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17-year-old launches fascinating "Sperm Racing" league to get people talking about male fertility

"When you really think about it, we all won our own individual sperm races to get onto this planet," one viewer said.

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Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets on the healthiest and most mobile sperm!

At one point or another, we all saw the videos in health class that explained how babies are made. A pivotal scene in these educational films is the inevitable race between sperm as they make their way through the cervix and uterus in a frantic rush to reach the egg before they're destroyed. It's really wild to think about—out of hundreds of millions of sperm released during sex, only one (1!) will successfully penetrate the outer layer of the egg and achieve fertilization.

And even that is not guaranteed. Successful conception requires the right timing and environmental factors in the woman's body, and it also requires strong, healthy, mobile sperm. The odds are long, and only the best can survive!

It's a wonder it took someone so long to come up with the brilliant idea: Sperm races!

sperm, sexual health, fertility, infertility, men, men's health, mens fertility, sexAnd they're off to the races!Giphy

A 17-year-old "student and entrepreneur" from California named Eric Zhu recently had the idea to pit men against each other to see who had the healthier, stronger sperm.

The whole thing has the atmosphere of a supercharged UFC fight. There's a live crowd, a pre-match weigh in, professional hype crew. There's music and lights. Apparently, if you attend a bout, you can even bet on the results of the race.

After the contestants provide a, uh, sample, the sperm are introduced onto a tiny track that mimics the shape of the female reproductive system complete with "chemical signals, fluid dynamics, and synchronized starts." Using a sophisticated series of microscopes and high-tech cameras, every movement of the sperm are tracked as the two contestant's quite literally race to the finish line.

The "athletes" recruited even train before the big showdown by honing in on their diets, workout routines, and mental discipline.

On stage at the event, the Sperm Racing team showed a video that alleged to represent a real-live sperm race. In reality, reporters later found out, the video shown was merely a 3D representation of a race that had been conducted beforehand behind closed doors.

The authenticity of the race and competition is still up for debate. Still pretty entertaining though if you can suspend your disbelief:

It's complete insanity, with a heavy hand on the marketing and hype. But it's (mostly) for a good cause. Zhu launched Sperm Racing to start a broader conversation around male fertility, which is seeing an alarming decline.

Around the globe, men's sperm quality and counts are suffering, in part due to environmental factors, diet, and more. Fertility is so often seen and discussed as a women's issue, but more men need to know they play an important role. Certain factors are out of our control, but diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and more can actually play a massive role in sperm quality.

Male infertility is responsible for about half of all infertility, which is what you would expect. But did you know that sperm quantity and quality also play a major role in embryo development, miscarriage risk, birth weight, fetal health, and likelihood of other pregnancy complications? If not, you're not alone. We don't talk about this nearly enough.

sperm, sexual health, fertility, infertility, men, men's health, mens fertility, sexHaving healthy sperm is way more important than most people realize.Giphy

There are some fair criticisms of Sperm Racing, to be clear. Some commenters find the whole thing gross and off-putting, and it's worth questioning why we need to wrap men's health in this hyper-macho, sports-like packaging for people to take it seriously. There's talk on the official Sperm Racing website of setting up an official league, the best competitors becoming professional athletes. "Where legends are born," the eye-rolling manifesto reads. It reeks of the same men who won't get their regular prostate exams because they think it's "gay" (yes, that's really a thing).

And, of course, there are still many questions about the authenticity of the science behind Sperm Racing, and the ethics behind letting people bet on something that may be pre-determined and not actually performed live.

Then again, the whole thing is just so absolutely, absurdly ridiculous that it can't help but generate headlines and grab attention. And maybe that's exactly the point. Having a salad and going for a run to improve your sexual health isn't overly exciting. But training for a chance to win the Sperm Racing championship belt? Now that's guaranteed to get a few reluctant dudes up off the couch, even if they have no real intention of competing.

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Humor

TikTok star shows us what happens when 'sexy' role-playing goes laughably wrong

"Why would you have so many thumbtacks?"

