Research into the pill for men has been going on for decades, and there have also been promising experiments with special underpants, contraceptive teas and gels. Why is none of this making it to market?
A rubber band around the stomach, two more straps around the legs, in the middle a thick rubber ring. The self-sewn underpants of the French collective Thomas Bouloù really don’t make a comfortable impression. “But the discomfort that can occur in the first few days of wearing it quickly passes,” promises Christian Balaud, who is part of the collective. The men from the Breton city of Quimper squeeze themselves into the “Modèle Jockstrap” for up to 15 hours a day – and in this way they want to do their part in contraception. The principle is simple: the underpants press the testicles into the abdomen, where they warm up by one to two degrees to core body temperature. That’s enough to temporarily suspend the production of fertile sperm, say the inventors of this particular type of thermal method. “Men are just as responsible for possible pregnancies as women are,” explains Balaud. “We must therefore also take responsibility in heterosexual relationships.”