Science, Sociology, and the Potential of a Male Pill

Jimmy · 2009-08-28T16:02:27+00:00

From the article:

This dependence on women reduces men’s reproductive autonomy. Men have to trust that their partners are correctly and consistently using contraception. If a pregnancy does occur—either unintended by both partners or when the woman decides to stop contracepting without telling her partner—men have no recourse. Men cannot mandate that women get an abortion. Regardless of the circumstances under which the pregnancy transpired, men are still held socially and financially responsible for any children they father. In some ways it seems unfair to hold men responsible for children they did not want when they are ill equipped to prevent pregnancy.

Jimmy · 2009-08-28T20:53:27+00:00

I strongly support the development of a male contraceptive pill, but holy crap, could this article get any more sexist?

In some ways it seems unfair to hold men responsible for children they did not want when they are ill equipped to prevent pregnancy.

Only some?

Some scientists claim that it is more difficult to create male contraceptives because men’s bodies are more complex than women’s: women release one egg a month, while men produce millions of sperm a day; women’s fertility is limited to a handful of days each month, whereas men are consistently fertile.[8] At play in these comparisons are implicit and sexist assumptions about the mind/body dichotomy: women’s bodies are more simplistic and closer to nature, while men’s bodies are more advanced and farther from nature.

So now we can reject scientific hypothesis on the grounds that they are politically incorrect?

Another gender ideology that has inhibited the development of male contraception is that men are not willing to suffer side effects that “minimize” their masculinity. Many of the hormonal male contraceptives currently under research, such as gels, patches, implants, and injections, depend upon testosterone to induce sterility. While most men do not mind increased muscle weight gain, many are troubled by other side effects of testosterone like acne, mood swings, and temporary shrinking of the testes.

When men want to avoid mood swings, they need to man up, but when women want to avoid them, they should be pitied?

Not to mention the entire introduction which paints women as bearing the entire burden of contraception; if a guy doesn't want to have kids, then he should take responsibility for his own reproduction, and he's stupid if he doesn't.

the_ugly_truth · 2009-09-01T17:11:49+00:00

If you think the fertility rate in developed countries is low now just wait until there is an effective form of male contraception similar to the pill for women. This article suggests that men wouldn't use it but I suspect many single men would jump at the chance.

Title	Science, Sociology, and the Potential of a Male Pill
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	2
Comments	8
Date	August 28, 2009 2:22 PM UTC (16 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/9f1vq/science_sociology_and_the_potential_of_a_male_pill/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/science-sociology-and-the-potential-of-a-male-pill.1053158 https://theredarchive.com/post/1053158

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