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Suzanne: not talking about mental health

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Suzanne: not talking about mental health

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Mental health is also a major taboo like menstruation. More people are opening up.

https://tonic.vice.com/nl/article/9km7pd/jonge-mensen-burnout-anderzorg-advertorial?fbclid=IwAR3PBJYvddFfMK1SFSF-aoMQCyMKM_LkAZeXz6C0mny6xfL58Xs9MsP14NA]

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https://www.mynd.nu/haha-zo-zien-tamponreclames-eruit-als-alle-mannen-ongesteld-zouden-zijn/?fbclid=IwAR1kIaymH86WNgu-rOF8iX9piXL3qqI9m3yYukO-0mB6DX0KqyW5kxPNqMo

What would tampon commercials look like if men would have their periods

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https://www.bloodygoodperiod.com/ organization to prevent poverity and works on the accessibility of pads and tampons.   Bloodygood works to end period poverty on the ground by giving these products to those who can’t afford them, and providing long term menstrual education to those less likely to access

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The eco brand (full name: Time Of The Month), provides 100% organic. biodegradable tampons and liners which are devoid of rayon, chlorine, synthetic fibres and fragrance. TOTM's mission is to lay bare the truth about tampons; namely the fact that tampon brands do not list their ingredients, so you're none the wiser about what materials you are putting into your vagina.

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https://www.wearepublic.nl/event/het-temmen-van-de-feeks-toneelschuur-producties-nina-spijkers-4/ Musical where artists switch from gender. Every female will have a male role and the other way around. The musical is played in the time of Shakespear: no woman was allowed to go to musicals and male are most likely to wear a dress.

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http://reetaus.com/
Designer that has developed an industrial upcycling method that involves complete lifecycle analysis of the garments.
The method enables to circulate the leftover materials back to production inside the same factory. Could be interesting for us

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This is an article about poor, homeless women that have to steal in order to get period products. A young women started collecting products ate donate it to these women.

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The Homeless Period delivers boxes with sanitary products to centres supporting vulnerable women.

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Red Box project: A secondary school provides pads and tampons for their students 

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Red Box project: A secondary school provides pads and tampons for their students 

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A school in the UK provides a big red box that includes pads and tampons for the students. Many students didn't come to school due to period poverty. With providing those products they increased the attendance of girls in class. Many girls don't have access or money to buy these products. Now they can go to the secretary at school and get it.

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Free sanitary products 'boost attendance'

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A school says attendance has risen after providing pupils with free menstrual products.

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ALwys campaign aims to help girls to get period protection. The problem is that many girls in America miss school due to a lack of products to protect. AS a result they stay at home and miss school or other important group building programs. The campaign aims to make the girls more confident.

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A recent study conducted by Always revealed that, since the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 3 young people feel less confident because they've missed after school activities ¹ and 1 out of 3 parents are worried about their ongoing ability to afford period products - an issue known as period poverty. ²

When girls don't have access to period products, not only do they not feel protected, but it also puts their confidence, dignity and education at risk. They're less likely to be able to participate in their education & other activities, and if they are, they're likely to feel distracted and unable to focus on reaching their full potential.
Despite the ongoing challenges, Always wants to show girls that they're #SupportedAlways and help #EndPeriodPoverty, so that periods don't hold young people back.
Always has championed girls' confidence for 35+ years and has donated more than 35 million pads since they started their #EndPeriodPoverty campaign in the US. This spring, Always continues the good work.

You can help us do more! Join Always to help keep girls focused on learning and engaging in the activities that help them build their confidence.
2 Ways You Can Help #EndPeriodPoverty
during March-May 2021
PURCHASE

Pick up a pack of Always pads at participating retailers (shown below) to spark a pad donation to the Feeding America network of food banks.

JOIN

Join the conversation and raise awareness of the issue in the United States. Tag @Always (@Always_brand in IG) and use #EndPeriodPoverty to help us continue raising awareness of the issue.

PURCHASE

Pick up a pack of Always pads at participating retailers (shown below) to spark a pad donation to the Feeding America network of food banks.

JOIN

Join the conversation and raise awareness of the issue in the United States. Tag @Always (@Always_brand in IG) and use #EndPeriodPoverty to help us continue raising awareness of the issue.

