I can honestly say from growing up with four women in my house and my dad, that birth control and its various forms has always been a topic of conversation. I have been on the pill, my sister has the implant and I now have an intrauterine device. I have a distinct memory of my mother putting a condom on a banana in front of myself and my two sisters and immediately seeing my dad make a U-turn as he entered the room.
I was raised as an independent young woman, therefore my sexual health and well-being was always something I was taught to take into my own hands. This most definitely included birth control.
Historically, birth control has given women power back over their bodies. However, it has since shifted to be something that is taught to be only a women’s responsibility. And finally it has shifted once more to the beginning stages of men also being more aware of their sexual health.
Let’s talk about the new male birth control: Vasalgel (not to be confused with Vagisil).
This new birth control is in the works of being tested by a company called the Parsemus Foundation, a male contraceptive advocacy foundation. Vasalgel is a gel that is injected into the vasdeferens, or the part of the male anatomy that helps the sperm travel out of the testicles.
The gel is something that can easily be flushed out of the man’s system if he should decide he would like to have children. It’s essentially an easy, less invasive form of the vasectomy for men.
The gel has been very successful on rabbits and researchers are hoping to try it on people too. Trials are set to begin shortly, with the hopes of getting it on the market ASAP.