That’s what uber GINK, Lisa Hymas, at Grist wants to know, and she is always good for an unhinged and humorous rant about reducing the Earth’s population of Homo Sapiens
Contraception has long been the province of women. Isn’t it about time for men to get in on the game?
Ever heard of a condom, Lisa?
It’s obvious why women have historically been the main consumers of birth control — we’re the ones who get pregnant, give birth, and in many cases take primary responsibility for raising kids.
But these days men have a lot more at stake than they used to. Gone is the era when fathers could toss a few baseballs, dole out a few spankings, and call it good. Dads are now expected to be fully engaged in childrearing (and thankfully, many are embracing the role). Also gone is the era when it was easy to support a family on one income, or even two. While the recession rages on and earning power shrinks, the cost of raising children just keeps going up; a middle-income American family can expect to spend about $227,000 [PDF] on a kid over their first 17 years.
And then there are those men who have unprotected sex with women they do not want to marry and raise children with, who become pregnant, and are then on the hook for child support.
Given the high expectations and high stakes, why aren’t more men demanding better contraceptive options? Women’s options aren’t great, but men’s are paltry and pathetic by comparison. Guys basically have two methods they can control themselves: use a condom or get snipped. And, oh yeah, the old standbys of abstinence and withdrawal.
“Our options suck,” said one unhappy man quoted in Wired. Why aren’t more men saying the same thing?
Here’s an idea: act like an adult and take responsibility when you are going to have sex. If you can’t trust that the woman is on birth control, use a condom. Why is the word “responsibility” so damned hard to explain to liberals? Well, actually, what is really hard is getting them to act on the definition of “responsibility.”
Of course, Lisa is not pushing this because she is worried about anything other than the growing population of evil babies, known in her world as “little carbon footprints and destroyers of the biosphere.”
That’s funny. And here I thought there was growing movement for men to get snipped since it was more economical and reversible.
Sounds like more people vaulting on to the anti-population bandwagon.