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
a woman stares into a man's eyes lovingly

You're trying to spice things up in the bedroom because, why not, right? You read in one of those "ten ways to have more fun in bed" articles that role-playing with your partner could really take things up a notch. But sometimes, what seems like a saucy idea at the time goes completely off the rails. Canadian TikTok star Josh Richards created a hilarious clip where he exemplifies all the ways a night of role-playing could fail. In the clip, entitled "When Role Play Goes Wrong," a woman clad in lingerie nervously proposes, "Do you wanna try, like, role play tonight?"

Josh agrees but admits he's not sure where to begin. She takes the reins, and things immediately get complicated. "It's 1910, New York," she suggests. "I'm a little orphan girl, and you're the shopkeeper." (He then confirms she's at least of legal age.) "I've been stealing some thumbtacks from you, only this time, oops, I've been caught." It gets worse from there and devolves into a plan involving the evasion of the orphanage's "madam."


Unfortunately, Josh's character then gets a bit too literal. "Why would you have so many thumbtacks?"

She tries again. "How 'bout this? You're a chef in France, and I'm a rat with dreams of becoming a culinary master." Josh, rightfully, points out that this is the plot of the Pixar movie Ratatouille. After she tries to convince him, he says, "I'm not sure the whole rat sex thing is really doing it for me."

Totally fair.

Many on Reddit also seem eager to share their hilariously "unique" role-playing misfires. In what seems to be an earnest question on a subreddit thread, someone asks for examples of odd and outrageous role-play ideas. But for the most part, the comment section does not take this request seriously.

All the President's Men

File:Mountrushmore.jpg - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

One suggests trying different presidents to get your partner in the mood. "Four nights in a row. Each night you dress up as a different president from Mt. Rushmore."

Secret Probation

Hungry Pizza GIF by Pudgy PenguinsGiphy

Another gets extremely detailed and really hates glitter. "I’m a pizza delivery man, she’s VERY hungry. I deliver a pizza to her house, but it turns out she doesn’t have any cash to tip. No worries, she’s got something else for me. She invites me in, and I watch her slowly and methodically use some popsicle sticks and glue to make a snowflake.

I’m really bored, but she tells me I can’t leave. Not yet. She then proceeds to sprinkle glitter all over the snowflake. I hate glitter. She doesn’t care. She wants me to be upset. This is all a game to her. Finally, after two hours of watching her craft, I’ve had enough. I can’t take it anymore, so I leave. But unfortunately, I find out I’m fired because I took so long on this delivery, and my boss said I was already on secret probation.

The Portly Meteorologist

Live Tv Radar GIF by The Weather ChannelGiphy

This one gets complicated and eventually is ruined by the misplacement of an important item. "Portly meteorologist Doug borrows money from his widowed neighbor Tammy to pay for a broken fence caused by his estranged son's fiancée Margie, who has a penchant for drinking while operating a child's motorized big wheel. Doug falls on hard times and realizes he cannot pay back his debt and must make things right with more untraditional means of restitution. Tammy, while on the older side of Doug, still maintains a feisty demeanor despite being legally blind. To pay back her errors, Margie is called upon to film the encounter with a vintage JVC home movie recorder purchased from Goodwill. But first, she must locate the missing charging cable."

And of course, comedian Gary Gulman’s bit on the matter speaks for itself.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

sex
Health

How 7 things that have nothing to do with rape perfectly illustrate the concept of consent.

Well this is all a very brilliant way to show what it's all about.

mage from Everyday Feminism, used with permission by creator Alli Kirkham.

There are many different scenarios where consent is necessary.

In 2013, Zerlina Maxwell ignited a firestorm of controversy when she strongly recommended we stop telling women how to not get raped.

Here are her words, from the transcript of her appearance on Sean Hannity's show:

"I don't think that we should be telling women anything. I think we should be telling men not to rape women and start the conversation there with prevention."

So essentially—instead of teaching women how to avoid rape, let's raise boys specifically to not rape.

There was a lot of ire raised from that idea. Maxwell was on the receiving end of a deluge of online harassment and threats because of her ideas. The backlash was egregious, but sadly, it's nothing new. Such reactions are sadly common for outspoken women on the Internet.

People assumed it meant she was labeling all boys as potential rapists or that every man has a rape-monster he carries inside him unless we quell it from the beginning.

