By Chloe B. McAlpin, Staff Writer, Emerson College
“I don’t see the faintest chance of male birth control being approved in the next couple of decades.”
This is a quotation from Gregory Goodwin Pincus, who was one of the first chemists to work on male birth control and the inventor of the female oral contraceptive. As despairing as this quotation sounds, modern scientists might come to conclusions that would mark the end of the “next couple of decades” that Pincus addresses.
When it comes to male birth control, there has been a lot of wacky scientific discovery that boarders on that of the stereotypical “mad scientist” (consider getting your testicles radioactively zapped!). The main discussion up to this point has been whether or not male birth control should be hormonal or non-hormonal. Since ladies have one time of the month to deal with, and men have billions and billions of sperm, hormonal options are not so popular among guys. Hormonal options would most likely require many shots of estrogen and testosterone to make up for all the crazy chemicals being injected into their bodies. Thus, as far as male birth control is concerned, most people agree that non-hormonal is the way to go. This leaves us to consider the remaining options scientist have been working on. So far there are three big runners in the race to male birth control.
The first signs of progress came to be recognized at Columbia University. Scientists were originally testing for skin disease but then they learned about the drug being a “testicular toxin.” They came to the conclusion that the cause of the decline in males’ fertility rates was due to the lack of Vitamin A. Side effects of lacking Vitamin A might include negative affects to men’s immune system, tissue development, and a lack of moisture in the eyeballs. Though, regrettably, we must leave this option behind and move on to option two.
Option two of non-hormonal male birth control came from Indonesia, where locals said that the Gandarusa plant lowers fertility. This has had a 100% success rate. According to scientific studies, the chemical changes the sperm chemistry so it does not pierce the eggs wall.
“I don’t see the faintest chance of male birth control being approved in the next couple of decades.”
This is a quotation from Gregory Goodwin Pincus, who was one of the first chemists to work on male birth control and the inventor of the female oral contraceptive. As despairing as this quotation sounds, modern scientists might come to conclusions that would mark the end of the “next couple of decades” that Pincus addresses.
When it comes to male birth control, there has been a lot of wacky scientific discovery that boarders on that of the stereotypical “mad scientist” (consider getting your testicles radioactively zapped!). The main discussion up to this point has been whether or not male birth control should be hormonal or non-hormonal. Since ladies have one time of the month to deal with, and men have billions and billions of sperm, hormonal options are not so popular among guys. Hormonal options would most likely require many shots of estrogen and testosterone to make up for all the crazy chemicals being injected into their bodies. Thus, as far as male birth control is concerned, most people agree that non-hormonal is the way to go. This leaves us to consider the remaining options scientist have been working on. So far there are three big runners in the race to male birth control.
The first signs of progress came to be recognized at Columbia University. Scientists were originally testing for skin disease but then they learned about the drug being a “testicular toxin.” They came to the conclusion that the cause of the decline in males’ fertility rates was due to the lack of Vitamin A. Side effects of lacking Vitamin A might include negative affects to men’s immune system, tissue development, and a lack of moisture in the eyeballs. Though, regrettably, we must leave this option behind and move on to option two.
Option two of non-hormonal male birth control came from Indonesia, where locals said that the Gandarusa plant lowers fertility. This has had a 100% success rate. According to scientific studies, the chemical changes the sperm chemistry so it does not pierce the eggs wall.
The third male birth control option is titled as R.I.S.U.G. (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance), which was created by a scientist in India. The procedure involves injecting a special gel into the urethra, in order to form a barrier so that fewer sperm can come out, and that the ones that do are disabled. This gel can protect couples from pregnancy for up to fifteen years, and can be reversed simply by a second injection that dissolves the first gel. For some reason (which may most likely be the unsafe experimentation that was carried out) the World Health Organization cut the funding for this project. People still continue to study this form of male birth control, but it’s going to be a while before we see it on shelves.
However, there are many other discussions that come up, when people talk about male birth control. Along with scientific experimentation and lowered fertility rates, the prospect of a male form of birth control brings up many questions regarding the social implications that might come with it. Questions range from the need or use of condoms in a “pill popping male world” to the absence of the “love child” in male adultery cases. The debate that I found most interesting was the one that asked about the modern man when it comes to birth control: Will a new generation of men be expected to bring their own to the sex safety table, and will they be more responsible in their relationships with their partners? Will single men, as well as men in relationships, take their pill? Will high school boys rank their popularity on who is and isn’t taking it? What will heterosexual women come to expect from their partners?
Queen from salon.com explores these questions, stating “If women were to have men around who would gladly step up to the plate on this issue, it would, perhaps, shift a ground-level dynamic in male-female relationships having to do with power and trust.”
So male birth control could become a reality soon! The speculation is that we are about five years away from macho masculine commercials advertising R.I.S.U.G or a Gandarusa plant pill.
Chloe B. McAlpin is a Writing, Literature, and Publishing major at Emerson College. Originally from Florida, Chloe enjoys crunchy orange leaves, used bookstores, and Simon & Garfunkel. If she had to pick a favorite animal it would be a Persian cat, and if she had to pick a favorite person it would be Virginia Woolf. Contact Chloe on her Twitter.
Image: feminspire.com and redbookmag.com
However, there are many other discussions that come up, when people talk about male birth control. Along with scientific experimentation and lowered fertility rates, the prospect of a male form of birth control brings up many questions regarding the social implications that might come with it. Questions range from the need or use of condoms in a “pill popping male world” to the absence of the “love child” in male adultery cases. The debate that I found most interesting was the one that asked about the modern man when it comes to birth control: Will a new generation of men be expected to bring their own to the sex safety table, and will they be more responsible in their relationships with their partners? Will single men, as well as men in relationships, take their pill? Will high school boys rank their popularity on who is and isn’t taking it? What will heterosexual women come to expect from their partners?
Queen from salon.com explores these questions, stating “If women were to have men around who would gladly step up to the plate on this issue, it would, perhaps, shift a ground-level dynamic in male-female relationships having to do with power and trust.”
So male birth control could become a reality soon! The speculation is that we are about five years away from macho masculine commercials advertising R.I.S.U.G or a Gandarusa plant pill.
Chloe B. McAlpin is a Writing, Literature, and Publishing major at Emerson College. Originally from Florida, Chloe enjoys crunchy orange leaves, used bookstores, and Simon & Garfunkel. If she had to pick a favorite animal it would be a Persian cat, and if she had to pick a favorite person it would be Virginia Woolf. Contact Chloe on her Twitter.
Image: feminspire.com and redbookmag.com