Last year, Always partnered with National Geographic to share Emily's compelling firsthand experience with period poverty in the US and how access to period products with the right support can help positively impact girls' confidence and future.

While lack of access to period products is typically associated with girls in other countries, period poverty isn't just someone else's problem. It's happening right here in the United States.
At Always we believe every girl should have access to period protection.
Participating Retailers & Dates of their #EndPeriodPoverty Support:

1 SOURCE: Survey Monkey, May/June 2020: Quantitative survey, US n=1,022 girls and boys 13-17 yrs.

2 SOURCE: Glocalities, April-May 2020: Quantitative nationally representative survey of adults 18-70 yrs, n=1007.

During August or September 2020 every pack of Always Period Pads purchased at participating retailers, during the dates listed above, will trigger a donation of one period product to U.S. school aged girls. Actual donation will be determined by actual product sales.

For everyone who joins or watches a session, Always will donate a month's supply of period products up to 1 million products via our partner Women's Sport Foundation, who is helping girls stay active all over the country.

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A recent study conducted by Always revealed that, since the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 3 young people feel less confident because they've missed after school activities 1 and 1 out of 3 parents are worried about their ongoing ability to afford period products - an issue known as period poverty.

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Dying textiles usually generates a lot of toxic waste and uses lots of water which ends up in the environment. DyeCoo found a less polluting way of dying fabrics. They use CO2 in a supercritical state (between a gas and liquid) which dissolves the dye into the fabric. They use no water, chemicals and takes less time and money and reuse the leftover CO2. (World Economic Forum, 2019)

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anne: overtime pill legal for practitioners now

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anne: overtime pill legal for practitioners now

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The overtime pill is a pill that can prevent you from getting pregnant if your period is late. When this pill became legal in the Netherlands a letter from Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate was sent to all general practitioners which said that there might be a prosecution if they prescribed the drug to women as they said it was similar to abortion. Until now women were directed to abortion clinics for the pill because of this letter, but now the Dutch court decided that general practitioners can prescribe the pill without any consequences. This contributes to women’s reproductive rights. (Lotens, 2019).

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The Instagram account “zeikschrift” is growing rapidly. This account is run by Madeleijn van den Nieuwenhuizen, she addresses and criticizes sexism, racism, body image and classism in the Dutch media. She posts this on her public Instagram account and calls out the magazines and newspapers for, for instance, the sexist use of words towards women in an article about weight loss. This signal shows how deeply rooted these social problems are. (Van den Nieuwenhuizen, n.d.) (Wouters, 2019).

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anne: new study finds women are sick during period

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anne: new study finds women are sick during period

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Recently the biggest menstruation related research was done in the Netherlands, interviewing 42.000 women. From this was found that one in three women can’t function normally during their period and half of the women who took place in the research don’t talk about their pains. Because of this, serious diseases can be overlooked and even cause infertility. This shows it’s still a taboo to talk about your period. (Duijst & Felix, 2019).

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This blanket by Thinx is designed to soak up blood, so that women on their period can have sex without ruining the bed sheets.
Thinkx which creates absorbent underwear to be worn in place of tampons or panty liners, has transferred its patented technology to a bedspread.

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This blanket by Thinx is designed to soak up blood, so that women on their period can have sex without ruining the bed sheets.

Thinx, which creates absorbent underwear to be worn in place of tampons or panty liners, has transferred its patented technology to a bedspread.

The four-layered black material forms one side of the New York company's Period Sex Blanket. These layers include a moisture-wicking cotton, an anti-microbial lining, a super-absorbent fabric, and a leak-resistant barrier to absorb liquid like a sponge.

When menstruating, women are encouraged to place the blanket over the bed black-side up, to be laid on during sex. Afterwards, it can be washed in cold water to remove any liquids absorbed.

Sliding packaging design shows where to put your Thinx tampon

The blanket has a quilted satin with red stitching covering on the other side, to resemble a typical bed comforter. It is designed to be used throughout the month, rather than just when required, and elsewhere in the home. Thinx suggests "cuddling or lazy Sundays on the couch".

