America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation by Elaine Tyler May

America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation by Elaine Tyler May

Author:Elaine Tyler May [May, Elaine Tyler]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: History, United States, 20th Century, Modern, Social History, Social Science, Abortion & Birth Control
ISBN: 9780465024599
Google: D8byOmmgtnUC
Amazon: 0465024599
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2011-07-31T16:00:00+00:00


enthusiastic about this benign undergarment: “The jockstrap, its place in sports history already snugly secure . . . will be credited with contributing mightily to the protection of mankind from grievous pain, injury, insult and, it now appears tantalizingly possible, overpopulation.” The article quoted John Rock, who noted that sperm output declines when the testicles are heated. “Daily wear of a well-fitting, closely knit jockstrap results in in- fertility after four weeks.” Although the jockstrap was hardly foolproof, Esquire found it to be much preferable to other meth- ods that might emasculate the man. According to Dr. Sheldon Segal of the Population Council, “A man could take his wife’s oral contraceptives and he’d be incapable of fertilizing her within fourteen days, but his libido would be shot to hell, too,” and another researcher warned, “Start interfering with sperm production and before you know it you’ve got a pussycat.”29

Theoretically, however, the jockstrap idea had potential. Ac- cording to Dr. Mostafa S. Fahim, a reproductive pharmacologist, “If we’re ever going to have any impact on world overpopulation, we’ve got to have a contraceptive that is neither surgical nor pharmacological, something even the poorest and most illiterate can make use of.” Using the concept of heat to develop new male methods, he constructed a device to warm the testicles to the level that would inhibit sperm production. It was a “water- activated battery” that could heat up to 230 degrees Fahrenheit. “Inserted in a spongelike material, it can easily be shaped into a pouch suitable for heating the testes.” The pouch was to be worn half an hour at a time and then discarded. Fahim pointed out that the device was preferable to a vasectomy because it was nonsurgical and reversible. “Things look very good now, but we



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