“Put It in Your Shoe It Will Make You Limp”: British Men’s Online Responses to a Male Pill

Abstract

This article analyzes online interactions between British men and other online readers’ comments in response to two news articles focused on a male contraceptive pill. The aim of the study was to explore how British men’s online accounts construct a male pill as a potential contraceptive option for family planning. The two online articles reported the scientific innovations, as well as the production and marketing, of a nonhormonal, plant-based pill for men. Discourse analysis was used to analyze the online comments, from which two discourses emerged: (a) “Men as responsible health consumers” and (b) “‘Killing sperm’ and other side effects on semen.” When provided with the opportunity to take future responsibility for family planning, male readers were found to be unlikely to use a contraceptive pill. The men expressed the need for new options of contraception but, overall, felt a male pill was not the solution.