The company describes the Period Sex Blanket as a "taboo-smashing innovation", and the product forms part of its mission to make menstruation more widely talked about, which has been ongoing since Thinx was founded in 2010.

Also trying to normalise periods, Flex Company's tampon similarly aims to allow women to experience "mess-free" sex during their periods, while Ailsa Inglis' menstrual cup is targeted specifically at young girls.

Thinx first developed the blanket's absorbent textile for its period-proof underwear. The company then introduced organic tampons, including some sold without an applicator to be more environmentally sustainable.

Last year, it launched a sliding package for tampons, featuring a sleeve decorated with a simplified illustration of a woman's labia, complete with squiggles of pubic hair.

The provocative graphics used by Thinx for a series of suggestive ads across New York's subway came under fire in 2015 for challenging the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority guidelines.

For the launch of the Period Sex Blanket, the company hosted a three-day-long interactive installation in the city, where visitors were invited to touch the product and test its absorbance with different liquid.

Architecture studio The Principals designed a pavilion "inspired by the product" for the pop-up, comprising a "curving series of screens designed to guide people into more intimate interactions with each other and their environment", according to studio founder Drew Seskunas.

Thinx's pop-up took place at 158 Mercer Street, and ran until 23 June 2018.

Photography is by Jin Lee and Dana De, unless stated otherwise.

Flex tampon is designed to be worn during sex

Project credits:
Design direction: Meng Shui
Graphic design: Miles Barretto, Douglas Escalante, Supisara Ngaovithunvong
Product design: Douglas Escalante, Alexander Mae
Space and installation design: The Principals
Campaign art direction: Anna Mackenzie

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Thinx launches "taboo-smashing" Period Sex Blanket

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This blanket by Thinx is designed to soak up blood, so that women on their period can have sex without ruining the bed sheets. Thinx, which creates absorbent underwear to be worn in place of tampons or panty liners, has transferred its patented technology to a bedspread.

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Nawarworld's first" flushable pregnancy test

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Nawarworld's first" flushable pregnancy test

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US start-up Lia has developed a flushable pregnancy test that is made from sustainable, biodegradable materials, which they claim to be the first of its kind.
Lia, made up of an all-female design team, wanted to offer women a more private alternative to pregnancy testing while also creating a more environmentally friendly alternative to the plastic methods currently on the market.

The "modernised" design is made from the same non-woven, natural plant fibres that make up most toilet paper. The testing kit weighs less than six squares of toilet paper.

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US start-up Lia has developed a flushable pregnancy test that is made from sustainable, biodegradable materials, which they claim to be the first of its kind.

Lia, made up of an all-female design team, wanted to offer women a more private alternative to pregnancy testing while also creating a more environmentally friendly alternative to the plastic methods currently on the market.

The "modernised" design is made from the same non-woven, natural plant fibres that make up most toilet paper. The testing kit weighs less than six squares of toilet paper.

But the device repels water long enough for the results to be displayed, before breaking down like toilet paper when flushed.

"We have modernised the pregnancy test, ditching wasteful plastic and unnecessary electronics for a streamlined alternative that is both good for the environment and more discreet for its users," said Bethany Edwards, co-founder and chief executive officer at Lia,

Women use the kit in the same way as a traditional pregnancy test, with two lines showing for a positive result, and one line for a negative result.

According to Lia, the test performs with a 99 per cent accuracy rate, when taken on the day of the user's expected period.

The company also claims that the pregnancy kit, which will be available over the counter, is the world's "first and only flushable, biodegradable pregnancy test".

"Lia is the only discreet pregnancy test made with zero glass fibres, batteries, plastic or nitrocellulose - elements found in nearly all single-use diagnostics available on the market today," said co-founder Anna Couturier Simpson.

While offering more secrecy for women testing for pregnancy, Lia also marks a shift towards a more sustainable solution for modern health products.

"Pregnancy tests account for enough plastic waste to travel from Philadelphia to the Space Station and back seven times," Simpson explains. "Lia provides the only sustainable solution to-date," she continues.

