The Science of Male Birth Control | Sci Guys Podcast

Birth control pills currently only exist for females - but why is that? This week we discuss contraception for cis men & delve into the sexism that this research is steeped in...
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References & Further Reading
www.plannedparenthood.org/lea...
www.nhs.uk/conditions/periods/
www.nhs.uk/conditions/contrac...
news.sky.com/story/amp/contra...
www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pr...
www.newscientist.com/article/...
www.newscientist.com/article/...
www.plannedparenthood.org/lea...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
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[@SciGuys]

If you’re male, would you take birth control? If you’re not male have you had side effects from taking birth control? If none of these apply, or you don’t wanna answer, what’s your favourite flavour of ice cream?

[@konzertina9685]

I’m on progresterone pills, and it is annoying to have anpther pill to take,and that missing it is a big deal. They also completley fuck up my cycle length. I’m not allowed to have oestrogen pills, even though I would like to, bc of migraine aura.

[@lokiscoffeerose663]

Nonbinary here, on T gel, I've got my first IUD, and it was the worst pain I can remember, as well as over two months of daily spotting and cramping. It made me feel overall worse than having a regular period over a longer time, kind of like a surgery recovery. My symptoms are decreasing slowly and I'm hoping for a continuation of that trend.

[@marilousomarakigiannadaki4896]

Vanilla

[@KristopherBel]

A point about condom use, a study found that one of the major points of failure was when pulling ones penis out of the vagina either after ejaculating or not was that men would not hold the condom onto the penis at the base and so they might slip out of the condom, and if there is ejaculate in the condom it might spill out very near and sometimes inside the vagina.

[@forforever4980]

I'm on birth control and luckily for me I don't notice any difference. In fact, I don't get as much menstrual pain and I feel better using it

[@crazycatlover1885]

For my English speaking and listening gcse equivalent thing earlier this year, I did a speech about period taboo and endometriosis diagnosis times, my first sentence was "Periods." As soon as I said that, all the boys turned to look away from me and suddenly became very interested in basically anything except from me. Also I'm annoyed that men are far more sympathetic about period cramps if I don't tell them what they are. While I'm writing this essay, I may as well add that sometimes on my period I have to got to the toilet every half an hour or my clothes will be bloody but school doesn't let me go for 2.5 hrs. Who designed this?

[@forforever4980]

An important thing to consider is that when testing the side effects for female birth control, you're comparing those to the symptoms of pregnancy. Birth control increases risk but not as much as pregnancy increases risk. When testing for male birth control, you're comparing the side effects against having nothing. It's not a fair way to compare it but that's how the system works.

[@CB-jg6xg]

Just wanted to say thank you Sci Guys. Really appreciate a podcast w 3 men where I can let my guard down bc I know I won’t be blindsided by sexist and misogynistic rhetoric. - grateful cis woman :)

[@chloe-fy4wc]

It’s crazy how taboo everything vulva-related is. I’m afab and i didn’t know periods existed until i was 12? and I learnt what they are really are at 17 and i’m still learning a lot every year. I also am understanding when men in my life don’t know much about periods because the system failed me even more. But it’s frustrating. And what’s troubling is that as always people that don’t have a clue about women’s problems feel free to control our bodies.

[@IrisMobiel]

On the topic of female birth control, it makes me so mad hearing from friends and having experienced for myself how quick doctors are to prescribe it for things with better and/or additional solutions like teenage mental health issues, without being properly informed about the side effects. I know that for many people birth control is very helpful and essential (even outside of preventing pregnancy), but it feels like another example of afab teenagers' (mental) health just not being taken seriously

[@beyedoc]

To preface my comment, I am a woman in the US who cannot take hormonal birth control because of blood clots (life threatening side effect) and have a condition that would lead to 75% chance of my own death if becoming pregnant: The medical ethics around hormonal birth control look at the risk of taking it v. risk of not taking it. For women, hormonal contraception has less risk than what it is preventing, the patient becoming pregnant. For male hormonal contraception, the risk is similar to females but the risk of not taking it is nothing to the patient himself. That is medically why they made the decision to discontinue. Now my own personal belief, especially now with the Roe v. Wade situation leaving women now in life threatening situations, there absolutely from a social ethics perspective needs to be more research into forms of male birth control because in this matter, basically women have no control.

