[RosieBS]

For my major project I'm carrying out an investigation into the development of male contraceptives. I'm keen to include a huge range of views, whether psychological, scientific, community based or personal. In particular, I was wondering what the general public think about the fact it has taken so long for more methods of male contraceptives to be produced.

And even if they do become available, whether through an injection or daily oral pill, would women trust men with contraceptive responsibilities and would men even want to use the new methods?

To collect all this information I've created a really short survey (just 8 simply, yes or no questions) to assess the attitude of the British public, which I hope will give me results which include a wide age range with varying relationship statuses. I'd appreciate it if anyone could vote in the survey: (removed outbound link) - or just generally have a visit of the website! There's gonna be some great content coming up, including interviews with psychologists and scientists to look at the possible effects male contraceptives could have on society and there are comment sections to have your say!

The web address is here: (removed outbound link)

Would male contraceptives enhance or harm British society? What's your opinion?


Rosie

[KMonte85]

Hello Rosie and welcome to the forum. Please read our FAQs before posting, as you will see that posting outbound links is not allowed, and surveys are not allowed unless approved by the WH admin.

Let me start by saying we've got members from ALL areas of the world here, so to narrow down your question to British society only will exclude most of the forum.

I'm an American woman. Personally, I've always wondered about what I consider to be the bias towards women needing to be responsible for birth control. There's a funny quip out there, something to the likes of, "it makes more sense to unload a gun, than wear a bullet proof vest." While that may be a bit crude, it does make sense. There should be a male contraceptive out there that is A) More reliable than condoms and withdrawal and B) less invasive or permanent than a vasectomy. Women have been taking birth control into their own hands for years, I see no adverse impact on society for men to do the same. I think it could only be beneficial, given the birth control is safe and does not harm the person taking it. I feel the same about BC for women.

This does, however, beg the question of if men would be willing or interested in such an option. I can't answer that, as I'm not a man. But I do realize there is a reluctance of men to do anything that would hinder their ability to reproduce. For some men (I'll never say MANY or ALL), the ability to have children is directly related to their self-worth as a man. Perhaps it wouldn't be any different for men than wearing a condom, given the effects of the male BCP isn't permanent. I'll let the men here at WH give their opinions on that.

As far as trusting a man with contraceptive responsibilities, my answer is a resounding YES. If I am having a sexual relationship with a man, I obviously trust him. And that means I know and trust him well enough to believe him if he tells me he is taking birth control. I would also make sure he was taking it correctly (some women don't even do this, so it's not overbearing, in my opinion)

Now, granted this does not take into account random encounters. I would never trust a one-night stand, a man I barely know, with my reproductive safety. But if I were having a one night stand, I would insist on condoms anyway, for STI protection, so whether or not they were on any form of birth control is really a mute point.

[Stillness]

I'm a married American man and this is an issue for me right now. Basically we don't want children, don't want a sexless marriage, and haven't found good birth control. Neither of us would use any pills or any sterilization methods. For the first few years we had one brand of polyurethane condoms we used that used. That was the best out of all the bad solutions. Right now the only thing we use is hope. It seems to be working for the last eight or so years.

We've recently discussed fertility awareness. My feeling is basically that one or both of us is shooting blanks and we're wasting our time worrying. I figure a baby is not the end of the world. If we had one we could worry about prophylactic methods afterwards.

In short, I would not use any chemical or physically intrusive methods.