The release of Lia highlights changing attitudes towards female health products, as seen in the Nixie Girl menstrual cup which aims to normalise periods, and the growing trend towards more sustainable female health products such as the mCycle tampon which can be turned into compost.

mCycle is a "Deliveroo for tampons" that turns sanitary products into compost

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Lia launches "world's first" flushable pregnancy test

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US start-up Lia has developed a flushable pregnancy test that is made from sustainable, biodegradable materials, which they claim to be the first of its kind. Lia, made up of an all-female design team, wanted to offer women a more private alternative to pregnancy testing while also creating a more environmentally friendly alternative to the plastic methods currently on the market.

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Mara: Daily paper vulnerability campaign --> SURVIVAL AND SUCCESS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

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Mara: Daily paper vulnerability campaign --> SURVIVAL AND SUCCESS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

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Daily paper is a Dutch fashion label who just launched their Spring/Summer 2019 collec - on. This collec on emphasises the importance of protec ng your personal data. Daily paper wants to encourage self-explora on but s ll mo vates youngster to protect their priva-

cy and so their freedom. The new collec on should re ect the data-world we are living in through their ‘advert graphic-heavy’ clothing items.

http://ss19-campaign.dailypaperclothing.com

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Mara: Thinx the first FDA-cleared reusable tampon applicator (overlapping of Renee) 

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Mara: Thinx the first FDA-cleared reusable tampon applicator (overlapping of Renee) 

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Thinx is a 'taboo-less' company that is focussing on making periods easier.  They have now launched a tampon applicator that you can reuse.

"Like our reusable underwear, re.t.a can help you create a more sustainable and intentional period care routine—it’s designed with medical-grade materials (not made with BPA or natural rubber latex). Plus, it means you don't put plastic waste into the environment every time you use a tampon!

https://www.shethinx.com/products/reusable-tampon-applicator

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In 2018, the very rst 100% gender-free store got opened in New York. Rob Smith (owner
of Phluid projects) saw a need within society for a place where young people could gather and be free. The store o ers many a ordable, gender-free brands and is displayed in a gen- der-free way. Rob wants to encourage young people to explore who they are and what they can o er in the world

https://www.thephluidproject.com

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I agree is an art piece that highlights the importance of data security towards your social media use. People are nowadays not aware of what is in all the “terms of service” agreements forms. Designer Dima Yarovinsky visualizes these lengthy (and often overwhelming) “terms of service” agreements from popular social apps—including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tinder—in his project, titled I Agree

https://mymodernmet.com/social-media-policy-infographics-dima-yarovinsky/

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Renee : Flex tampon is designed to be worn during sex

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Renee : Flex tampon is designed to be worn during sex

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San Francisco start-up The Flex Company has designed a tampon that allows women to experience "mess-free" sex during their periods.

The Flex tampon aims to help couples become more intimate by allowing them to have sex no matter the time of month.

Shaped like a curved disc, it works in a similar way to the Mooncup, a cup worn inside the vagina during menstruation. Flex fits against the cervix, creating a soft barrier that temporarily blocks menstrual blood.

It is disposable, and can be worn for up to 12 hours – four hours longer than the recommended time for an average tampon.

As it contours to the shape of a woman's cervix, it can't be felt by either partner during sex. But it is not a form of contraception

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/04/05/flex-tampon-the-flex-company-worn-during-sex/

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Renée : Thinx launches "taboo-smashing" Period Sex Blanket

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Renée : Thinx launches "taboo-smashing" Period Sex Blanket

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This blanket by Thinx is designed to soak up blood, so that women on their period can have sex without ruining the bed sheets.

Thinx, which creates absorbent underwear to be worn in place of tampons or panty liners, has transferred its patented technology to a bedspread.

https://www.dezeen.com/2018/06/29/period-sex-blanket-thinx-menstruation-taboo/

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Renee : Ruth Pearn envisions public bathhouse to fight period poverty in Yorkshire

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Renee : Ruth Pearn envisions public bathhouse to fight period poverty in Yorkshire

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University of Westminster graduate Ruth Pearn has designed a concept for a bathhouse, with a tampon recycling scheme, which would alleviate period poverty and combat stigma around menstruation.

https://www.dezeen.com/2018/08/23/ruth-pearn-designs-public-bathouse-to-change-attitudes-around-periods/

