"Men and Family Planning," by Bruce Stokes, Worldwatch Paper #41, December 1980, $2.00 from: Worldwatch Institute 1776 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. • Washing~on, DC 20036 Many women find birth controh discouraging subject. Small wonder, what with clear evidence of health hazards from the Pill and IUD,, seeming ineffectiveness and inconvenience of condoms, and the general reluctance of most men to actually play an active, equal rold in contraception, even if their hearts are in the right place. Well, it's the '80s, and times are achangin'. This fascinating report might cheer you up. Recent studies in the U.S., Mexico, Fiji, India, Iran and Korea indicate that men have much inore interest in family planning and willingness to practice it than one would guess from their poor reputation. Condom sales in the U.S. grew from 300 million in 1975 to about a half billion in 1980, and the majority of users are, popular conception notwithstanding, white, affluent, and over 35. "When used in conjunction with a• spermicide," writes Stokes, the condom "is just as effective as the diaphragm, the IUD, or the Pill." Another option is the vasectomy, or male sterilization. As members of the American postwar baby boom complete their families, predict some researchers, as many as 30 percent of the men will choose to be sterilized. There is also some research underway {though not nearly enough) on "the rpale pill." The Chinese are currently testing a new male pill made from gossypol-a de- "Women, Men, and the Division of Labor," by Kathleen Newland, Worldwatch Paper #37, May 1980, $2.00 from: Worldwatch Institute 1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 As the long-standing division of labor that places most men in paid labor and most women in unpaid labor breaks down, one key issue remains relatively untouched: if women are to take advantage of their gains within the labor market, men must increase their share of the essential, unpaid, household work that goes on outside the market. Otherwise, "equal opportunity for women will turn out to be a recipe for ov·erwork." The trend toward more women working for pay has not been matched by an increased involvement of men in unpaid work. So long as private lives and public institutions are organized around the notion that the home is strictly a female province, Newland argues, women's opportunities outside the dom·estic sphere will be limited. The most obvious way to redq.ce the dual burden of the employed woman is for men to do a greater share of housework and child care. Yet most (of the few) government policies designed to ease the conflict between work and family responsibilities-part-time work, Hexible hours,. riva'tive of cottonseed oil-that is, at the very least, worth watching. It appears quite likely that some form of a male pill will be irl use by the year 2000, perhaps even by 1990. "If a male pill becomes available," Stokes argues, "it mijkes sense for men, especially in the Third World, to accept the health risks of chemical contraception because women bear the.full risks of childbirth. " (I can hear the flak coming already!) Family planning education and services must reach out to men-"the forgotten sexual partner" -but, Stokes cautions, "new funding of men's programs _should complement rather than compete with resources for women's programs." This makes sense, for "the logical focus of organized family planning efforts is on couples. . . ." , Better family planning services and educa~ tion are-~:me thing, but ultimately "men will change their ways only if society expects more of them." Stokes suggests stringent enforcement of child support law,s and elimination of legal distinctions between children born in and out of wedlock. This would equalize rights of inheritance and support and make men feel directly the economic costs of having' children. In addition, health 'insurance plans which cover men's reproductive health,services plus mechanisms like February/March 1981 RAIN Page 15 child care l~aves, etc.-heighten the sexual division of labor. Presented as women's benefits, they "reinforce the assumption that women carry the major responsibility for home and children and that their economic roles are secondary." Only a few governments, reports Newland, have attempted to reconcile work and home responsibilities so that men and women can parti~ipate equally in both employment and family life. China and Cuba have made the sharing of housework a tenet of official policy. Sweden has adopted a progressive and comprehensive set of policies in support of equal opportunity for women and men. Of course the division of labor within a private household is ultimately determined by the individuals involved. But the personal and political are quite interrelated. "Perhaps the most effective thing a government can do • • to encourage equality in private life is to enforce equality in the public sphere of paid employment. Studies from many different countries show that the women who enjoy the gr.eatest equality in their personal relationships with men are those who are closest to their mates in education, occupational .prestige, and earnings.. . . If this economic obstacle to equality can be removed, other seemingly immovable cultural obstacles may, over time, yield with surprising grace.'.' -MR • paternity leave or shorter workdays for fathers would enable men to more fully assume their childrearing obligations. Religious doctrines and cultural traditions also, says Stokes, should be interpreted to encourage men's use ·of contraception. In the final analysis, of course, the key to communication between sexual partners 'is trust. In casual relationships, wom~n may always want to take sole contraceptive responsibility. But in ongoing relationships, "building the trust to share this burden will be an integral part of creating a new role for men in family planning." -MR For further information on men and family planning, see Contraceptive Technology, 10th ed., by Robert Hatcher, MD, et al. • {1980, 270 pp., $4.95 from: Irvington Pub- ' lishers, Inc., 551 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10017) and "Con.dam Survey" in O:msumer Reports (October, 1979, $1.25 from: Consumers Union, 256 Washington St., Mt. .•• Vernon, NY 10550). Hatcher's book is qn1sidered the most authoritative source of , birth control information; the Con.sumers Union reports on brand-by-brand preferences based on a survey of 1,900 readers. -MR
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz