A male birth control gel is in the works and women have THOUGHTS

4 December 2018, 16:28 | Updated: 4 December 2018, 17:00

By Jazmin Duribe

@jazminduribe

We just wanna talk.

Scientists have officially begun their first wide-scale clinical trial of a male contraceptive topical gel, testing 420 relatively healthy and young couples from around the world. The gel works by drastically lowering the sperm count when applied to shoulders. This could be a much-needed scientific breakthrough and will hopefully take the pressure and responsibility off of women. The only question worth asking is, where the hell is our gel at!?!

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The gel is made from a combination of the progestin hormone, Nestorone, and testosterone. During the trial, male volunteers will apply the NES/T gel to their arms and shoulders while still using other forms of contraception for around 20 weeks. Once their sperm counts have dropped to a level of infertility they will then be asked to only use the gel for pregnancy prevention with their partners for the next year. After one year, they'll stop taking the gel altogether and be monitored for another six months to ensure that the effects on sperm count are reversible.

Nestorone and other progestins are already used in many female contraceptives, including the vaginal ring. But when progestin is used alone in men, it both lowers their sperm count and causes testosterone levels to drop. This can can lead to side effects like acne, weight gain and a lowered sex drive – you know, all the MINOR side effects women have had to deal with on birth control... Putting testosterone in the gel is meant to counteract these effects while still leaving the sperm count incredibly low. Lucky them.

During the trial Christina Wang – a researcher at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute and principal investigator on the experiment – will track the men's sperm count and physical health. She'll also keep a close eye on their female partners too.

Of course the internet had something to say about this new scientific development – and they said it with memes.

And then women were pressed because we haven't had the option of getting a gel, considering the Pill was rolled out in the '60s.

Alas, men are in for a long wait if they're thinking of signing up for the gel. The trial doesn't finish until 2022 and because it's only a phase 2b clinical trial, it will still take even more studies, involving thousands more men. So for now, women will still have to keep popping pills and men will simply have to wrap it up *sighs*.