@TM, personally, I'm not a fan of invasive procedures. Lakini you do have a point, family planning and sexual health should be a shared responsibility.
I see and hear men talk callously about their wives' and girlfriends' bodies/talk about tubal ligations and hysterectomies bila any sensitivity. And of course, thousands of women are always ready to pop the pill without giving a second thought to the side-effects these hormones will have on their bodies. But when someone mentions any form of contraceptive that requires adjustments to a man's body, all hell breaks loose. Why? Would the same men that cringe at the idea of vasectomies be willing to let their ladies have their tubes tied? Alot of the times, the answer is yes.
It's the common view that when it comes to sexual responsibility, the woman is the one who should make sure she doesn't get pregnant. There's nothing wrong with the idea of responsible sexuality. I think women should look out for themselves first and foremost, especially since they are the ones most directly affected by pregnancy. But as TM says, that responsibility should be shared, especially in a couple that is unanimous on the decision not to have any (more) children.
When is the best age to take that step? I don't think it's a matter of age, TM. If any man or woman is going to take a step this serious (tubal ligation or vasectomy), I would advise them to do it when they'd already had the number of children that they were willing to have, and that they were able to support. I wouldn't advise it for someone who had never had children and felt that they had absolutely no desire to have children, because people are always changing their minds. I must mention that it is true that both tubal ligations and vasectomies are reversible. So those who change their minds could, in some cases, have the option of reversing the procedure and regaining the ability to have children.
Read:
http://preconception.com/resources/articles/tubal.htm and
http://urology.jhu.edu/surgical_techniques/vasectomy/
Kwangu miye, however, the idea of having the procedure done and then reversing it some years later seems to be an unnecessary inconvenience and expense. That is my personal opinion.
@Mand_meru: there's a hell of a difference between a vasectomy and castration, bwana.
Contrary to what most men fear, a vasectomy does not alter a man's sexual drive or his ability to climax and ejaculate during sex. His secondary sexual features aren't affected either: his bodily hair is unchanged, and his voice is unaffected. Vasectomies don't make you less masculine.
Castration results in decreased libido among other factors. It is performed for an entirely different set of reasons than vasectomy. Sometimes transsexuals and transgenderists seeking to reduce the dominance of testosterones (the so-called male hormones) in their bodies undergo the castration procedure. Sometimes people seeking to reduce their libido undergo it. Other motivations exist.
There are tonnes of information easily accessible to you if you want to know what the procedures of castration and vasectomies actually involve. For anyone really interested in reading about the subject, click here for more information on vasectomies:
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:...stration&hl=en
And click here for more information on castration:
http://www.geocities.com/sherrylanin...onEffects.html
Anyone reading mashada should have ready access to an online search engine or to a library, so there's no excuse for ignorance about this subject.
@chemical: Why in the world shouldn't TM address this question to his fellow mashadites? People here are sexually active, and several of them already use contraceptives or are interested in doing so. His question to Mashadites does not have to represent a religious or political agenda.
Final word: I'm not an advocate for vasectomies. But I believe people should have access to the information they need in order to make life-impacting decisions. The best that you can do for yourselves is to find out more about the subject before dismissing it completely. At least that way you'll be making informed choices rather than laughing at something you do not understand.
Shared responsibility ...... guys think about Vasectomy -
08-23-2005, 03:31 AM
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