause permanent damage than a shot to the crotch for men. By the same token, you actually shouldn't be able to feel having someone inject something into down there if you're male. Just sayin'.

And now you know. Thoughts?

edited 27th Sep '11 9:18:35 AM by Ramus

Weird. Pretty cool though, I guess.

A good idea in theory, but it doesn't stop STI's as effectivly as a condom does it?

That might be why its more popular with batchelors, because (for the most part) you'll want to ensure you don't get the clap

Eh, the female contraceptive pill doesn't stop infections either. So in theory and in practice, it works just fine since it wasn't supposed to stop those in the first place.

edited 27th Sep '11 9:28:01 AM by Ramus

True, but it also has other benefits. A lack of period pain (or at least a decrease in it) clearer skin, all that good stuff. It behooves people to have at least one person concerned about infections if you are having a large amount of sex with multiple partners.

Besides I assume its harder to "wrap up" someones lady parts than it is to do the same for a penis.

edited 27th Sep '11 9:28:57 AM by JosefBugman

Actually, that depends on the pill and the woman in question. See, while one pill may clear up the acne for one girl, it makes the other break out horribly. The lack of the period is a given and actually, it's not all that much harder to "cover up" using a female condom.

But are they as readily avaliable? Or avaliable for free?

See the marketing problem.

Self fulfilling prophecy is self fulfilling.

Oh come on, marketing this would not be that hard. "Take a pill, reduce chances of pregnancy to zero, avoid uncomfortable condoms!"

I'd rather see it be mainstream for a few years, with people getting on and off of it and reproducing successfully and no side-effects first.

No fucking way am I letting anything that hasn't had long term tests and studies performed on it anywhere near my fertility.

If it works, and there are no side effects, then absolutely awesome.

edited 27th Sep '11 10:00:44 AM by Barkey

Joking aside, I think that this would have a market, for the people who would use the pill otherwise.

Which is kind of the problem, if I can be a bit cynical for a moment. Distributing male contraceptives would not open any new market, it would only provide an alternative for the couples who now use the pill.*

Now, the companies who could develop and sell it are, presumably, already selling the pill. And there is not much incentive to create a new product which would be a competitor to one you are already making money from...

edited 27th Sep '11 10:04:14 AM by Carciofus

I'm so happy I don't worry about diseases and condoms and all that junk. Monogomous serious relationship with a girl who has her tubes tied = win.

That's cool. Just be sure to get regularly tested, anyway. You never know what you can pick up from non-coital sources.

I'm for the male pill and I'm gong to be honest about my motivation for it as well.

It would take power away from women.

Right men have no convert access to contraceptives. If a woman want to 'opps' a man in a semi stable relationship she can.

If men had access to more concealable contraceptives he can ensure he will only have children when and if he wants them.

This would be a massive correction to the social balance of gender equality IMHO.

edited 27th Sep '11 5:11:05 PM by joeyjojo

The threat of psycho harpies poking holes in your condoms and 'forgetting' BC cannot be overstated. Men would never lie about being on the pill of course ... too bad, ladieez

A woman lying about being on birth control is probably worse than a man lying about not being on birth control. The first one can possibly create a child, while the second... is significantly less likely to. In other words, the first one is actually legitimately a bad thing that could end really poorly, while the other will just range from a dick move to "whatever."

Wasn't there one where it was an injection or something that was good for several years?

Yes. People overreacted because testicles and no concept of scale.

So... who reads the opening post?

Male contraceptives are awesome, but not so awesome as to justify bringing gender relations into a thread where gender relations aren't the topic. Now cut that shit out before I start bringing up wage gaps. *stern look*

Back on topic, this is all good, but what about that device they come up with? An operation that puts a sperm-killing static-electroshock thing in your junk that keeps you clear for 10 years, no worries? I liked the sound of that.

It has value I guess as a "backup" thing since no temporary contraceptive is 100%.

@14 Men don't need a covert method of contraceptive. Just wear the damned condom. Even if the girl is on the pill, take the safe route and wear the damned condom. You don't need to add in another level of potential deception just because of a possibility of the girl lying. Hell, just don't have sex with a girl that you think would lie about whether or not she's using a contraceptive pill.

Men also apparently have this thing about how shooting blanks makes them somehow less of a man.

At least, that's what came up during a discussion we had here a while ago on vasectomies. The main issue for some men didn't seem to be 'but I want to reverse it later', it was 'but if I'm not shooting little swimmers I'm as good as a eunuch! Nooooo!'

I'd take it. No reason not to, right?

I wouldn't get a vasectomy, but that's because a) I don't want to be shooting blanks the rest of my life, or however long vasectomies hold up, and b) I don't want any sharp objects anywhere near my dick, thank you very much.

That electroshock thing sounds painful.

edited 28th Sep '11 2:39:28 AM by tropetown

@loni jay: reminds me of that scene in community where Pierce blamed his inability to have children on his 'hyper-virility'.

• Pierce: I’m not sterile. In fact, it’s a rare condition called hyper-virility. Apparently, my sperm shoots through the egg like bullets. Can you believe that?
• Jeff: I can’t, but you can, so that’s fine

edited 28th Sep '11 7:11:51 AM by joeyjojo