Eli5 why are there so many female birth control options for females but only condoms and vasectomies for men?

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Was in a discussion about this over dinner last night. My GF has like a dozen options: from pills, to implants and patches. I can either wear a condom or have surgery. I feel like there is always some male pill on the horizon that never manages to come. Why is it so hard to develop something for men but so easy for women?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

There are natural mechanisms in a woman’s body that prevent new pregnancies: namely pregnancy. Birth control pills are an hormonal nudge that mimic an existing pregnancy, allowing effective control that is demonstrably reversible.

No such mechanism exists naturally in men. The chemical “nudge” is far more like hitting a brick wall. The scientific theory to find a chemical pathway that could _reversibly_ change a man’s fertility took a lot longer to develop, to test, and to market.

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