Plan A

Here's what you need to know about the male contraceptives that will be hitting the market soon

This is another free weekly essay written to expand on themes in my new book, The Last Men: Liberalism and the Death of Masculinity. If you like my essays, please subscribe; and if you already subscribe, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription, so I can continue providing you with more essays and content like this.

Emasculation is now openly embraced by the left as part of its political agenda. Just look at the 2024 Democrat National Convention, when Planned Parenthood brought a mobile clinic to Chicago, parked it outside the arena and offered free vasectomies to male attendees. At least ten men availed themselves of that generous offer. On another day, the clinic offered early-stage abortions.

Inside the arena, politicians and commentators like CNN’s Dana Bash proudly hailed the Democrats as the party of the low-testosterone, “non-traditional” man. The Democrats are not the party of beer-drinking, gun-toting, muscle-men—remember, this was a few weeks after Hulk Hogan’s absurd shirt-ripping display at the RNC—but rather the party of men like Tim Walz, who understand that it’s time to let a woman take the wheel and lead the country. Men have had their chance.

Vasectomies now have an unmistakeable political coding. In the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, repealing Roe v. Wade, there was a widely reported surge in vasectomies and interest in the procedure. According to John Semley in The Guardian, a vasectomy is now “a political gesture… a way for men to take a more active stake in big decisions about contraception and reproduction that typically fall to women.” When the draft of the Dobbs decision was leaked, there was an 850% increase in internet searches for “how do I get a vasectomy?”—supposedly.

New forms of male contraception are also being trialled, and advocates suggest they will, at long last, equalise the responsibility of preventing unwanted pregnancies. In the near future, it won’t simply be on women to remember to take the pill, or deal with the consequences if they forget. Men will demonstrate their feminist bona fides by taking a pill of their own or rubbing a combined hormonal gel—testosterone and a progestogen—on their shoulder every morning.

The Sexual Revolution will finally come full circle.

One of the many predictions I make in my new book, The Last Men: Liberalism and the Death of Masculinity, is that taking the male contraceptive will very quickly become yet another sine qua non for dating liberal women, as if there weren’t enough already. No longer will it be sufficient to have taken the COVID-19 vaxx—two doses AND a booster!—and to display your leftism prominently on your Hinge profile—“GET READY FOR OVERSHARING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH!!!”—men will also have to provide evidence they’re making themselves sterile so prospective female sexual partners don’t have to.

I mean it: Just you wait. And if you’ve already left the dating pool, be thankful.

In The Last Men, I discuss one novel male contraceptive that’s currently being trialled. It’s called YCT-529 and it works by targeting a compound, retinoic acid, that’s involved in spermatogenesis—the creation of sperm in the testes. This is a non-hormonal intervention, and there are others that show similar promise as male contraceptives, including the anti-cancer drug lonidamine. I’ve drawn on a very useful new summary paper in the discussion that follows.

The main form of female contraception is hormonal, for which male analogues are now being developed. As I mentioned above, they contain a combination of testosterone and a class of hormone called progestogens. It’s been known for a long time that an exogenous dose of testosterone makes men infertile by reducing their sperm count dramatically, but there are risks associated with the dosage, so a progestogen is added—like with the “combined” female pill—to allow a much lower dosage of testosterone to be used. Phase IIb trials of a combined male hormonal contraceptive, involving 420 sexually active couples, are currently taking place.

Growing concern about the effects of hormonal contraception on women’s health—which scientists sometimes refer to as “hormone hesitancy”—has led researchers to consider a variety of non-hormonal approaches for men too. As well as compounds like YCT-529, there are other methods that target the sperm in various different ways. A protein called eppin, which binds to the surface of sperm, has been investigated as a possible target. Primate studies show reversible infertility in 70% of cases.

Researchers are also investigating reversible vasectomies, which would be achieved by blocking the vas deferens temporarily with a co-polymer hydrogel. Results are expected on this method soon. A similar gel-product, branded as “Plan A,” would destroy sperm as they travel through the vas deferens. Tests on monkeys and rabbits have been successful, and human clinical trials are now underway.

Other compounds of interest include calcineurin inhibitors like tacrolimus, CatSper-inhibitors like RU-1968, and inhibitors of the enzyme adenylyl cyclase, which plays a crucial role in ensuring sperm can swim properly.

Temperature modification is another method being considered. Small changes in the temperature of the testes can have dramatic effects on fertility. Consistent overheating of the testes, in particular, is a common source of male infertility, and it can be caused by everything from wearing skinny jeans to sitting in front of the TV for hours or even being a keen cyclist. Underwear that draws the testes back into the body, increasing their temperature, is one option. In earlier experiments, polyester “slings”—i.e. tight briefs—were used to induce temporary sterility in men. They work by generating a static charge across the testes, which prevents sperm from forming. (This is a good reason why you shouldn’t wear polyester underwear as a man. Choose 100% cotton instead.)

At least one, maybe multiple, new male contraceptives are likely to be available on the market within the next three to five years. Studies suggest the market will be worth maybe $200 billion a year, assuming ten million potential users in the US and fifty million worldwide. Other research puts the number of potential users—and therefore the profits—significantly higher. A study in the Journal of Sex Research claims up to 82.3% of men might be willing to use a new male contraceptive.

From my own research, with a sample size of one, I’ve found a vastly different result: 100% of men say no, not a chance in hell.