Why do all the articles surrounding this topic put the burden upon women for contraception prevention, while men are left out of the loop entirely? What about research for a male contraceptive device, pill, technique etc.? Ever try looking up male contraception on Yahoo? You'll get one link -- but the research on the types of techniques the author suggests have not been tested or evaluated by scientists in the West. I envision a male "pill" that will reduce/eliminate sperm counts to low levels; then men will have to take some responsibility for family "planning." I've heard the argument against it -- "Men don't get pregnant, so they've got no vested interest in birth control" -- but I think that isn't necessarily true for all men.

-- Jenn Dryden

This statistic -- "For three-quarters of a woman's child-bearing years, she is trying to avoid getting pregnant" -- really rang my bell. I cannot help but wonder why, after attending a women's college and volunteering at a Planned Parenthood clinic for more than a year, this is the first time I have heard such an inflammatory statistic. It illustrates just how dysfunctional public and pharmaceutical industry perception of this market really is.

-- Jessica Mosher
Phoenix

Lacking in almost all information regarding contraception is the option of natural family planning. This method involves educating women about exactly how their body's cycles function, what causes ovulation (and fertility) and how to follow this cycle. There is a great deal of money made off of all forms of contraception and I suspect this is why this information is so difficult to locate.

This knowledge has been truly powerful in my life. I am completely free of the dependence of artificial hormones, doctors or nurses, drug stores and pill-taking schedules. But the greatest benefit of natural family planning is the closeness I have shared with my partner as he has learned about my natural cycles; birth control is something we truly share. It takes a level of maturity and communication to practice but is not difficult. This maturity level may not be present with teenagers, and I see this as a problem, but the reality is that sexual activity is truly an adult activity and should not be embarked upon by kids.

If women were instructed in how to monitor their cycles, determine their windows of fertility and avoid intercourse for a few days, I think many would choose this over chemical hormones and their many side effects. But pharmaceutical companies don't make money off women who choose natural family planning, and many women don't even know that it is an option. I suspect those in the position to make a buck don't have any intention to educate them otherwise.

-- Karen Kelly

Sharps & Flats: "On How Life Is"
REVIEWED BY KANDIA CRAZY HORSE
(08/10/99)

As a black musician, I've been tracking (for too many years) a racial dichotomy in the critical reception of pop records. Decent white artists come out with decent records that display a precious modicum of originality or intelligence (these are, after all, pop records) and receive warm reviews. Decent black artists come out with decent records that display a modicum of originality or intelligence and are pilloried, by black critics and white critics alike, for (among other sins) failing to save the planet. An example of the former would be Radiohead and "OK Computer"; an example of the latter would be Macy Gray's debut.

Gray's recording sounds just fine, as fine as anything can sound anymore. The sound of Macy's voice is a real pleasure, A&R hype or not -- most definitely as fresh as just-laundered sheets hung out in the June sunshine to dry.

Against the standards of what aural utopia is her record "thin"? Is this the same universe that lauds Sarah M. for her honey-toned four-minute mantras of nice? "Thin" against a framework in which the pop charts are little more than vertical relay races between pimply boy groups and atom-bomb-breasted tartlings?

Oh, I see: We expect more out of Macy because she's black! That is precisely why it too often sucks to be so.

-- S. Augustine

Kandia Crazy Horse seems to have it out for any artist trying to fuse the musical stylings of yesterday with instruments and styles of today. We cannot compare every contemporary artist with their predecessors or classify them by their race or the racial stereotypes of their music as the author does. Listeners should accept today's artists for what they are; time will judge their place in history. In New York City, there are plenty of people enjoying the music of the artists Crazy Horse trashes (including Gray, Eagle Eye Cherry, Erykah Badu and Jamiroquai).

-- Gregory Heller
New York

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