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[Slaythe]

Honestly i don't even want women to take birth control because of the side effects. The double standard is there, but why the hell are either sexes supposed to suffer them? There has to be a more efficient way that is sex neutral.

There are no double standards.

1) the pill isn't used just for birth control

2) testosterone meddling can result in dramatic effects on the long term, especially for men, beyond mood switch

3) nobody forces women to take pills and there are variants that can fit them better

4) modern science has higher standards, the benefits a woman gains from the pill can justify side effects as long as they are minor and improve their situation ( regularity, birth control, pain control etc...), no woman should take the pill if they feel miserable or sick because of it, but remember there are variants so they can try different ones

5) men would literally use it for birth control only, have no pill alternative to try out, while adding many negatives, no real advantage over a condom

 

[Izayoi]

Lots of focus on the depression, when the real issue here is permanent infertility I think.

I would be all for it if it weren't for that little complication.

 

[Prologue]

Why can't we get more funding for vasalgel instead?

 

[Keri]

The mini-pill can sometimes be a solution

The min-pill isn't very effective though, is it? It only prevents ovulation about half of the time. It's common for post-pregnancy, as a form of birth control while breastfeeding, but I've known multiple moms who have gotten pregnant again, while on it. My doctor warned me that, once I started to wean the baby from breast milk, I'd need to switch back to the combination pill.

My husband and I have been using condoms again, for the first time in years because I just don't trust the mini-pill and I cannot do being pregnant again so fast or having two under two.

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

My girl takes the pill.

I can't go back to condoms. It's like fucking with a numb dick.

Shame they stopped the research, although with those side affects I wouldnt take it.

 

[Samara]

The mini-pill can sometimes be a solution

This is obviously the sticking point for some "forgetful" couples

The mini pill is the worst. Take it 15 minutes too late and bam periods for days.

 

[archreaper93]

Not applicable since women buy male condoms

Right.

female condoms exist

Wait, really?

birth control isn't the only use of condoms.

What other uses are there?

 

[Dalibor68]

There are no double standards.

1) the pill isn't used just for birth control

2) testosterone meddling can result in dramatic effects on the long term, especially for men, beyond mood switch

3) nobody forces women to take pills and there are variants that can fit them better

4) modern science has higher standards, the benefits a woman gains from the pill can justify side effects as long as they are minor and improve their situation ( regularity, birth control, pain control etc...), no woman should take the pill if they feel miserable or sick because of it, but remember there are variants so they can try different ones

5) men would literally use it for birth control only, have no pill alternative to try out, while adding many negatives, no real advantage over a condom

This. I would never take male birth-control and my gf also stopped using female birth-control because of negative effects. Nobody forces anyone to take it. There are condoms and there are hormonfree contraceptive coils.

But hey, I guess it's easier to just absolve yourself of any self-responsibility and blame the big bad society for everything.

 

[Vagabundo]

What other uses are there?

Posh wanks. Parlour tricks.

 

[Omegasquash]

My girl takes the pill.

I can't go back to condoms. It's like fucking with a numb dick.

Shame they stopped the research, although with those side affects I wouldnt take it.

If you're not wanting kids, or if you're done having them (as I am), look into getting snipped. I didn't think it was fair, or cost effective, to have her hop back on the pill and go through side effects (which were real to her). Also, condoms...no thanks.

Getting that done made things much better for both of us on multiple fronts.

 

[louiedog]

What other uses are there?

Preventing the transmission of disease.

 

[Samara]

Never mind. I don't have my glasses

 

[archreaper93]

Preventing the transmission of disease.

Welp, now I feel stupid. Yeah, they do that too. Both of those occupy the same general space in my mind, so I considered them basically the same and thought nocturnalis was talking about other, non-sexual uses for condoms.

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

If you're not wanting kids, or if you're done having them (as I am), look into getting snipped. I didn't think it was fair, or cost effective, to have her hop back on the pill and go through side effects (which were real to her). Also, condoms...no thanks.

Getting that done made things much better for both of us on multiple fronts.

Im in my 20s and have no desire to have kids. I also have no desire to get snipped In case I want kids later.

Best solution we have right now.

