I’m a very sex positive person, which for me means embracing the full gamut of what sexuality can be. Sure, it might not all be for me, but I am not one to yuck anyone’s yum (but of course hard limits of legality must exist).
Talking about being sex positive, I am a huge supporter of birth control, and I don’t just mean the pill.The pill is wonderful, except it is pretty easy to mess it up by forgetting to take regularly and it has lots of side effects from the huge injection of hormones. IUD’s work better from my experience with partners using different methods, but they also have drawbacks. The main advantage to many IUDs is they are hormone-free, but if they aren’t inserted right or get jossled they may stop working (as happened to a former partner). There are also female condoms, diaphragms, and some weird mutated nicotine patch thing. Being male, my options are much more limited and haven’t improved much for about a century.
As a guy it is incumbent on you to have condoms if you expect to have sex. While some people love spermicide I avoid it like the plague out of a kindness to my partners. Spermicide has been shown to increase inflammation of vaginal tissue and increase the risk of transmitting HIV. Now, that increased risk of HIV transmission is only relevant if you are having sex with multiple partners and people are not getting regularly tested; if you are HIV free an increased risk of passing on HIV is a non-issue. According to recent estimates men make up 1/3 of US contraceptive use even though the only non-surgical options we have are condoms and spermicide. Most guys are not willing to consider a vasectomy a type of birth control.
But thankfully there is another option, a new method is being approved for use in America, Vasalgel. This is a gel product that is injected into the tubing of the vas deferens, similar to RISUG. Vasalgel is technically a surgery but it doesn’t permanently alter the body and in every phase of the study done so far is totally reversible. RISUG, the predecessor of Vasalgel, has been used without incident in India for over a decade but it still awaiting official approval. You may be wondering how it works, and unfortunately I cannot tell you because the exact mechanism is still not known. What is known is that it somehow negates the sperm before they ever become ejaculate and leave the penis, potentially annihilating HIV in the process. My main question now is, does one still ejaculate without any sperm, or once your sperm have been de-ionized?
Guys, if you are as interested in a hormone-free, condomless, reversible birth control that may also prevent the spread of HIV you should sign up on their email list and maybe donate some money. I’m signed up to be a human tester if they need it. I cannot wait for this to get FDA approval.
Well Suited For Life 