2023-09-27 13:45:00
World Contraception Day on September 26 is an opportunity to highlight this way of having a fulfilling and self-determined sexual life since the 1960s. But it is also, and increasingly, a moment to raise awareness of the mental, financial and physiological burden it represents, overwhelmingly on women. And the fact that men also have an active role to play. And more and more people want to take it.
Because yes, sharing contraception is a question of mentality. If we take a look at Anglo-Saxon countries, we learn that one in five men in Australia and Canada and one in two in New Zealand are contraceptives. In Belgium, according to a 2017 Solidaris survey, 69% of women use contraception, compared to 34% of men. Among these, 60% cite the condom as the method used.
What is the future of male contraception?
In terms of involvement, 33% of women consider men to be truly concerned about contraception within the couple, while 50% say they are very involved (especially Millennials and Generation Z).
Very recent figures from a global study launched by We-Vibe (vibrators for couples) also show that nearly 8 out of 10 men (out of 3,500 representatives worldwide) would be ready to take contraception. So, what are we waiting for?
But 41% would refuse to take it in the event of side effects, especially on their libido. And women, who are increasingly reluctant to swallow hormones or bear the burden of thinking about them alone, admit that it would be difficult for them to relieve themselves of this responsibility because they are too afraid of their partner’s irregularity in taking contraceptives. We are not there yet: the tolerance threshold for side effects required by medical regulatory bodies (American FDA, European EMA) is particularly low. This discourages large pharmaceutical companies from embarking on an expensive scientific battle. Most funding in the field actually comes from governments and nonprofit organizations. This slows down the arrival on the market of innovations such as the NES/T gel (we are talking about 2027 in the United States) or the non-hormonal vaccine now called Risug, which we have been talking about for years.
Slip or ring?
However, there is a thermal method proven since the 90s. The temperature of the male bursa increases by 2 to 4° for 12 to 14 hours, normal spermatogenesis is impossible. The number of spermatozoa drops to less than one million per milliliter of ejaculate… which is the threshold for infertility according to the WHO. Since the 90s, briefs and jock straps have played on this natural phenomenon by allowing the penis and bursae to pass through while keeping the testicles elevated. In 2021, a ring, the Andro-Switch, had been marketed but withdrawn from sale in Belgium as in France after a marketing ban by the ANSM, on the grounds that it did not have a CE marking.
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