Role of genres in contraception: men always know less
How informed are men regarding the different contraceptive methods?, eclipses a lot to what I have been able to realize about my peers. When talking to men it is observed that the vast majority say they use a condom as the main contraceptive method. Some of them even venture a little more and have told me not to use the latter having a stable partner, but their partners use the pills. However, when talking with them about methods such as IUD or implant, they accuse them not knowledge of these, and this generates the question: if sexuality is a shared responsibility, why are women who care about methodscontraceptive?
Machismo is, without a doubt, a problem that, in large part, generates that men do not have a greater interest in knowing these methods. More than I ever heard different people (men and women) say phrases from caliber: "If there is a pregnancy, it is because the woman did not take care of it", "that is solved with a" if I have seen you do not remember "and endof the problem ”, among other unfortunate examples. This makes it clear that a society that has historically been macho can hardly change their customs quickly, contraceptives exist many years ago. However, the responsibility of these have always "delegated" to be an issue that women have to see and fix.
Another aspect to consider are religious dogmas, which strongly influence those who practice them, for example, Catholics. It is known by many, especially for those who are very close to faith, which this religion has historically been contrary to unnatural contraceptive methods. For them it is not a problem that the rhythm method is used, but the Coitus interruptus is not well seen, it is not worth talking about abortion, since they are 100% opposites, in addition to that it is not the issue that corresponds to us. Jehovah’s Witnesses for their part postulate that using contraceptive methods is not a problem of faith, and that is at the discretion of each believer, so religion does not get involved for them in the methods itself. Here we have a clear example of two religions that have completely contrary views with each other, which makes it clear that the religion factor if it is prevailing when thinking, either in family planning, or simply in casual practiceof sex.
There are historical facts that influence this doctrine of religion and machismo that go against the use of contraceptives, we have, for example, the story of Margaret Sanger, founder of the American Birth Control League, who had to take refuge, because, among othersThings, distributed information on birth control and use of condoms, all this in the framework of the First World War. This event tells us that the main interested parties have always been women, another of the influential women in this process, was the science and phd doctor in Botany, Marie Stopes.
Having notions of a responsible and healthy sex life from an early age is increasingspecial relevance since it is at this stage of life when sexuality breaks both biologically and psychically.”(Rodríguez 5), which gives us indications that each of us should support young people responsible to inform themselves about the different aspects that sexuality has.
The women with whom I have been able to speak these issues have taught me a lot about it, things that I had never heard and, this, managed to generate this questioning, why do they know so much about these issues, while a good fraction of men, to theLess with those who maintain frequent contact, normally overlooks them or directly they do not know any contraceptive methods beyond the condom?, Several of them even really know how the pill works, this being one of the most common contraceptive methods.
According to a study published in the Peruvian magazine of Experimental Medicine and Public Health we can see that this difference is generated from the approach: “Reproductive health programs have focused their attention on women and, usually, they work little with men.”(Aspilcueta-Gho 480), which we can empirically verify, for example, being self-referent I can say that since childhood it was always told that I should take care of myself, and I was told that I should use a condom, but I never told me about other methods about other methodscontraceptive, almost as if they did not exist, without considering that, being a young man of the 90s, when there was a small one many of these issues were taboo.
According to WHO “the use of contraceptive methods by men represents a relatively small proportion of the aforementioned prevalence rates. Male contraceptive methods are limited to condom and sterilization (vasectomy) ". However, there are some that undergo a shared role, and that are natural such as the Coitus interruptus that consists in the fact that ejaculation occurs outside the woman’s body, or, also the ogin-knaus, or also known as the "calendar method ”consists of, as its name indicates, in keeping a record of the fertile days of women. The problem of these procedures is that in general they are unreliable, since they require almost religious methodical monitoring, they can fail very easily, because they are very susceptible to human error.
To summarize, I would like to leave a reflection, if this is read by a woman, I hope you know the importance of taking care of it, not only for pregnancies, but also by the ITS, in case of being an informed man, I am glad to know,In case not, it’s always a good time to learn. We must, independent of our socioeconomic status, our sex, our race, and any other factor that influences, learn consciously, using reliable sources, and always having respect. We must remember that sexual education and sexual act itself have associated responsibilities, which are shared and are not just a subject that women should take over. Hopefully, in the future, these issues cease to be influenced by machismo, religions and taboos, always with a better life for people.
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