radio | Annika Stricker

According to a study from the German institute of health and sex education (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung) 61% of men would like to take on more responsibility when it comes to the use of birth control. A lot of research around the birth control for men has been conducted already. Nonetheless, none of these options are available on the market yet. The dominant explanations for this are medical inconveniences and financial lack for further research. However, it could also have a socio-cultural explanation. Birth control has always been considered as a women’s health issue. Society holds women responsible for sexual health and ignores the role of men when it comes to contraception. For the sake of gender equality men state that they want to take on more responsibility but when it comes to actually using a male contraception many men are opposed. The reason: cultural embedded ideologies concerning traditional gender roles are powerful forces and still salient in society. Men do not want to experiment with their virility since it is an important characteristic of masculinity. The concept of „contraceptive correctness“ can explain: why is there no birth control for men in Germany yet?