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This pill has
chilled too long
One little pill, one giant leap toward
sexual equality. And there's no reason it
shouldn't be available today.
By Yasaswi Paruchuri
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QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Four years this month.
It's very painful. They're
still not sure what's
causing it."
- JAIME MOLISEE, a woman from Jack-
sonville, Fla., describing her "debilitating
and relentless" hiccups that have lasted
for four years. No medication has helped
"They stabbed people
with bayonets. They raped
women with guns. This
is a savagery that can't be
explained."
- THIERNO MAADJOU SOW, a doctor with the
Guinean Organization for Human Rights, describing
the violence perpetrated by Guinean government
troops against people protesting the junta leader
Among the slew of prob-
lems associated with
gender dynamics and
male chauvinism, we can now
add birth control to the list.
Due to the advent of sexually
transmitted infections like
HIV/AIDS, huge public health
measures over the last decade
have increased awareness on
serious concerns for everyone
who has sex. Out of this debate
has risen the increased need for
more technologically advanced
methods of contraception. This
initially took the form of the
condom and the diaphragm.
Next, there was the arrival of
hormonal methods of birth
control, namely, "the pill."
But while the diaphragm and
the condom present equal mea-
sures for women and men to
retain control of reproduction,
the pill is a one-sided alterna-
tive. Women are expected to
take on the responsibility of
an everyday pill that could
cause an array of negative side
effects. WebMD lists nausea,
weight gain, sore breasts and
mood changes as less serious
side effects. Among the more
serious are high blood pressure,
stroke, blood clots, headaches
and eye problems like blurred
vision. While these symptoms
in their most extreme form
do not affect everyone, most
women experience some side
effects. And the pill comes in
so many varieties that women
have to try each one for a mini-
mum period of three months
before it can be conclusively
determined that the nega-
tive effects will not subside.
A woman could go through a
seemingly endless time period
as her own guinea pig - hav-
ing to subject herself to various
pills, their side effects and a
hampered lifestyle. It is a rath-
er bleak picture.
Not to say that women
shouldn't use oral birth con-
trol. The ability to control
reproduction is invaluable,
but that power and responsi-
bility shouldn't rest solely in
women's hands. And thanks
to progress in modern science,
it doesn't have to. Male oral
contraceptive has been suc-
cessfully tested in humans and
could easily become an option
for men who would like to con-
trol whether their genes are
reproduced. In a 2009 Chinese
study, it was shown that testos-
terone based male contracep-
tive could "provide effective,
reversible, acceptable, and
readily delivered contracep-
tion for most healthy Chinese
men without serious short-
term adverse effects." Having
been researched for decades,
the technology for male oral
contraception is on the verge of
becoming a marketable reality.
The medical community had
even begun to consider regula-
tions for licensing and distrib-
uting such a drug, according to
Eberhard Nieschlag, a profes-
sor at the Institute of Repro-_
ductive Medicine in Germany.
But then the push for male oral
contraceptive was robbed
of momentum. Nieschlag
explains the shift in his article,
"Male Hormonal Contracep-
tive; Love's Labour's Lost?":
"However, these hopes were
suddenly intercepted when the
two companies (developing the
drug) were bought up by larger
players in the field who nei-
ther realized the potential of a
male contraceptive nor felt any
responsibility to develop it."
TALKING
POINTS
Three things you can talk about this week:
1. U.S. troop increases in Afghanistan
2. Dog fighting as free speech
3. Roman Polanski
And three things
you can't:
1. "Going Rogue" by Sarah
Palin
2. John Ensign on health care
3. Celebrities with HIN
"I have had sex with women who work on this show."
- DAVID LETTERMAN, host of the "The Late Show," admitting on his show last week that he's had
sexual relations with some of his staff members. He said he testified about it before a grand jury in a
case involving extortion, in which someone demanded $2 million to keep quiet about his sex life
Sam Wolson Daily
Why is it that the fervor of
the pharmaceutical industry
has been levied behind the
female oral contraceptive but
not a male counterpart? Like
any business decision, it must
have come down to money. If
pharmaceutical companies
don't believe that enough men
would go in for a daily oral pill
to make the drug profitable,
then they aren't likely to mar-
ket it even if it would mean a
huge step forward for individ-
ual reproductive self-control.
