The male birth control pill is, once again, almost here, say some headline writers. Today, Newsweek trumpets , “A male birth control pill may finally be around the corner.” The Guardian says , “Male pill could be on horizon as trials yield positive results.”
This latest round of misleadingly optimistic dispatches is based off of study results presented yesterday at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society. Researchers reported that a daily dose of an experimental male birth control pill called dimethandrolone undecanoate was found to alter men’s hormone levels in a fashion that could successfully suppress sperm production.
Yay for suppressing sperm! But there is reason to be skeptical: The study is as-yet unpublished, involved a small sample size of only 83 men, and was carried out over the course of just one month.
Researchers have been investigating the possibility of a male birth control pill for 60-plus years. You can blame the more-than-century-long delay in part on poor funding and canceled trials due to side-effects. There’s also the perennial speculation about whether women even trust men enough to take a daily pill, as well as some misleading reporting about men not being able to handle the side-effects of hormonal birth control. The most promising developments on the male contraception front have involved topical gels and injections .
But, despite all these hitches over the years, there has been a steady stream of headlines promising that—or tantalizingly questioning whether—this thing is almost here. A brief history of the “male pill” being on the horizon or just around the corner :
2017: “Male Birth Control Might Be Right Around the Corner, And It Sounds Pretty Damn Cool,” MensHealth.com
2017: Doctors on the cusp of launching the first male contraceptive ,” CNBC
2017: “Holy Crap, The Male Birth Control Pill Could Finally Be Available Soon,” Maxim.com
2016: “Your Boyfriend Might Be Able to Take Birth Control Pills Soon,” TeenVogue.com
2016: “Male birth control pill closer to becoming a reality,” New York Daily News
2016: “ Good News: We’re Getting Closer to a Male Birth Control Pill,” Glamour.com
2016: “ The Male Birth Control Pill Is About to Come (So Your Boyfriend Can, Too),” Broadly
2015: “It’s Almost Here: ‘The Pill’ for Men,” The Daily Beast
2015: “A Male Birth Control Pill Could Soon Be A Thing, So That’s Exciting,” Elite Daily
2015: “Another Step Closer to Male Birth Control Pills,” SmithsonianMag.com
2014: “Is Male Birth Control Around the Corner?,” Mother Jones
2013: “Male Birth Control Pill In the Making,” MensFitness.com
2013: “Possible Male Birth Control Blocks Sperm,” Live Science
2012: “ Male Birth Control Pill Gets Boost in New Study,” Live Science
2012: “Male birth control pill may soon be a reality,” Reuters
2012: ”Male birth control pill could be ready for testing in a year,” New York Daily News
2011: “New Male Birth Control Concept Shows Promise,” Live Science
2010: “Scientists invent first male contraceptive pill,” The Telegraph
GET JEZEBEL RIGHT IN YOUR INBOX
Still here. Still without airbrushing. Still with teeth.
Another Boat Carrying Life-Saving Aid for Starving Palestinians Was Intercepted by Israel
By Audra Heinrichs July 28, 2025 | 3:40pm
AFP Says Its Journalists in Gaza Are Starving to Death
By Nora Biette-Timmons July 22, 2025 | 2:47pm
How Swedish Soccer Fans Are Changing the Face of Hooliganism
By Danielle Han July 15, 2025 | 7:51pm
American Horror Story: Butthurt Foreigner Wants New Party After Bad Bill, Botched Epstein Claims
By Audra Heinrichs July 8, 2025 | 4:18pm
Caitlin Clark Exposes the WNBA’s Officiating Problems...Again
By Alyssa Mercante June 18, 2025 | 5:24pm
Karen Read Found Not Guilty in Nail-Biting Verdict
By Audra Heinrichs June 18, 2025 | 4:26pm
Targeted Violence Disrupted 'No Kings' Rallies in Virginia, Texas, Utah, and More
By Audra Heinrichs June 16, 2025 | 3:51pm