 

[Audioboxer]

The min-pill isn't very effective though, is it? It only prevents ovulation about half of the time. It's common for post-pregnancy, as a form of birth control while breastfeeding, but I've known multiple moms who have gotten pregnant again, while on it. My doctor warned me that, once I started to wean the baby from breast milk, I'd need to switch back to the combination pill.

My husband and I have been using condoms again, for the first time in years because I just don't trust the mini-pill and I cannot do being pregnant again so fast or having two under two.

The mini pill is the worst. Take it 15 minutes too late and bam periods for days.

My ex was on it and it was fine. The only reason she changed to the implant was to prevent there needing to be a routine of taking a pill everyday around the same time. Which was understandable, it can be a bit of a hassle considering it's not simply something you take just before or around the time of sex. If you don't have a strict regime with the mini-pill then it's almost entirely pointless taking it.

I will say though initially the implant gave her pretty crazy mood swings but it died down and everything was fine and she much enjoyed not having periods at all really.

Point being as my post said the mini-pill can be a solution, as it doesn't have as much of a hormonal effect.

 

[ElyrionX]

It's not double standards as much as it is about the standards having changed over time.

If alcohol was invented today, it wouldn't be legal too.

 

[SolidusDave]

If I were a woman I would get an IUD in a heartbeat. The strong pain during the insertion is totally worth it: Years of hassle-free protection without moodswings etc.
If you are lucky you don't even get your period anymore while it's in. Basically gives you male-level of quality of life

 

[nocturnalis]

It's plenty applicable. Birth control has never been 100% a woman's problem, before or after the pill.

I agree with that, but I thought the poster was saying that condoms were bought because women don't really use birth control.

 

[EloquentM]

Wait isn't there also another form of male birth control currently being tested?

 

[Vagabundo]

Wasnt there some sort of dissolvable nano plastic your could injected into your scrotum at one point?

 

[kavanf1]

Many of the women I know on the pill have had to treat them similar to anti-depressants - they have had to try several different types before finding one that worked for them with minimal side effects.

GAF is scaremongering with a lot of these one-sided comments about the pill. Yes there are side effects, like there are with most medicines. But the benefits outweigh the risks for the vast majority of women. Otherwise it wouldn't be so popular.

 

[Lyn]

Edit: Nevermind, misread the question as asking about something else.

 

[midramble]

I may be reading this wrong but the actual study mentions that it was canceled to not just to the side effects being too bad, but that the rate of side effects outweighed the benefit of the contraception.

Meaning that it wasn't necessarily too uncomfortable (it actually was quite popular with the test takers. Over %80 enjoyed using this method) it just wasn't effective enough to be worth really any kind of side effect, let alone side effects that may have been as high as %45 which is higher than currently happens, but with a lower success rate than current contraception.

Part of the decision to terminate was based on the fact that they couldn't truly determine the percentage of these complaints that were attributed to the contraception. They believe a high rate of them weren't related; however, since there is obviously no placebo group, it can't be truly determined.

Even after that, there was a disagreement between to two overseeing safety groups on whether to terminate because of this.

So it's more of a crappy drug than a double standard.

On a similar note, one of the major drawbacks of this contraception method is that it is single use. Female contraception has very wide usage outside of preventing pregnancy. 58% of female users use it for additional purposes including easing the effects of menstruation and also treating ovarian cysts (which %8 of all premenopausal women need treatment for). They are also constantly researching and creating safer and safer female birth control pills because it is so widely used.

All of that being said, there are obviously double standards involving genders out there that deserve extensive discussion, but from the articles that are being presented, I don't believe this is one of them.

Though I may be wrong.

 

[Escargo]

I'll read through it at some point.

Also, all this double standard talk is bullshit. Female oral contraceptives are ancient. The scientific medical community in which they were tested and approved is not the same one we live in now, and suggesting a systemic sexist bias in how clinical trials are run shows a gross misunderstanding of the world of modern medical research.

The voice of reason from another pikachu. Thank you

 

[stonesak]

Im in my 20s and have no desire to have kids. I also have no desire to get snipped In case I want kids later.

Best solution we have right now.

Do you even semen cryopreservation, bro?

 

[ESBL]

Where do I sign up?