While pharmaceutical compa-
nies rarely make statements
about research and develop-
ment decisions, Nieschlag
speculates that is due in part
to a lack of advocacy groups
calling for the drug as women's,
health advocates had done for
female hormonal contracep-
tive.But even though there isn't
a united voice expressing inter-
ested in male oral contracep-
tive, research shows that men
wouldn't be opposed to trying
it out themselves. A 2004 study
in the journal Human Repro-
duction found that 49 percent
of American men would be
willing to use hormonal birth
control, with 34 percent on monal methods target other
the fence about it. Participants areas of sperm maturation,
from many other countries with the most promising hin-
stated even higher difference drance being an undeveloped
- the survey found more than flagella. The sperm would still
60 percent of men were willing be emitted into the vaginal
in Germany, Spain, Brazil and canal, but would be unable to
Mexico. . reach the egg. Again, repro-
If the drug was made com- duction is halted.
mercially available and men The lack of a commercially
educated about the science available male oral contracep-
behind it, those numbers might tive to match the responsibility
evengrow.To explain how male and efficacy of female contra-
contraceptive would act in the ceptive is another permutation
body, here's a short recap of sex of female-male inequality. Yes,
education. In the complicated more research needs to be done
picture of human reproduc- on "the male pill" in order to
tion, the male's role is to fertil- ensure its side effects are not
ize the egg with sperm. Sperm, any worse than those of female
once they enter the somewhat oral contraceptive. Also, the
antagonist vaginal tract, have advent of male oral contracep-
to overcome an acidic environ- tive will not immediately cre-
ment and use their flagella to ate equality in sexual relations
reach the egg. Male contracep- between men and women. The
tive targets the production and necessity is only that men be
mobility of sperm i norder to afforded the opportunity to
decrease fertility. Hormonal control their reproductive
methods would halt spermato-- power as women can, and that
genesis (sperm production) both share the responsibility of
itself, which would still allow that power. It is up to consum-
the male to orgasm and ejacu- ers to join advocacy groups in
late as before, but without the the call for this technology -
presence of sperm and thus the one that could easily eliminate
ability to reproduce. Non-hor- a human right inequity.
YOUTUBE
VIDEO OF
Dating in the '80s
When it comes to dating, the times
have apparently changed -and dras-
tically, at that.
In this video, a montage of dat-
ing advertisements from the 1980s, a
slew of mustachioed, glasses-wear-
ing, exceedingly awkward men with
long hair and flannel shirtsmdescribe THEME PARTY SUGGESTION
for the camera their perfect woman.
From this wince-inducing video, it Woooo, colleggge! - It's getting to the point w
would be little surprise if every one of
these men has remained a bachelor to school is becoming serious. September - that r
this day. of weekday-morning hangovers and infrequent =
The video begins with an '80s
musical riff (heavy, of course, on the sessions - has now ended, and midterm exams
synthesizer) that features a chorus are right around the corner. Before you really buc
singing, "I'm looking for someone. ahecrr.Bfeyoralyb
Where can you be?" Shortly after down, though, you should throw one last blowoi
the song ends, Maurice introduces
himself with a wink, remarking in a party this weekend. Order a few kegs, get out th
low, creepy voice that he's an "execu- beer bong, buy an assortment of Burnett's and s
tive by day, and a wild man by night."
Then comes Monroe, an apparent the beer pong table. You know the drill.
nerd with a squeaky voice, who is sure ' Throwing this party? Let us know. TheStotement@umich
that "you've probably already noticed
that I have incredibly blue eyes." He
also says, later in the video, that he
likes to wearsbright socks. STUDY OF THE W EEK
One man says that he likes "sugar O
and spice and everything nice."
Another is dressed in a viking cos- Eight million Americans consider suicide eac
tume, which includes a shield, a
sword and a helmet with horns. "Hi, More than eight million Americans seriously contem
I'm Fred," he says, with no hint of a cide each year, even though only about 32,000 people actua
smile. He says he's looking for some- through, according to a study recently releasedby the Substa
one he can "feel special about." and Mental Health Services Administration.
- BRIAN TENGEL The study was conducted using a survey of 46,190 peop
See this ndoeoher and older. In past years, the question about suicide had
YouTube videos of the week or posed to people reportine problems with depression. In 2C
BY THE NUMBERS
Number of people who died during two earthquakes in Indonesia
last week
Magnitude of the bigger earthquake, which hita week ago today
Number of people who died in Padang, the area worst affected
Source: CNN
vhen
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le aged 18
nly been
008, how-
ever, all survey respondents were asked whether or not they've ever
seriously considered suicide.
In the study, the researchers found that people aged 18 to 25 were
far more likely to have contemplated suicide in the last year than peo-
ple aged 26 to 49 or older. The study showed that 6.7 percent of young
people considered suicide in the last year, while only 3.9 percent of
middle-aged people and 2.3 percent of people 50 and older had simi-
lar suicidal thoughts.
- BRIAN TENGEL