Part Two: The Men
Unlike the women, the men all stated that they currently used a form of contraception: condoms. They had differing opinions when I asked if they would be willing to consider a new form of contraception if it theoretically became available. Some of them said yes without hesitation; one stated that he would not be willing to use any of the options currently being investigated. Several of them stated that they were perfectly happy using condoms because of their convenience, reliability, or ability to increase sexual performance. All of them had reservations about potential new forms of male contraception including potential side effects of this hormonal option and the possibility that increased levels of certain hormones could appear in blood samples. Some mentioned that condoms were not only effective for birth control, but also as protection against STIs, and any new form of contraception would have to provide that protection. Many of them also stated that several methods being researched seemed too invasive, specifically procedures involving implants or injections. This was interesting because – although one stated that the potential side effects of hormonal options would be easier to understand specifically because women already deal with them- none of them mentioned or seemed to be thinking about the fact that women are already expected to use procedures they saw as “too invasive” (such as injections, implants, or the IUD procedure.) All of them said that any potential options would have to have long term testing for their effects on the body or their potential to cause birth defects; the potential long term risks was the most reoccurring concern, and many of them said they would want a method that changed their body’s chemistry the least. Another common misgiving was the amount of preparation needed: some said that condoms are easily available and do not require vast amounts of preparation or continuous visits to the doctor, and are therefore still probably the best option.
When I asked who should be more responsible for contraception in a relationship, their answers differed from the women’s. Although several of them said that responsibility should be equally divided (or given to the person who was most naturally responsible, regardless of gender-similar to one of the women, who said that the person with more income and health insurance should be more responsible), several of them also leaned towards more responsibility for the man. One said that women are far more negatively affected by an unplanned pregnancy than men, and so men need to be especially careful to use contraception for this reason (and also help the woman get emergency contraception if needed.) Another said that men need to be especially concerned with contraception because, although women face most of the stress from an unplanned pregnancy, they decide whether or not to get an abortion and the man has no decision-making power. Like the women, they said that individuals should be responsible for themselves when having sex outside a relationship given that they would not know their partner’s sexual history or contraceptive situation.
