caenanalysis

It's come to my attention that two out of three of my weekly news articles are somehow related to sex. I don't know what this says about me, and I'm truly sorry to anyone I may have shocked or offended in the process.

This article from BBC Three (a decidedly less biased BBC source targeted at a younger, far less Labour-phobic audience) detailed a scientific breakthrough of a male contraceptive injection currently in development. Although currently it has only been tested on rabbits, it is reported to have a >99% success rate, and seems to have no unwanted hormonal side effects that are a problem for many women on contraception (headaches, mood swings and weight gain). It's also easily reversible, as another injection can dissolve the polymer in the first allowing the sperm to be released again. 

(I'm so glad that this was the extent of science terminology in this article. I don't think I could cope with anything more complex.)

The author of this article, Josh Pappenheim, is a freelance writer who has worked for other companies such as MTV and Comedy Central, and seems to specialise in works dedicated to a younger audience. He achieves this, and gets their attention from the word go, using silly puns (such as the elegantly worded '[men] getting a prick in their prick') and mild taboo language ('little buggers' in relation to sperm) to make the audience feel included and like the writer is 'on their level', rather than talking down to them or including information far above their level of understanding. References to social media sites and platforms (Pappenheim references an online forum called Reddit in the article) also invite the interest of a wider audience by appealing to their interests.

The article itself got my attention on Facebook, using an entertaining image of condoms swimming like sperm towards a balloon in order to catch potential readers off-guard. (It worked, didn't it? I'm writing about the article now). Unlike many scientific articles, it made me laugh, and though Pappenheim's left-wing views are clearly expressed throughout the piece it included enough information to make a sound argument both for and against the marketing of a male 'pill' (that's actually an injection. But oh well).