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We still live in a society where topics like the monthly period of women can be considered a taboo topic in public – Industrial designer Lauren Lee introduced this year, a heated wall in public bathrooms, where women can find support during her menstruation while sharing their experience with someone else.

https://www.dezeen.com/2018/05/05/lauren-lee-warm-wall-alleviate-women-menstrual-cramps/

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Johanna: Flex : Have the most comfortable period of your life 

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Johanna: Flex : Have the most comfortable period of your life 

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Flex is a disposable menstrual disc, that is healthier for the body, lasts longer and soaks the same amount as 3 super tampons. Flex reduces pain during the period and it is possible to have sex while using it. Most users say that they don't even feel it once it is inserted

Flex is ordered in a monthly subscription.

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FLEX™ Disc: Tampon & Cup Replacement | Alternative Period Product

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FLEX™ is a new menstrual product for 12 hours of period protection and mess-free period sex. No more bloating, cramping, changing or leaks. Try it today.

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Julia: "#Period: stop hiding your tampon"

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Julia: "#Period: stop hiding your tampon"

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Where does the shame come from? If something is a normal part of life, then it is menstruation. A lot of women are still secretly hiding their tampon and do not feel comfortable in sharing that they are on their period.

https://www.parool.nl/opinie/-period-stop-met-het-verstoppen-van-je-tampon~a4623321/

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Julia: A contraceptive pill with testosterone should make men and women sexually more equal.

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Julia: A contraceptive pill with testosterone should make men and women sexually more equal.

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https://www.volkskrant.nl/wetenschap/een-anticonceptiepil-met-testosteron-moet-man-en-vrouw-seksueel-gelijkwaardiger-maken~be257dd5/

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Julia: Male contraceptive pill is safe to use and does not harm sex drive, first clinical trial finds

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Julia: Male contraceptive pill is safe to use and does not harm sex drive, first clinical trial finds

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male contraceptive pill has been developed which is effective, safe and does not harm sex drive, scientists have announced.
So far efforts to create a once-daily pill to mimic the mainstream female contraceptive have stalled because men metabolise and clear out the hormones it delivers too quickly.

It means temporary male contraception has relied on condoms alone, with the main hopes for future contraceptive developments resting on a long-acting injection or topical gel, both of which are also under Development.

https://www.google.nl/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/18/male-contraceptive-pill-safe-use-does-not-harm-sex-drive-first/amp/

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Designers Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel have created Capsula Mundi, an egg-shaped pod for the deceased that offers an alternative to traditional burial methods. The body of the deceased is placed in a foetal position inside a container made from biodegradable material before the pod is buried in the earth. A tree, chosen either by the deceased prior to their death or by the family is then planted above the burial site.
https://www.dezeen.com/2019/03/31/capsula-mundi-egg-shaped-burial-pod/

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In Thessaloniki, Greece people can recycle their plastic waste into 3D printed furniture for the city, using the new laboratory by Rotterdam studio The New Raw. The designers strive to recycle four tons of plastic waste during this Print Your City project. This amount of waste is produced by 14 households in Greece. The designers see recycling as a way to tackle the fundamental problem of plastic pollution.

https://www.dezeen.com/2019/02/13/print-your-city-recycled-plastic-street-furniture/

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Bianca: Billy Porter in a gown at the oscars

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Bianca: Billy Porter in a gown at the oscars

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Billy Porter attended the oscars wearing a gown. His fashion choice reflects on himself accepting his queer identity and how his fashion choices are a powerful tool for self-expression and representation. He has always loved fashion, but he felt limited in the way he could express himself as a black gay guy.

https://www.vogue.com/article/billy-porter-oscars-red-carpet-gown-christian-siriano

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Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood protested about the environmental impact of London Fashion Week in her Homo Loquax Show. The models showcased garments with anti-capitalist slogans regarding climate change, consumerism and Brexit. Vivienne Westwood has been an activist regarding this topic before, but this time she ended the show with “Something has to happen this year”.

https://www.dezeen.com/2019/02/18/homo-loquax-vivienne-westwood-climate-change-london-fashion-week/

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Jocelyn: You Hear That? An era of aural data

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Jocelyn: You Hear That? An era of aural data

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Physical theraphist trains their patients to listen to their data. Patient suffered from meurologcial conditions, such Parkinson's, may have trouble walking properly. Therefore,  a device is introduced to analyse the steps of patients and notify him/her when abnormal walking situation is spotted. Patients are trained to listen to their food steps (sound analysed by data) and alert him/her to adjust his/her walking.
(Spotted on WIRED magazine)

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While wearing a new pair of specially designed sunglasses, the screen will appear blank. The glasses are an early experiment in new technology to help give people more control over the digital world.

