Oliver is in many respects the typical man. When it comes contraception, he might carry the condoms, but he regards it as ultimately the woman's responsibility.
Oliver said: "At the end of the day women are the ones having the child. However, if the man doesn't want a child then it should be his responsibly to carry protection. I think a condom is enough, it’s simple and easy to use with zero side effects."
As far as male contraceptives are concerned, condoms are the first thought most people have, which is no surprise due to them being widely available and constantly advertised on TV. You can buy them online, in supermarkets, garages, and probably anywhere you could think of. There is even a UK wide scheme aimed at providing free condoms for young people to encourage safe sex. However, men often complain about them being uncomfortable, that they can take something away from their experience, and that they are still not 100 per cent effective. They are only 99 per cent, but the effectiveness drops if you continue to use them frequently over a short period of time. While C-Cards exist, in most cases condoms cost money, while female contraceptives like the pill, or the coil are free.
Aside from condoms, the only other choice for men is to have a vasectomy, which is permanent. Some couples choose to use the withdrawal method, which is where the men pull out before they ejaculate. This method is not recommended at all as it carries a very high risk of pregnancy as sperm can be released at any point before or during sex, which can lead to pregnancy.
While men are only limited on what contraception they can choose from, women have much more freedom when it comes to contraception. They can even pick it to best suit their lifestyle. There is also a female condom or diaphragm that are one-time use, the pill or mini pill that are taken daily, an injection which lasts a couple of months, and long-term options like the implant, IUD (hormonal coil), or the copper coil. Starting with the pill becoming available in the UK in 1961, this is the way it has been for nearly 60 years.
Erik said: “I don’t think there is a pressure as such, but a lot of guys assume that girls will already be on contraception. It’s seen as the norm.” This 'norm’ puts an expectation on women to already be the one on contraception, be prepared to get emergency contraception the next day or carry male condoms as well. However, even though it could be argued that this expectation should not exist it is no surprise when men can only choose between two methods of contraception if they wish to engage in protected sex.
Even some women believe that it is their duty to be prepared in case a sexual encounter occurs. Jasmine said: “It's unfair given how many female contraceptives there are compared to guys, but then again it's not men who might get pregnant. So, I think we’re better off with more female ones, and even if they did make like a male pill I doubt they'd use it.”
While men are only limited on what contraception they can choose from, women have much more freedom when it comes to contraception. They can even pick it to best suit their lifestyle. There is also a female condom or diaphragm that are one-time use, the pill or mini pill that are taken daily, an injection which lasts a couple of months, and long-term options like the implant, IUD (hormonal coil), or the copper coil. Starting with the pill becoming available in the UK in 1961, this is the way it has been for nearly 60 years.
Fortunately, this gap in the market has been noticed. Scientists and specialists have been looking to expand contraceptive options for men for a while now, and yet there is still nothing new available to them. The male contraceptive that comes up the most often is a version of the pill. As this would be a hormonal contraceptive, just like the female pill, but whenever research into men’s attitudes towards taking hormonal pills the feedback is often negative.
There is also continued research into a male hormonal pill by organisations like the Parsemus Foundation and the Male Contraceptive Initiative. Despite the negative attitude feedback, they are still slowly persevering to have something on else on the market for men in the future. The main reason being the possible side effects that would more than likely come from putting more hormones into your body, just like women do. However, with women experiencing side effects with hormonal contraceptives for the last 50 years, the reasoning appears to be rather feeble.
Kirsti Bartlett, specialist sexual health promotion officer for the Terrence Higgins Trust Norfolk, said, “if only decent funding would be put into developing some more options for men; reversible gel vasectomies are looking very promising in primate trials but as far as I know there isn’t a human trail on the cards.”
The gel vasectomies that Kirsti mentions are being developed by the Parsemus Foundation, which is an American based organisation. The gel itself is called Vasalgel. Ben Carlson from Parsemus Foundation said: “Of course we strongly agree that more male contraceptives should be available.”
Vasalgel is a none hormonal contraceptive that is similar to a vasectomy. However, it is reversible, or it will be. A gel is injected into the tube the sperm swim through, blocking their path. After an amount of time of your choosing, whether that is a month or a few years, you can opt to receive a second injection that breaks down the gel and allows sperm to flow freely once again. The Parsemus Foundation rely on donations to continue their research into this contraceptive, which is currently only in a clinical trial stage, and are currently after US residents to sign up for clinical trials.
There future looks bright. Vasalgel is moving into clinical trials soon, and there is constantly more research into a male pill, we may be able to see it being offered on the NHS. Men are still limited to the two options, vasectomies or condoms. It is completely reliant on whether companies like this acquire the funding they desire.
