Unfortunately, the vasectomy is hard to sell, according to doctors. Many men, like Michael Lewis, author of Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood, view the procedure as somewhat akin to castration. Lewis says his own vasectomy made him feel like a "traitor to [his] sex." Despite the fact that the vasectomy is a safer, simpler process than female sterilization, more women undergo sterilization surgery than men (half of women using birth control ages 40-44 had had their tubes tied, while only 20% of men that age have). It seems that the vasectomy has a real PR problem.

"Traditionally, the burden has fallen on the woman," says Lawrence Ross, professor from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Charles Wilson, founder of The Vasectomy Clinic in Seattle, agrees: "We've had a long-term struggle trying to sell vasectomy." The doctors offer several reasons they believe men avoid the simple procedure. Wilson suggests that men are less comfortable with medical procedures in general than women are, and men are especially uncomfortable with doctors near their dicks (duh). Ross adds the third reason:

Myths about vasectomy persist. The biggest, doctors say, is that it will lower testosterone levels and affect sexual function and desire. "We still spend a lot of time explaining that there is absolutely no effect on sexual function or libido," Ross says.

But the good news for all the women out there who aren't planning on pregnancy is that as everyone goes broke, men are becoming much more willing to be voluntarily "gelded," as Lewis puts it. Wilson says he has been preforming as many as 140 vasectomies a month, up from 100 in the last few years. However, he does not believe that the increase reflects a long-term shift. He believes that most men getting the procedure would have done it anyway, but have been spurred into action by the drooping economy.

A 'Long-Term Struggle To Sell Vasectomy' [USA Today]

Can I Be A Schoolteacher AND A Slut? from Pot Psychology on Vimeo.

Maybe, just maybe, had Mr. Vass worn a condom, these "oopsings" wouldn't happen with such frequency. But for these snip-happy dudes, asking them to use condoms is just preventing the increased pleasure they think they deserve. Vass says his post-vasectomy, condom-free banging is "like eating junk food and knowing you're not going to get fat."

Um, except junk food doesn't ever give you STDs. The vasectomy enthusiasts, according to Morgan, are also "spurred by a philosophical argument: Why should women be in control of when—and if—they have children?" Perhaps because we're the ones who carry the children around for nine months and expel them out our vaginas? But you know, if these guys are just going to have sex without condoms, it's probably best that they have to deal with a painful and possibly irreversible procedure to do so. And the guys interviewed for this piece don't seem to be getting vasectomies because they never want children: they're getting them solely to absolve themselves of responsibility. I guess what's so troubling about the piece is the way these men talk about the women they fuck. There's an underlying current of hatred and of distrust. Again: maybe it's best that these guys don't reproduce in the first place.

The Birth-Control Extremists [Details]

Memo to all those men who like to make jokes about childless women and their barren, shriveled-up uteruses: turns out you're actually more likely to fall off the deep end without your reproductive capabilities fully realized.

According to CNN.com:

Men who have had a vasectomy may face an increased risk of developing a rare type of dementia marked by a steady loss of language skills, researchers said Tuesday.

The study's author Sandra Weintraub explained that after a vasectomy, sperm are often leaked into the bloodstream, which can cause all sorts of havoc:

Antibodies produced by the immune system in response to the sperm might trigger damage that causes dementia, she said.

Toxic sperm???!!! Ha! This might explain why we once developed a horrible rash on our right cheek after letting a guy come on our face. (We were young and stupid.)

[CNN]