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If you walk past certain digital billboards that usually are flashing advertisements while wearing a new pair of specially designed sunglasses, the screen will appear blank. The glasses are an early experiment in new technology to help give people more control over the digital world. By redesigning the lenses of ordinary sunglasses, it's possible to block LCD and LED screens.

"We're seeing such a shift in our habits as humans, and I think it's really worth taking a step back and not just unthinkingly embracing the digital world, but questioning it," says artist Ivan Cash, who is developing the glasses with a new global collective called IRL. Cash previously installed fake "no tech zones" signs in San Francisco and ran a project that turned emails into handwritten letters.

Americans now spend the majority of the time we're awake staring at screens-on average, more than four hours looking at a smartphone, and hours more watching TV, using computers and tablets, and playing video games. We see hundreds of ads each day.

A beta version of the IRL sunglasses, which launched today on Kickstarter, can't yet block all screens; right now, it works with most TVs and with some laptops and billboards, due to the way they're polarized. But the designers hope to use the Kickstarter campaign to demonstrate that people want help disconnecting, and then raise money to make the glasses fully functional with phones and other devices.

"My hope with these glasses is that it sparks additional conversation and inspires people to rethink their relationship with technology, to screens, specifically . . . I think that many of us feel powerless because screens are addictive in nature and we can't help but be a moth to a light to some capacity," Cash says. "So I think that one feeling is empowerment and having a real sense of like, 'Oh, I don't have to subject myself to all of this noise.' It's actually a way of pushing back against it."

It's one of several new tools designed to help fight digital tech addiction. The Light Phone, first developed in 2015, is a deliberate step back to a dumb phone that can't take calls. The Substitute Phone is a concept for an object you can fiddle with instead of an actual phone. Various apps track phone or computer usage and block sites or try to train you to break your addiction. Yondr makes a smartphone sleeve that locks during meetings or concerts until the event is over, so you can't pull your phone out. Airplane Mode, a concrete phone storage box, blocks calls and Wi-Fi. Tristan Harris, a former "design ethicist" at Google, argues that designers should redesign tech products to help give consumers their time and attention back.

"My hope is that as the Facebooks and Googles of the world continue to grow, that there's some checks and balances that grow with them," says Cash. "It might not be as lucrative. But I think that from like a sanity and health wellness perspective, it's pretty crucial."

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These digital detox sunglasses make screens look blank

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If you walk past certain digital billboards that usually are flashing advertisements while wearing a new pair of specially designed sunglasses, the screen will appear blank. The glasses are an early experiment in new technology to help give people more control over the digital world.

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Now, when app users log into Field Trip and switch on the history notifications, they are alerted when they are approaching the exact location where a woman made history at some point in time and can read a bit about her and her achievements.

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This app makes your phone buzz when you approach places where women made history.

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Stories that connect us and sometimes even change the world.

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The Unseen Art project, which is being run by Helsinki-based designer Marc Dillon, is using 3D printing to give blind people the opportunity to experience classical art that many sighted people might take for granted.

"Imagine not knowing what Mona Lisa's smile looks like, or Van Gogh's sunflowers. Imagine you heard people talking about them and knew they existed, but could never experience them for yourself. For the millions of people who are blind, that's a reality," the project explains in a video. They use 3D imaging and sand-based 3D printing to recreate these works of art on a scale and quality that can be put on display in museums.

Though their approach is unique, the Unseen Art project is not the first to have come up with this concept. 3D printing has been used to turn photos into "Touchable Memories" and even to help a blind mother "see" the ultrasound of her unborn child.

Unseen Art is currently running an IndieGoGo fundraiser, so if you like what they're doing, consider chipping in!