Justin Baldoni Threatens to Refile His Countersuit After a Judge Threw It Out
By Audra Heinrichs June 10, 2025 | 11:53am
Key Trump Court Nominees Claimed Abortion Pills 'Starve Babies to Death'
By Kylie Cheung May 29, 2025 | 12:08pm
Ms. Rachel Says World Leaders Should 'Be Ashamed' of Silence on Genocide, 'Anti-Palestinian Racism'
By Kylie Cheung May 28, 2025 | 11:01am
Texas Came Way Too Close to Passing Bill Making It Harder to Challenge Anti-Abortion Laws in Court
By Kylie Cheung May 27, 2025 | 11:55am
Kristi Noem Is Blocking International Students from Harvard, Accuses School of Being ‘Chinese Communist Party’
By Kylie Cheung May 23, 2025 | 1:15pm
Nancy Mace Stays Up ‘All Night’ Programming Bots on Social Media, Ex-Aide Alleges
By Kylie Cheung May 22, 2025 | 3:02pm
Hmm! Let's See How Many Ways Knicks Fans Can Compare Wednesday Night's Game to 9/11
By Kylie Cheung May 22, 2025 | 1:28pm
Rep. Gerry Connolly Dies at 75, the 3rd House Democrat to Die in Office in 3 Months
By Kylie Cheung May 21, 2025 | 2:37pm
Nancy Mace Maintains Rape, Exploitation Allegations While Sharing Nude Photo of Herself
By Kylie Cheung May 21, 2025 | 12:58pm
I Hate That Megan Thee Stallion Has to Address Tory Lanez's Lies... *Again*
By Kylie Cheung May 20, 2025 | 3:15pm
Trump Signed a Bipartisan Deepfake ‘Revenge Porn’ Bill, Which Claims to Offer Victims Greater Protections
By Kylie Cheung May 19, 2025 | 5:47pm
Suspect Behind Palm Springs Fertility Clinic Bombing Was 'Anti-Natalist' Who Condemned Procreation
By Kylie Cheung May 19, 2025 | 1:44pm
Brain-Dead Georgia Woman Being Kept Alive Because She's Pregnant
By Nora Biette-Timmons May 16, 2025 | 4:19pm
Tensions at All-Time High as GOP Aims to Steal Medicaid from Their Own Constituents
By Kylie Cheung May 14, 2025 | 1:23pm
Louisiana's AG Claims They're Investigating NY Doctor for 2nd Abortion Pill Case; Offers No Proof
By Kylie Cheung May 13, 2025 | 12:58pm
Mahmoud Khalil Calls Out Hypocrisy of 'Family Values' Politicians in Searing Op-Ed
By Kylie Cheung May 12, 2025 | 1:34pm
Jezebel Is Hiring a Staff Writer
By Jezebel May 12, 2025 | 12:29pm
Amber Heard's Mother's Day Announcement Is a Hopeful Message for Survivors
By Kylie Cheung May 12, 2025 | 11:50am
The Horny Peacock in My Neighborhood Is Driving Me Insane
By Jezebel May 9, 2025 | 4:55pm
Trump Is Privately Worried Marjorie Taylor Greene Is a Loser
By Kylie Cheung May 9, 2025 | 1:52pm
Texas GOP Trying to Erect Eyesore Anti-Abortion Monument at State Capitol
By Kylie Cheung May 9, 2025 | 12:40pm
Before Greeting the Masses, the New Pope Spent Time in the Room of Tears
By Kady Ruth Ashcraft May 8, 2025 | 5:08pm
John Fetterman Reportedly Blew Up in Recent Meeting, Shouted ‘Everybody Is Mad at Me’
By Kylie Cheung May 8, 2025 | 2:07pm
JB Pritzker Warns Illinois to Hide Their Pets as Kristi Noem Comes to Town
By Kylie Cheung May 8, 2025 | 12:12pm
Sean Duffy & Pete Hegseth Are Feuding Despite Both Being Terrible
By Kylie Cheung May 7, 2025 | 3:53pm
JD Vance Tweets Random, 7-Year-Old Clip to Accuse Ilhan Omar of Using...‘Genocidal Language’
By Kylie Cheung May 6, 2025 | 4:19pm
In Case You Missed It, There Was a Protest at the Met Gala (Again)
By Audra Heinrichs May 6, 2025 | 3:35pm
ProPublica Wins Pulitzer for Reporting on Deaths Caused by Abortion Bans
By Kylie Cheung May 6, 2025 | 2:07pm
Trump, Who Swore Oath to Protect & Defend Constitution, Now Says He Isn’t So Sure
By Kylie Cheung May 5, 2025 | 12:32pm
My Mom Won’t Stop Hanging Out With My Ex...Who Cheated on Me
By Jezebel May 2, 2025 | 6:51pm
Mike Johnson, Who Monitors Son’s Porn Intake, Says Trump Will 'Absolutely' Defund 'Big Abortion'
By Kylie Cheung May 2, 2025 | 2:26pm
Elon Musk, Who Wants to Ban Remote Work, Is Now Working Remotely for Trump
By Kylie Cheung May 1, 2025 | 12:38pm
All the Ass-Kissing in the World Couldn’t Save Mike Waltz After SignalGate
By Kylie Cheung May 1, 2025 | 12:15pm