 

[Bleepey]

I must be extraordinarily unlucky, but none of the sex partners I've had for the last ten years have been on the pill or an IUD, nor have they carried condoms. I buy the condoms every single time. Feel free to make the small sample size joke of your choice (it's been about a dozen women). In three different parts of the world, too. Is it a generational thing?

I carry condoms like keys and have found maybe 2 girls that would have fucked me without a condom.

Spoiler

I declined the invitation.

 

[Derwind]

Is this a prime example of ]double standards or am I oversimplifying this situation?

No, no you're not wrong.

It's a damn shitty deal for women.

 

[Sesha]

Side effects will scare loads of people of basically anything that's new and unfamiliar. It's no wonder that side effects would scare subjects from some supposed wonder drug. Fears about perceived side effects is inevitable and somewhat understandble as well, but of course deeply unfortunate.

I'm not too disappointed or worried. It's not Vasalgel, which is the most interesting thing on the male birth control front.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

Significant decrease in testosterone production, shrinkage of testicles, increased likelihood of depression and potential permanent (or long lasting) infertility?

"lol men are so weak!!!!"

Ugh... The researchers shut that shit down not the participants.

 

[kavanf1]

I can't help but point out the irony when people are nowadays claiming women are somehow subjugated by taking the pill, when its origins are so closely tied into both female sexual liberation and female representation in the workplace. Indeed, before the pill, a woman had no choice but to rely on her partner for contraception (and that was hardly a high priority in those days). It allowed women to take control of their lives in a way never before possible. Trying to reinvent history by claiming that the pill is somehow a tool of oppression is, frankly, a joke.

 

[Dr.Guru of Peru]

We already have the perfect contraceptive - its called the IUD.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Why are people even complaining about the side effects when the real problem here is that it was only 96% effective? Get back to work on that, if anything. Success rate needs to be higher.

 

[Akuun]

What other uses are there?

Supposedly they're good in outdoor survival situations because they can stretch and hold a lot of water.

 

[DrROBschiz]

Here is hoping Non-Hormonal options get better and more effective

Seems like its just so risky a thing to fuck with

Men and Women equally

 

[PdotMichael]

I remember when the pill for women was dome milestone of emancipation, now is it just another tool of oppression.

 

[Bleepey]

I can't help but point out the irony when people are nowadays claiming women are somehow subjugated by taking the pill, when its origins are so closely tied into both female sexual liberation and female representation in the workplace. Indeed, before the pill, a woman had no choice but to rely on her partner for contraception (and that was hardly a high priority in those days). It allowed women to take control of their lives in a way never before possible. Trying to reinvent history by claiming that the pill is somehow a tool of oppression is, frankly, a joke.

Very true. this is some weird revisionist history shit I don't get.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

You can’t compare the findings of a phase 2 trial with the echo chamber of personal experience that is the Internet. You have to compare study with study, not a study with an op-ed column. These side effect rate is pretty high with this new study of men when compared with contraception studies for women. For example and perspective, a study comparing the birth control patch with the pill found a serious adverse event rate of 2%. The pill reduces acne for 70% of women and in studies with the Mirena IUD the rate of acne is 6.8%.

New study doesn’t show men are wimps about contraception side effects, low vasectomy rate might

 

[Megalosaro]

Having been snipped recently, it's been sad to see the reactions many men have when asked to act responsibly with their dicks.

One of the best episodes of home improvement was the one where tim got a vasectomy. Great message there

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

Great article by Julia Belluz of Vox.

There’s a new study making the rounds about a seemingly effective male birth control. The hormonal injection, designed to slow or block sperm production, had a 96 percent success rate at preventing pregnancy among couples who completed the study.

There was just one problem, according to some media reports: The new method won't be available anytime soon because the men in the study were wimps. They couldn’t handle side effects — moodiness, acne — that women on birth control deal with all the time, and so the study had to be terminated.

"Male birth control study nixed after men can't handle side effects women face daily," read the USA Today headline. Similar stories appeared at the Atlantic and Cosmopolitan.

These stories are wrong and misleading.

We still don't have male birth control — but no, it's not because men are wimps


Some of the replies in this thread, yikes. Maybe, don't jump to conclusions, especially with terrible and biased science reporting.