More info: unseenart.org | IndieGoGo | Facebook | Twitter

The Unseen Art project wants to let the blind "see" paintings like the Mona Lisa for the first time

"It would be a revolution to get blind people going to art galleries, people hate them because there is nothing there to touch!" says designer Marc Dillon

He's raising money to create an online repository where artists could submit their art in 3D formats, letting anyone with a 3D printer print it

If you like what they're doing, you can help them with their IndieGoGo fundraiser

Watch Riikka feel the Mona Lisa for the first time:

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3D-Printed Classical Paintings Will Let The Blind "See" Famous Art For The First Time

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The Unseen Art project, which is being run by Helsinki-based designer Marc Dillon, is using 3D printing to give blind people the opportunity to experience classical art that many sighted people might take for granted. "Imagine not knowing what Mona Lisa's smile looks like, or Van Gogh's sunflowers.

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This is a gel that man apply on there skin. It contains testosterone and progestin, a hormonal composite that suppress his body’s natural production of sperm.

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On a recent morning in Los Angeles, Michael Medrano dabbed a teaspoon-sized glob of cold gel onto his shoulders. It's just another part of his routine these days: Brush teeth, apply deodorant, comb hair, dab gel.

The gel, which Medrano describes as having the consistency of hand sanitizer, contains testosterone and progestin, a hormonal composite that suppress his body's natural production of sperm. Massaged into his skin, it functions as the only birth control he and his wife, Julia, will use for the next year and a half.

A few years ago, Julia stopped taking Depo-Provera, an injectable form of hormonal birth control, which had caused her weight to fluctuate and made her, in Medrano's words, "kind of moody." Condoms worked fine, but Julia worried about slipping up. So when Medrano came across a post on Reddit recruiting participants for a clinical trial of this new kind of male contraceptive, it seemed worth a shot. Julia, happy to be relieved of the burden of managing the couple's birth control, agreed.

Recently, some 400 other couples in nine cities worldwide have similarly worked the gel into their daily routines. It is one of the largest investigations into hormonal male contraception ever. Like Medrano, they'll use the gel in place of other contraceptives while researchers monitor their sperm counts and any unforeseen side effects. If the gel makes it to market, it will become the first hormonal contraceptive for men-more than a half-century after the first birth control pill was approved for women.

That's a big "if," and it hinges on a tangle of scientific, social, and bureaucratic complications. The gel itself is more than a decade in the making, developed by researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute and the University of Washington. The groups have spent their careers chasing better birth control options for men, but none has made it onto pharmacy shelves yet. But the gel-called NES/T-looks very promising. Now the researchers just need to study how it works with Medrano and the other couples in the wild, hoping to prove that hormonal male birth control finally deserves to move out of the lab and into men's lives.

The path to hormonal male contraception begins in 1957, in the laboratory of Gregory Pincus, an endocrinologist who made his name studying the effects of hormones on ailments like heart disease and schizophrenia. In 1951, encouraged by a friendship from the feminist activist Margaret Sanger-and a small grant from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America-Pincus began researching how hormones could manipulate a woman's menstrual cycle and forestall ovulation. A combination of estrogen and progestin, he found, did the trick. His invention, called Envoid, was marketed as a "menstrual regulator with a side effect of preventing pregnancy." In 1960, the FDA approved its use as a contraceptive, which would soon become known simply as "the pill."

While doing the research that led to the pill, Pincus also hoped to create an analog of the drug for men. It seemed that, just as progestin could upset a woman's natural cycle, it could also disrupt the natural production of sperm. He and other researchers put this hypothesis to the test in the late '50s, injecting both men and women in Massachusetts mental hospitals with doses of the drug (ethical standards were looser at the time) to see if it could render men temporarily sterile. The results were inconclusive.

"As soon as this began, the women who were funding the project-[Margaret] Sanger and [birth-control pioneer Katharine] McCormick, became furious. They just wanted it for women," says Jonathan Eig, the author of The Birth of the Pill. "It's brilliant design if what you're trying to do is put control into the hands of women. But over time, one of the side effects is that men are not even participating in the conversation."

