By Dylan Bettencourt
A group of young men in the south of France have taken contraceptive requirements upon themselves by creating underwear that creates temporary infertility.
The men sit together, drinking beers and sewing the underwear until they are ready for use.
“Think of them as a push-up bra . . . for your balls,” says one of the men at the Toulouse workshop, The Times reported.
This initiative is said to be a part of a growing trend in France of young men balancing responsibilities for contraception.
The imbalance is particularly strong in France, as until 2001 all vasectomies were banned.
Erwan Taverne, who ran the session in Toulouse, explained how the underwear is effective.
He said that the ideal temperature for sperm production is a few degrees below body temperature. What the underwear does is lift the testicles towards the body. This increases body heat by two degrees.
Taverne warned that wearing the underwear for 15 hours a day for three months will drastically reduce the amount of sperm in the male body.
But several men have taken on the underwear and have joined the classes to make their very own pairs.
“I’m making my second jockstrap; it’s not perfect, but it’s only the second time in my life that I’ve tried to sew anything,” says Pierre Delepine, who has been using thermal contraception for some time.
“My girlfriend used to be on the pill. She had all the usual side-effects: loss of libido, mood swings, acne . . . So she didn’t want to go back there.”
Taverne and the group of men have been unable to get medical backing for their contraceptive underwear method, but they still feel it is worth the risk.
Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
Pictured above: The men sewing their underwear together
Image source: @TheTimes
