Finding an attractive single is something that lingers in the back of most students’ minds when walking briskly to class or cramming for that final in the Union. Utilizing the latest trendy fashions to catch the boy who sits a few rows ahead in lecture or bulking up with the weights to woo the girl you run into at the library every week are tactics that we all use to catch the eye of that certain someone. But what if attracting someone goes beyond these tactics to an even deeper level? Is it possible that being able to appeal to someone is beyond our control?
A recent article posted on Times Online (the web hub for The Times of London) reported an interesting hypothesis to the burdening question for the kinds of qualities that women specifically are attracted to in men. They’ve blamed it on the pill. Mark Hendersen, science correspondent for the British paper, believes that a significant side effect of taking the pill is its potential to change the type of face that women find attractive. Research shows that when on the pill, women are more attracted to a healthier glow in the face and more masculine facial features, as opposed to a pale complexion highlighting softer features.
This new evidence does pose a problem to all of the pale-faced men walking around the usually snow covered campus. For at least four months out of the school year, Madison is the home to cloudy mornings with common forecasts of flurries and snow storms. With the high percentage of women currently taking the pill, this means that young studs throughout the school are out of luck for at least 112 days.
That is unless women don’t have to take the pill. But if women aren’t taking on the responsibility of preventing pregnancies, then who will?
That’s right gentlemen; it’s time you take some of the responsibility. Now the idea of men having a birth control pill sounds a bit out of the norm, but not in the eyes of John Motoviloff, contributing writer to Madison Magazine. After exploring some of the ways in which men can prevent pregnancies (some too painful to even go into detail about), a birth control pill was the simplest and most painless option available. Although researchers are still working on the details of the new wonder drug for men, results could be as close as one to 10 years away.
Finally, men will take some of the responsibilities that women have been living with for quite some time. Sure, taking a small pill everyday seems like no big deal, but there are countless other aspects about which men are in the dark.
Being able to afford the pill is the first thing that comes to mind. Each month’s supply of pills costs anywhere from $15 to $35. For just one year alone, it costs ladies at least $180, money that most college women don’t have to throw around.
Another responsibility women must take on is the no smoking rule for pill takers; women on the pill are urged not to smoke. Now, not only must women come up with $180 every year, but also if they are smokers, they have to quit in order to even go on the pill in the first place.
Yet another responsibility women engage in is remembering to take the pill every single day at the same time. That doesn’t sound like a lot to ask for, but imagine being on campus all day with classes, meetings and discussions all back to back. By the time you get home, finish dinner and climb into bed for a short night’s rest, you’ve already missed one day of the medication.
Who chose that women should be the ones to handle all of these responsibilities? Why do men get to take off, spend their $180 on beer, enjoy their cigarettes at the bar and go to sleep without worrying about whether they remembered to take their pill or not?
It’s time that men step up and take on this responsibility with open arms. If men start taking the pill, it’s not only the women that benefit either. While the women can sit back, relax and enjoy a nice dinner with that extra cash they have laying around, all of those pale faced men walking around campus are now back in the college dating scene.
Estie Kruglak ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in communication arts.