Men taking the pill

The Guardian last saturday had an interesting article about the 'male pill'. Research in this aera has never stopped and is trying to get past various obstacles, most notably hormonal issues men could evetually come across if they were to take the pill as contraception.

Women know the pill and its drawbacks too well: weight gain, mood swings, headaches, etc. Wether or not the male pill will become a 'reality' or a 'choice' available to heterosexual couples is only a question of time.

But the most interetsing part of the article is when the journalist reflects on whether or not women would and should trust their partner to take the pill on a daily basis:

"Another obstacle is one of perception: how many men will be happy playing around with their body chemistry - even if they rarely think twice about their partners doing it themselves? And aren't injections more bothersome than a daily pill?

The other major concern is the effect on sexual behaviour itself. No pill provides protection against sexually transmitted diseases - which many fear would rise if the male pill became reality. But the biggest issue of all is, of course, one of trust. How many women - particularly those not in long-term relationships - would have confidence in their partner's ability to take the lead in birth control? Can a gender that is so poor at remembering anniversaries remember to keep up a regular fertility routine?

The answer is that women are probably unlikely to relinquish complete control over reproductive matters. Bizarre Hollywood films involving the governor of California aside, it is the woman, after all, who has to give birth. It might take two to tango, but they will always fear man's ability to run away when the music stops."

Very true indeed. After all, it's been too often said that the pill was a 'woman' issue only, since she was in control of her body. Alas, too few people are willing to underline over and over again that sexual intercourses takes two. Therefore both parties should be responsible.

Would you trust your partner to take the pill everyday?
A lot of women would be likely to answer 'no', since they consider it is 1. their duty or 2. dangerous since women have been educated not to forget to take it every single day, something that would be completely new to men, and that maybe they would view as less important since they would not end up being the one having to bare the responsability of carrying a human being in their womb for nine months.

As I read the article I could not help but think about the last episod of the TV series Six Feet Under, where the mother is talking to the new-mother who fears for her newborn well being. "At the end of the day, a mother is always the lonely one".