[@Roanmonster]

Yeah the thing is that this is a very unique and quite new situation from an ethics point of view, and so you cannot simply go "well the side effects are the same"

[@jesso7166]

Think this is a great episode on the whole, but I wanted to clarify a couple of point about female birth control as I'm not sure you got it all right: 1. You can absolutely get off the implant or coil early! I guess it's a bit more difficult in that you need to go and see a doctor to have it removed, but it'll need to be removed at the end anyway, and Im not aware it's any harder before the end of the 5 years. Plenty of people get them removed early, it's nothing to worry about. 2. Hormonal contraceptive obviously can mess with your hormones, but they (especially the combined pill) can also help regulate them. They can help you have more regular periods, reduce pms symptoms and I know a lot of people for who they reduced period cramps also. Plenty of people take hormonal birth control for these reasons, not even to use as birth control! Again, great episode on the whole, just wanted to clarify these point. Particularly with roe v wade being repealed in the us, birth control is going to be more important than ever for a lot of people right now, and sometimes talking about the side effects without the positives can feel a bit like fear mongering.

[@dovestone_]

Yes v important points. I was initially prescribed the pill to try and help with my depression. Also it is sometimes prescribed to make periods less heavy / less painful or for acne

[@maijakelly8335]

True! Although hormonal BC has given me PMS/PMDD (but I think it is gradually going away, and can be kind of helped by lifestyle changes) it has drastically minimised the extreme pain I used to experience for the first day or 2 of my cycle, and shortened my cycle a fair bit. (Used to be 38 days, 8 day period. Now it's closer to a "textbook" period). I used to have to take a day off school, be in bed curled in the foetal position, take 2 diclofenac tablets, 2 paracetamols, a hot pack, and that would hardly touch the sides. Now at least I can pop a diclofenac or mefanemic acid or ibuprofen and get on with my day!! (Besides having a possible emotional breakdown to make up for it lol. The joys of owning a uterus!)

[@fozziebean]

I was given the pill for acne when I was a teenager. It made my period more regular, which was convenient.

[@Elientjepientje.]

A great book about menopause is 'What fresh hell is this - perimenopause, menopause, other indignities and you' by Heather Corinna. Some other books are 'The menopause myth' by Dr Arianna Sholes-Douglas, 'The menopause manifesto' by Dr Jen Gunter and 'Menopause: a comic treatment' edited by MK Czerwiec. I would love to see you do an episode about menopause!

[@lokiscoffeerose663]

On the topic of considering a world where there is an easily accessible male contraceptive, and the options are pill and condom, you still need to consider STIs. It used to be pretty common in gay dating circles to have STI tests attached to your dating profile, and people pretty regularly have that as part of normal dating conversation, so in that light, having a combo of STI results with a contraception pill might be a good option, and if someone has gone to the trouble of showing STI results, they're more likely to also reliably take the pill, kind of like prep in gay and queer spaces.

[@aurora4218]

A quick correction on vasectomy reversals - the likelihood of the reversal surgery working decreases rapidly with time. The "reversibility" is more useful if you decide soon after "whoops that was a drastic mistake" and not as a temporary long-term form of birth control like an IUD or implant. It's better to think of a vasectomy as sterilization that you *might* be able to undo. It's also worth noting that vasectomies do have room for error and sometimes pregnancy happens even if you had the procedure. So a uterus-enabled partner should proceed as if pregnancy is possible, if unlikely.

[@Avery-un4he]

"You do little bits of cummies all the time." nearly killed me, thanks Luke. 🤣 also never thought I'd hear an Artemis Fowl reference in 2022, hell yeah. To answer the questions: 1) I am a trans man & want to get sterilized completely, rather than try hormonal birth control again. 2) Before coming out, I was on hormonal birth control pills from the age of 18-24, & the side effects really sucked. Weight gain, hot flashes, terrible cramps, irritability, & increased depression (though a lot of this was compounded by my dysphoria as well). 3) Favorite ice cream is either honey-lavender or mocha!

[@maxofb7745]

Shared this with my "Diversity and SexEd" Uni class. We discussed (male) birth control last week 🤩

[@cez_is_typing]

As a woman who takes (/took) birth control (the pill) here's some things I experienced - The beginning, the first two days of birth control felt awful, I had a headache, was sweating like crazy and was super emotional. I had a full mental breakdown in my music lesson because none of the keyboards were working, then when I realised I didn't turn the plug on, promptly sobbed. - Hot flashes, this was the only symptom that was fairly consistent, in the middle of November I would wake up for school ROASTING, then get changed and go into school and have to take my blazer off cus I was so hot. This one was particularly annoying because all google search results are about menopause so I had no solution, luckily it was only for a couple hours in the morning then I was fine - Hormonal imbalances, this one is a little TMI but I always knew when my period was coming because the 2 days before I would be extremely sexually charged - Cycle changes, this one was kind of my fault because I was AWFUL at taking my pill regularly (I wasn't using it for contraception dont worry) but sometimes I would spot between periods, have multiple periods a month etc etc - Emotional state/depression, this one is tough because I didn't actually REALISE I was having pill-based depression until I came off the pill because I had 3 periods within 5 weeks and decided to take a break. After that I suddenly had a motivation spike and its been about 4 months and I haven't had a single depressive episode out of the blue since. I thought those random dips I had were just me having depression, not the pill, especially seeing as it started about a year or two into being on the pill Remember ladies, being on the pill can be important but if you have the time to safely come off of it, give your body a break every now and again!!