Interest in male birth control waned, eclipsed by the overwhelming success of the pill. But some researchers continued to work on the idea in the next few decades. The National Institutes of Health supported clinical trials throughout the 1970s, followed by multinational studies sponsored by the World Health Organization in the 1990s. In China, researchers experimented with gossypol, a plant derivative, to lower sperm count nonhormonally. Another plant extract, ouabain, has also been considered. (The compound is used by African hunters, who dip their arrows in it to stop the hearts of their prey.) In India, scientists have found promise with an injection-based procedure called RISUG, sometimes called a "nonsurgical vasectomy." None of these methods has made it to market.

Stephanie Page had just finished her medical training when, in 2002, she began researching male hormonal birth control. Now a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Page oversees three studies of new contraceptive methods for men: a hormonal pill, which suppresses sperm production with a compound called DMU; an injection, modeled after the Depo-Provera shot for women; and the NES/T gel, which uses a type of progestin called nesterone in concert with testosterone. Of the three, the gel is the furthest along, though Page cautions that "drug development is not a startup. It doesn't happen overnight, or even in a matter of years."

Progestin has been proven, in many trials, to stunt sperm production. The testosterone is in there to balance out its side effects, like loss of libido, hair loss, or fatigue. Christina Chung-Lun Wang, a researcher at Los Angeles Biomed and another principal investigator in the NES/T clinical trials, says similar methods of male birth control have been tested as far back as the 1970s, with "overwhelmingly very positive" results. "So the goal now is to find a combination that will be just as efficacious but with minimal side effects," she says.

Developing contraception for men is basically a numbers game, involving very large numbers. A woman's fertility is cyclical; the target, a single ovulation. For men, sperm production is continuous; the targets are legion. "In one ejaculate, there are millions of sperm-15 to 200 million per milliliter," Page says. But fertility researchers have learned that a man's sperm count doesn't need to be lowered to zero-a count of around 1 million sperm per milliliter of ejaculate is low enough to count as contraception. (Statistically, none of those 1 million sperm will reach the egg.) The combination of testosterone and progestin can accomplish that reduction. It's reversible too; when men stop taking it, their sperm counts should bounce back. The greater challenge is getting pharmaceutical companies interested enough to fund R&D and in getting men to take such a drug.

Men simply haven't had to push for a future where more birth control options exist. And it's not clear whether men would take a birth control pill: Some surveys show that men are reluctant, while others suggest the opposite. The most pervasive feeling might be apathy-a sense of complacency because women are running the contraceptive show. "There's no real buy-in when it comes to men taking responsibility for birth control," says Eig of Birth of the Pill. Plus, "the pill becomes so successful financially that there's not much incentive for researchers to investigate new forms of birth control for men either."

Wang says there is "zero industry interest" from pharmaceutical firms to fund new methods of contraception that target men. To develop the NES/T gel, she and Page have relied on funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Population Council, a nonprofit that supports biomedical research. Other nonprofits, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have also earmarked funds for research on male contraception. These groups are focused on finding new ways to meet contraceptive needs; in the US, almost half of pregnancies are unplanned. That signals the need for better and more diverse options.

"The goal is not to take away what's already accepted, but to provide another avenue, another choice," according to Wang.

In Los Angeles, Medrano makes occasional visits to see Wang to have his sperm levels checked, to monitor the effects of the NES/T gel. So far, everything seems to be working as planned-Julia is not pregnant. Recently, he says he thinks the hormones are making him "a little bit moody," which has made him more sympathetic what Julia experienced with Depo-Provera.

When he tells his friends about the gel and taking part in a clinical trial, some of them seem surprised. Birth control for men? They'd never heard of such a thing. But then, Medrano says, the excited questions start rolling in. "They all wanted to know what the side effects were," he adds, "and when they could get it."

How We Reproduce
Coming later this week:
Childfree on Reddit-Because Apocalypse, That's Why

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Male Birth Control Could Actually Happen. But Do Men Want It?

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On a recent morning in Los Angeles, Michael Medrano dabbed a teaspoon-sized glob of cold gel onto his shoulders. It's just another part of his routine these days: Brush teeth, apply deodorant, comb hair, dab gel. The gel, which Medrano describes as having the consistency of hand sanitizer, contains testosterone and progestin, a hormonal composite that suppress his body's natural production of sperm.