male birth CONTROL

The experiences of motherhood and fatherhood are inherently unequal unless you're receiving babies via stork. The differences stem from intrinsically different reproductive systems in male and female bodies, in which only female anatomy is able to carry a child. I am not looking to denounce the immense social impact a father can have on a child, but rather I seek to highlight mothers as unsung heroes through the biological lens of parenthood.

(And to be clear, I am talking about parents with biological children. With fathers, I am talking about men with strict male anatomy, wholly incapable of carrying a child. Period. I am not talking about adoptive parents. I am sticking to good, old-fashioned, invasive, oppressive hetereonormativity which seems undenied)

The Personhood Movement is fighting for the recognition that one's Personhood begins when sperm meets egg. Ok, Personhood, I see your radical claim and now raise one of my own. I propose that Fatherhood begins once the infant is born. I am not trying to dismiss the father's role in conception, the loss and sense of sadness that miscarriages and other pregnancy complications may bring to both parents, and unlike Personhoood USA, I am not taking away anyone's reproductive or bodily rights. The genetic makeup a father contributes is equal but the mechanical, bodily role fathers play in prenatal development is very small.

(What does personhood really means behind ethereal and patriotic language, anyway? Personhood USA uses the Thomas Jefferson phrase "inherent and unalienable rights of man" for their campaign, which is perfect for Father's Rights seeing as women and mothers in the early 19th Century didn't have unalienable rights. Anyway...)

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I am simply unimpressed with fathers equalizing their prenatal parenting experiences to mothers. Taken from Susan Bordo's "Are Mothers Persons," I am unwaived with clients such as Eric Conn who argues for his rights as a father by equating his experience in pregnancy: "[the mother] you know, wants control of her body. But what about me? Am I not allowed to have control of my body? The baby is part of my body also."

By arguing that Fatherhood begins after birth, I am recognizing the unique experiences mothers endure in pregnancy that fathers simply cannot. I am recognizing female bodies as special and fully human, and not the incubating machines Bordo writes, and the culture has written mothers as. Men: you brought a dish to the potluck, but that doesn't make it your party.

Accordingly, I am equally unimpressed with recent advancements in male birth control. The "problem" in the past? Men haven't taken in an active-enough role in birth control options. (Note: men also haven't taken an active role in giving birth.) Although the attempt to alleviate biological and financial burdens of women can seem sweet and endearing, the attempt to equalize contraception cycles back to issues of control. 

Although I will discuss positive and negative effects, male birth control ultimately comes back to controlling the female body and, as Bordo discusses, superseding the rights of the mother.

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Parsemus, makers of the future male contraceptive Vasalgel, are predicting availability by 2017. So far, Vasalgel has successfully been tested on baboons. What exactly would male birth control look like? According to this recent Daily Beast article, the unique contraception Vasalgel is a one-time, non-hormonal treatment for men. Similar to a vasectomy, the vas deferens would be altered to physically inhibit sperm passage. However, unlike a vasectomy, this process could be reversed.

Today, popular women's birth control options look a lot different. (Granted, all of these statistics are heteronormative, Westernized, and derived from self-reporting surveys.) According to this data, 27% of all sexually active females between the ages of 15 and 44 are on the pill; further, the same research testifies that 4 in 5 "sexually experienced" women have ever been on the pill. Statistically, the pill is used most frequently by white women, women in their teens and 20s, and unmarried women. Male condoms are also frequently used, with over 6 million users in America.

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Would the widespread introduction of male birth control alter these statistics? Male birth control hasn't exactly been at high demand. A New York Times opinion piece laments that "developing long-acting, reversible [birth control] methods for men is still not seen as a priority...[different sources of funding] are getting serious about new long-acting options for women; not so, yet, for men." This equation of male and female contraceptive needs erases the financial and biological consequences that only women face through pregnancy.

Why would a man even want male birth control? The same NYT article further argues that men need their own contraception because they can't. trust. women. The article opens with the following scenario:

Imagine you’re a 20-something or 30-something man, out on the dating market. You have grad school planned for the fall and your whole life ahead of you. You meet a woman who seems pretty promising; after you’ve been dating a number of months, you stop using condoms, because she’s on the pill. But you just read an article that said even among highly motivated young college women, about half forgot to take roughly three pills per cycle. Nervous yet?

I am nervous, yes, that this rhetoric can attempt to equate the burden of unplanned, undesired fatherhood with unplanned, undesired motherhood. I am indeed imagining that I am this bright, educated, 30-something man who has consciously decided to stop using condoms and who needs to prove he knows more birth control than his female partner. Male birth control is posed as a sneaky back-up plan to female birth control pills because women are lazy and forgetful and not to be trusted. God knows how I, a smart 30-year-old man would handle the the immense burden of someone else's pregnancy. Women don't know my struggle!

(Note: the NYT article is written by director of Parmesus, maker of Vasalegel. So really, like everything else American, these claims are advertisements.)

I won't neglect any positive outcomes male birth control could create. The cost of monthly birth control pills, as we all know, are not necessarily covered by health insurance and can put an unequal financial strain on women, which male birth control could potentially alleviate. (Although it's also important to realize that there are MANY reasons why women are on the pill, from hormonal imbalance to blood disorders to acne control.) The average cost of an abortion is $485, and can run considerably higher, and in some parts of the country, abortion centers are few and far between (from The Daily Beast). Male birth control could reduce the rate of abortion, and thus ease these financial, emotional, and physical burdens that women typically face.

Birth control pills often come with unpleasant and unruly side effects, such as high blood pressure, nausea and vomiting, irregular bleeding, weight fluctuation, changes in mood, and depression (from The Daily Beast). If male birth control replaces female birth control in these circumstances, women can be relieved of these symptoms. It could also give both males and females a sense of personal responsibility.

By recognizing that Fatherhood begins after birth, the female body is seen as disproportionally affected by the physical manifestation of pregnancy. Men's reproductive rights are never just an issue of men's rights, as the female body is always the consequenced body.

Alternative Solutions to Male Birth Control:

• 30-something male? College-educated? Bright? Afraid your partner isn't properly using birth control? Instead of being a condescending asshole, talk about birth control options together.
• Seriously, have open communication with sexual partners because ??? why not
• Use condoms, which are cheap and protect against STIs. Male and female birth control do not.
• If negative side effects of birth control pills are overwhelming, talk to your doctor about switching methods
• Don't be a dick