Close Menu
Honi Soit
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Strawmanning in the chat at the July SRC Council
    • Folk Reimagined, East In Symphony at the Sydney Opera House
    • Graeme Turner’s ‘Broken’ assesses our ailing university sector
    • MAPW addresses USyd’s retreat from “obligation to promote peace” in open letter
    • 2025–26 State Budget Unpacked
    • Antisemitism review puts universities, festivals, and cultural centres under threat
    • Macquarie University axes Sociology, cuts more jobs & courses
    • UTS elects new Chancellor
    • About
    • Print Edition
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    • Writing Comp
    • Advertise
    • Locations
    • Contact
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok
    Honi SoitHoni Soit
    Thursday, July 17
    • News
    • Analysis
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • University
    • Features
    • Perspective
    • Investigation
    • Reviews
    • Comedy
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    Honi Soit
    Home»Perspective

    Just jab some science into my boyfriend already

    By Victoria ZerbstSeptember 13, 2016 Perspective 3 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    NB: This article uses the terms “male” and “female” as they relate to assigned sex at birth. We acknowledge that this language is gendernormative and over simplistic and we do not intend to erase transgender identities or intersex bodies. For more reading on AFAB/AMAB click here. 

    Over the last two years I have trialled (and been destroyed by) at least four contraceptive pills. I get all the side effects. From the weight gain, to the acne and severe depression, it is clear my body just does not want any part in the anti-baby hormone rollercoaster. My endocrinologist agrees. She told me I don’t respond well to hormonal contraceptives, so it’s either condoms, abstinence, or Real Baby for Me 2016–ForeverTM.

    I’m a bit fed up with these limited options (real baby?!?) and even more furious that I just spent two years as a bloated yo-yo puppeteered by Big Pharma, just ‘cause I want my uterus uninhabited and my vagina well-stimulated.

    Recently, however, I found hope in the safe haven of the Rad Sex Condome. This hope was delivered to me in an engaging workshop presented by Dr Charlene Levitan from UNSW’s faculty of medicine. The hope is, one day, men might be able to use hormonal contraceptive methods and relieve us women of the bloating and mood swings.

    Today, women can implant metal rods into their arms; have doctors insert small plastic devices in their uteruses, inject themselves with hormones every 12-14 weeks, place rings around their vaginas for three weeks at a time, take a small pill every day (don’t forget), or an even smaller pill every day at the exact same time (seriously don’t fucking forget).

    Having agency and control over your body is 10/10. But when you’re in a long-term relationship and your partner complains that using condoms gets a bit annoying, I wonder why the dude who invented the pill didn’t think about a pill for men too.

    The thing is, he did. The dude who co-invented the female pill – his last name is Pincus and I love that – also tested the same hormonal approach on men in 1957. Products are yet to hit shelves.

    Fourteen years ago a study was published in the Medical Journal of Australia that concluded, “MHC (Male Hormone Contraception) appears to be acceptable to a majority of Australian men when surveyed in a postpartum context.” Yeah. Eighty-nine out of 118 men surveyed indicated they would consider trying MHC if it were available. This was in 2002.

    In 2014, male contraceptive alternative, Vasalgel, was said to hit shelves in 2017. Vasagel is a non-hormonal polymer they inject into your junk to stop you from cumming sperm. It was inspired by a male contraceptive called RISUG, which has been trialed and used in India for over 15 years.

    But according to the Victorian Government – who have a way better health website than us NSW mates – there are no current plans for a hormonal method of male contraception to be made available to the public in Australia. Christ.

    These male hormone options would provide valuable alternatives for people like me who cannot use certain methods of female contraception. I don’t know how much longer we have to wait for MHC to hit shelves. All I have is hope.

    big pharma endocrinologist female contraceptives George Pincus hormones implanon Male Hormone Contraception Medical Journal of Australia the pill Vasagel

    Keep Reading

    The Music of Memory

    Turn Away Your Mirrors and Close the Doors

    What Was Your Name?

    Do you dream with your phone?

    Authenticating My Authenticity to Inauthentic Authenticators

    Red-Haired Phantasies: The So-Called Manic Pixie Dream Girl

    Just In

    Strawmanning in the chat at the July SRC Council

    July 14, 2025

    Folk Reimagined, East In Symphony at the Sydney Opera House

    July 14, 2025

    Graeme Turner’s ‘Broken’ assesses our ailing university sector

    July 13, 2025

    MAPW addresses USyd’s retreat from “obligation to promote peace” in open letter

    July 13, 2025
    Editor's Picks

    Part One: The Tale of the Corporate University

    May 28, 2025

    “Thank you Conspiracy!” says Capitalism, as it survives another day

    May 21, 2025

    A meditation on God and the impossible pursuit of answers

    May 14, 2025

    We Will Be Remembered As More Than Administrative Errors

    May 7, 2025
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok

    From the mines

    • News
    • Analysis
    • Higher Education
    • Culture
    • Features
    • Investigation
    • Comedy
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Misc

     

    • Opinion
    • Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Social
    • Sport
    • SRC Reports
    • Tech

    Admin

    • About
    • Editors
    • Send an Anonymous Tip
    • Write/Produce/Create For Us
    • Print Edition
    • Locations
    • Archive
    • Advertise in Honi Soit
    • Contact Us

    We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The University of Sydney – where we write, publish and distribute Honi Soit – is on the sovereign land of these people. As students and journalists, we recognise our complicity in the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous land. In recognition of our privilege, we vow to not only include, but to prioritise and centre the experiences of Indigenous people, and to be reflective when we fail to be a counterpoint to the racism that plagues the mainstream media.

    © 2025 Honi Soit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.