[@xannabelliax]

There's a really good 28 episode podcast on BBC sounds called 28 days about cycles/periods. They touch on female contraception in some episodes. There's so much information as a 26 year old woman I didn't know, and I wish everyone could hear it. It's fascinating

[@yourlocalstinkbug1145]

Transman here. I do take birth control. For several reasons, A. I really rather not risk pregnancy for a multitude of reasons (being trans as one of them). and B. I take them to manage extremely painful periods that didn't stop when I started Testosterone. I have had side effects. Spotting between periods, more frequent depressive episodes, and when I do have periods while they are lighter and not as painful they can last up to 20 days for me now. It's not ideal. I'm on the progestine only pill (heather specifically) and I do plan on switching to trying the hormonal iud instead. In an ideal world I would get sterilized, but my health insurance doesn't cover it for any reason until someone is atleast 21. on the other topic! My favorite flavor of ice cream is cherry ^^

[@largeinflatedbox]

holy shit dude, I feel like im always hearing new things about periods and it gets worse every time. good luck to you with getting sterilised one day, that shit seems awful

[@deadlymelody27]

have you seen the way doctors and the society treat menopause. not only is it just not cared about at all, its almost taboo. and hrt isnt perfect but also not all doctors know about it. my mum went in to ask about it because she is extremely emotional etc, and they said we dont give hrt for the symptoms you are describing and then her friend said well i was prescribed it for those same symptoms. its literally awful. i have known people who have been fairly mentally stable go extremely emotionally unstable due to the menopause. and its literally not a choice at all. also people care even less about older women/afab once someone isnt young and fertile anymore. i would be extremely interested in an episode on it tbh.

[@gato_uisce]

transmasc here, i couldnt take the pill because it can cause breast growth and weight gain in dogshit places. im getting an IUD soon and its a very good alternative for us, especially since we can just get one procedure done and forget about it for years. thank you for talking about non-women in the discussion of female adjacent birth control, it made me feel a lot better about myself at this rough ass time

[@danaek3040]

Pistachio ice cream is elite

[@laraleveuvre886]

So I literally sent a DM on IG to you guys like 2 weeks before this episode from my IG Laraphrase about this!!! Thank you so much! Yes I take contraceptives and I've had side effects such as, longer more painful periods where I've literally passed out from the pain, increased migraines, constant nausea and weight gain. Loss of appetite and sex drive and it always took a toll on my mental health. Always

[@user-lb6bn8vy3e]

No I’ve never taken birth control and my favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate mint chip!

[@sizofren8710]

I think they should be more normalized and used because a man can get many many women pregnant in a year but a woman can only cary one full term pregnancy in a year, also the side affects for women are prettyyy bad

[@LeggyMegg]

Just catching up with the episode, and I would like to reassure Cory that, whilst he may not know much about female reproductive health, neither do AFAB people. I, as a woman, know nothing of what's to come with menopause nor do I know anything on Endo or PCOS as it's not part of the sex education I received at school. It's a massive failure of the education system here in the UK and I'm sure other countries. Anything I do know, I have had to search for externally and intentionally.

[@cryptidflower9240]

honestly considering the state of everything at the moment, i really appreciate being able to just tune into another episode and cozy down to learn something new! also Hagen Dazs strawberry ice cream is the best ice cream :>

[@Billy-qo7ts]

the conversation towards the end is pretty much just that, the partriarchy effects everyone. it isnt men vs women, its everyone vs the partriarchy.

[@rowaboat6019]

Could you please make a video about menopause and male menopause/late-onset hypogonadism or something related to it because it isn't entirely a fully afab thing, yes it is a faster process with afab people but it is still a thing with amab people too.

[@leenanorms]

Loved this! Link to the Rowan Ellis video I think you're talking about: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJO4qJ55m7lmrLc

[@libbyrb8225]

After watching this video my main takeaway is that my school did a really bad job at teaching me these things.

[@gremlinmikey]

I recently watched the netflix explained episode about birth control and the section on male birth control concluded with saying that there is essentially a higher standard when it comes to male contreception because pregnancy poses less of a physical and emotional risk to them than to a female which I think makes sense but I still think we should be making more of an effort to produce equal contraception

[@gremlinmikey]

oh also my favourite flavour ice cream is cookies and cream :))

[@Keelsman]

I would take birth control in ice cream form!

