The rollercoaster of male contraception
While 68% of women aged 25 to 34 use contraception, less than 1% of men in France adopt it.
Today, the topic of male contraception is still too taboo and sidelined in our society, even though it could solve many problems, such as reducing abortion, which is still very common among women: 1 in 3 women has had an abortion in her lifetime.
Male contraception: why is it important to talk about it today?
The contraceptive burden
Women bear children. Therefore, they are directly concerned by the issue of contraception. Indeed, they are the ones who will bear the physical (and psychological) costs. When the pill was authorized in 1967, and then when the Simone Veil law was passed in 1975, it was a true liberation for women, as they could finally have control over whether or not to have children.
As a result, men have often distanced themselves from the issue because they "have other things to manage." "Male contraception doesn't exist!" and that suits them just fine. And yet (unless a woman decides to have a child alone), they are just as involved as women in the conception of a child.
What men may not have all understood is that the "contraceptive burden" is not insignificant. It requires a certain discipline (taking the pill every day at a precise time), and it can have some truly unpleasant side effects (severe pain, mood effects, venous thrombosis…), not to mention the stress when there has been an accident and periods are eagerly awaited to ensure that the next step isn't abortion (which is never a pleasant experience).
The contraceptive burden is permanent (except in cases of abstinence, of course), and there's no reason for women to bear it alone. Hence, male contraception cannot be ignored today.
So yes, there's the condom, which is a widely used male contraceptive. But it's still (too) often women who have to think about it, ask the guy if he can put it on, or even negotiate for it to be used! So that doesn't solve the problem.
Sexuality still too taboo among young people
From school age, the government passed a law obliging educational institutions to implement at least 3 annual sexual education sessions per class. However, it seems that this obligation is very rarely respected, particularly due to the lack of training for teachers themselves.
Recently, three associations (Le Planning Familial, SOS homophobie, and Sidaction) filed a complaint against the State for failure to comply with this 2001 law, demonstrating that schools, middle schools, and high schools are not fully benefiting from it.
Result: Children and adolescents are not sufficiently educated about the different aspects of sexuality, whether it's consent, contraception, or gender-based violence: less than 15% of students have access to all 3 sexual education sessions. This prevents them from having a global understanding of the issues related to mental load, relationships, and the understanding of the female and male body.
👉 Read our article on sexual education
We cannot count on either the State or the pharmaceutical industry to advance male contraception.
Asking men to use contraception is not yet well-received by our society, which is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideals: male contraception (which involves raising the testicles) would mean touching an intimate and symbolically heavy part of the body: the testicles... THE symbol of virility!
On the other hand, the stakes are not only political but also economic. Pharmaceutical lobbies are unwilling to fund research to make male contraceptive devices available because it is not profitable for them.
Pharmaceutical lobbies prefer to focus on the global female contraception market, which was worth $21.8 billion in 2020.
©Le Cœur des Zobds, Dargaud, 2022
The twists and turns of male contraception
Beginnings in 1980
In 1967, the Neuwirth Law was implemented: it authorized the manufacture and import of oral contraceptives (the contraceptive pill) and their sale in pharmacies with a prescription. This was followed by the Veil Law in 1975, granting all women the right to abortion.
In this movement, which finally gave women the ability to control their fertility, some men wanted to go further by considering male contraceptive solutions. In 1980, ADERCOM (Association for Research and Development of Male Contraception) was created. This association was behind two effective contraceptive methods:
- the hormonal method developed by Dr. Soufir in Paris, which consists of taking a progestin pill and applying testosterone gel to the thighs and torso.
- the thermal method created by Dr. Mieusset, which involves raising the testicles to increase their temperature and thus block spermatogenesis, using a heating jockstrap!
©Le Cœur des Zobds, Dargaud, 2022
However, due to the lack of concern from politicians at the time, pharmaceutical lobbies who saw only very limited profitability, and the AIDS epidemic which made condoms mandatory, the movement quickly lost momentum. The question of male contraception came to a standstill: the only accepted contraception in France has been vasectomy since 2001, but it remains very underutilized.
The return of the "testicle-lifter"
Since 2015, there has been a renewal of male contraception. This is due to various movements that have empowered women's voices, such as the #MeToo movement.
The scandals caused by the effects of third and fourth-generation pills, which increase the risk of thrombosis, are sparking a revolt among many women who are deciding to stop using contraception.
Associations and collectives are becoming more numerous, and new contraceptive methods based on testicular elevation are emerging. This is how the Jockstrap: a DIY heating slip, and the Androswitch: a contraceptive ring invented by Maxime Labrit in 2018, were born.
These two new contraceptive methods appear to be a clear solution, and men's responsibility in their sexual lives is gradually becoming an important health issue. In addition to being non-hormonal, these contraceptive devices can be easily made oneself in workshops that raise awareness about the thermal method and sexuality. This is the case, for example, of Otoko_contraception on Instagram, which offers weekly workshops in Paris, or Treizeticules, a collective present at the Planning familial 13 in Marseille!
The fight for CE marking
However, political and economic institutions continue to obstruct the development of male contraception.
In 2021, the ANSM (National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products) suspended the sale of the ring pending European regulations: specifically, CE marking, which assesses conformity with essential requirements defined by European legislation. Obtaining it involves numerous clinical trials that would cost approximately 1 million euros, but the State does not intend to invest in this research, which it deems very unprofitable.
Therefore, various communities are helping each other to raise awareness of the importance of contraception for gender equality. In 2022, the Entrelac cooperative was created to seek the necessary funds to obtain CE marking!
Slowly but surely
In 2021, the proportion of men aged 18 to 30 willing to take a male pill would be 37%, compared to 22% for a vasectomy and 12% for using a heating jockstrap. As for consultations at the Family Planning, 21,000 would be about contraception and around 200 concern male contraception. This is still very little, but it is three times more than in 2018.
How thermal contraception works
There are several thermal contraception devices: the Androswitch (silicone ring), the Jockstrap, the heating slip, the Androswatch (adjustable silicone bracelet). They all serve the same purpose, in their own way!
The principle of thermal contraception is to raise the testicles so that they are closer to the body. Indeed, for sperm to be produced, the ambient temperature must not exceed 35°C (which is why the testicles hang). By raising the testicles so that they are closer to the body, the temperature becomes that of the body, i.e., 37°C, and spermatogenesis is then blocked.
For this technique to be truly effective, the testicle-raising device must be worn for 15 hours a day. The person will only be truly contracepted after the 3rd month, if they have worn their device correctly. Three months, because when one starts wearing a device, production is stopped but old viable sperm are still there and can survive for up to 3 months! After 3 months, all sperm have been ejected or recycled by the body.
Once these 3 months have passed, a spermogram will be necessary to check that there are less than one million sperm per mL remaining. If so, CONGRATULATIONS, you are contracepted!
Finally a game that talks about this topic!
Through our game Le Cœur des Zobs by Bobika, we aim to raise awareness and empower men on these sexuality issues to better distribute the contraceptive burden. The goal is also to highlight testicular contraception, understand the different types of male contraception, and learn how this practice works…