[@gamerteblin2049]

If they really don't want to have a child which they will have to support financially they will take a pill. And why not use all 3 forms of contraceptive? Male pill + condom + female contraceptive. Its both partners in the relationship responsibility if they really don't want a child. The probability of 3 1% independant events happening in a row is 0.0001%

[@realimereads2707]

Cookie dough, for sure

[@Enkiaswad]

Side note about trusting your male partner: I would say I'd rather not trust anyone else (hardly myself) for something that has such high stakes for me (I don't ever ever want to get pregnant ever!). Also I am aware that executive dysfunction is a thing, so it's more about that than trust in my partner or the fact that they are male. I have an IUD btw and previously had an implant, so I am playing it the safest I can.

[@riley22105]

My favorite ice cream flavor is anything with a vanilla base and chocolate crunchy stuff

[@emmi3785]

Medicine-unicorn here, hi. I am female. Used same combination contraseptive pill now for 13 years...first one I ever tried. (No, I don't mind if it effects my fertility. Though, i should not effect it. Definetally, no pause years needed.) No side effects for me. What makes me unicorn: I also found good depression/anxiety medicine which helped on a first try. Some minor side effects but slightly dryer mouth, not as well congealing blood and different orgasm is not that bad.

[@Maggie_113]

Cherry Garcia

[@mimsygoodcat3449]

Hi Corey! Menopause can start 38 perimenapause but usually between 40 and 55. X

[@LilCatDude]

I’m afab (non-binary) and I don’t know all the parts of the female reproductive system (frankly I doubt I know most of them) and I was not taught a single thing about the male reproductive system. But I’ve even seen one person in a comment section ask what an erection was (all the responses were protect their innocence), I explained it, and then they told me that they asked a lot of people (including their parent) and no one would answer until I did.

[@trashley05]

i LOVE salted caramel icecream

[@azrahinton2059]

I learned about menopause from an episode of the Simpsons

[@tinklostboy]

I like cinnamon ice cream but I can’t find it anymore 😢

[@brightmoon6113]

vanilla ✨

[@FlyKiwi]

If you ever wanna do an episode on the pituitary gland and conditions like hypopituitarism you know where to find me 😊

[@joshuawelch8306]

salted caramel

[@noahsev12]

not a cis guy, never taken birth control, and i dont like ice cream :(

[@Alyxan.]

(Afab guy here) Not all that long ago i had to explain to a female friend where she pees isnt the same as her vjay. Our education system is a joke. I was floored.

[@maijakelly8335]

Well besides learning it at school, or googling out of curiosity, someone else telling her is the only way she'd ever learn! You can't really see your own urethra unless you have a really good look and are pretty flexible lol. That's horrible that she didn't learn basic biology at school, I feel like that's such neglect by the education system :(

[@Alyxan.]

@@maijakelly8335 this exactly. How much the school system failed her is what had me. Not that my school was much better tbh. I remember finding out from the library rather than sex ed lol.

[@deadlymelody27]

im in a heterosexual relationship and im not sure i would trust my partner to take the contraceptive pill. he is extremely forgetful and i could barely trust myself to take it every day. i dont think he would stop taking it to try and get me pregnant because he knows i only wanted one child even though he wants more. but he knows i would get an abortion if i were to get accidentally pregnant so there would be no point. i dont think he would have that vindictive side (i hope not, he is my partner), but he literally is the most forgetful and im pretty sure he has adhd which wouldnt help.

[@urfairy0Z]

rocky road 🥰

[@mliljegard19771209]

Strawberry

[@paomurilloj]

Rum and raisins >>>

[@Veryvoidlove]

Im afab and idk shit about menopause

[@theafterhoursshowwithmax]

Chocolate ice cream.

[@miridroge6043]

Mango Ice Cream !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@carolinedoctor1246]

they can trust the men that they are in a relationship with because they can watch him take it lol, if they don't know them as well they can't guarantee that they've taken it

[@forforever4980]

On top of that, I think most people wouldn't get into a relationship with someone who they don't trust. Or at least they shouldn't

[@Marin-om8sj]

Chocolate :)

[@lucielquinn6489]

:DD

[@nickvandijk5460]

As a male i wouldn't ever take birth control and i believe women shouldn't take it either. Changing the bodies hormones has many negative side effects such as increased chance of heart attack and negative effect on blood lipids. Destroying the bodies normal healthy hormonal equilibrium is a bad idea.

[@Robb3636]

I understand where you're coming from, but keep in mind that birth control is vital for a number of other things besides not getting pregnant, such as reducing very heavy and extremely painful periods; making them manageable, as well as controlling the excruciating pain that comes with endometriosis. I would wager most people on the pill don't take it purely for the birth control side of things, I know so many people who need/needed it for managing periods

[@lamberthoratio2874]

Vasectomy at the age of 23 because adoption is an option

[@mliljegard19771209]

Strawberry