But the truth is most of the rapes women experience are perpetrated by people they know and trust. So, fully educating boys during their formative years about what constitutes consent and why it's important to practice explicitly asking for consent could potentially eradicate a large swath of acquaintance rape. It's not a condemnation on their character or gender, but an extra set of tools to help young men approach sex without damaging themselves or anyone else.

screenshot from Hannity show

Zerlina Maxwell is interviewed on "Hannity."

Image from “Hannity."

But what does teaching boys about consent really look like in action?

Well, there's the viral letter I wrote to my teen titled "Son, It's Okay If You Don't Get Laid Tonight" explaining his responsibility in the matter. I wanted to show by example that Maxwell's words weren't about shaming or blaming boys who'd done nothing wrong yet, but about giving them a road map to navigate their sexual encounters ahead.

There are also rape prevention campaigns on many college campuses, aiming to reach young men right at the heart of where acquaintance rape is so prevalent. The 2014 movement, "It's On Us," was backed by The White House and widely welcomed by many young men.

And then there are creative endeavors to find the right metaphors and combination of words to get people to shake off their acceptance of cultural norms and see rape culture clearly.

This is brilliant:

comics that illustrate consent

A comic about different types of consent.

Image from Everyday Feminism, used with permission by creator Alli Kirkham.

There you have it. Seven comparisons that anyone can use to show how simple and logical the idea of consent really is. Consent culture is on its way because more and more people are sharing these ideas and getting people to think critically. How can we not share an idea whose time has come?

This article originally appeared ten years ago.

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Men's Health

Counterintuitive study sheds light on why men take breakups so much harder than women

4 key findings show a lot of what we believe about relationships is wrong.

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There are a few commonly held beliefs our society has about how men and women approach relationships differently. However, a new study set to be published in the journal Behavioral & Brain Sciences challenges these beliefs. The big headline? In general, men are shown to value relationships more, be more intentional about seeking them out, and take it much harder when a relationship ends.

We know they're generalizations, stereotypes even, and that they don't apply to everyone. But nevertheless, they somehow feel true.

  • Women want marriage, men don't want to commit
  • Women want relationships and romance, men just want sex
  • Men are happy to be single, women actively seek a partner
  • Women are devastated by breakups while men are happy to be 'free'
And so on and so on. To be frank, the findings don't jive with the common stereotypes of men's attitudes towards sex and relationships. At all!


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The study — which consisted of a comprehensive analysis of decades of research across fields like psychology, sociology, and evolutionary biology — uncovered 4 key findings.

Keep in mind that the study primarily looked at data from heterosexual couples and Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) populations. With that said, the findings were super interesting.

1. Single men are more likely to be actively seeking a partner than single women

This is definitely a surprise. It goes against the mental image of the free-wheeling bachelor who's happy to date and sleep around with no particular rush to settle down (thanks TV and film for constantly reinforcing this one!). It also indicates that, in general, women are far less antsy about being single than the cultural stereotype would suggest.

2. Men benefit more from relationships when it comes to their physical and mental health

To be fair, relationships are usually good for everyone's health... when they're supportive and satisfactory. (Abusive or toxic relationships are far worse.) But the data suggest a bigger gap between single and partnered men, who can experience less depression, stress, hypertension, inflammation, and more.

3. Men are less likely to initiate breakups

This definitely tracks with available data, which shows that a whopping 70% of divorces are initiated by women. That's not even close to being an even split! So it suggests there might be reason for such a big imbalance.

4. Men take breakups harder and display more psychological distress afterwards


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Another study showed that women may feel the effects of a break up more strongly at first, but are much quicker to recover and move on, while guys struggle to fully get over old relationships and even view their exes more positively overall. "They also experience more severe physical health consequences, including an increased risk of suicide and mortality after losing a partner through separation or death," writes PsyPost.

When you put it all together it paints a really interesting and counterintuitive picture of what's really going on before, during, and after relationships between men and women.

So are men just not getting credit for secretly being a bunch of hopeless romantics? Not so fast.

Giphy

Did you know that men usually score higher than women on a test called the Romantic Beliefs Scale? Guys are more likely to believe in things like love at first sight, soul mates, or working through any problem in a relationship. So it's safe to say they're a little more romantic than we give them credit for. (Just because men have romantic notions and may place a lot of value in relationships, doesn't automatically make them good partners... but that's another story.)

But that doesn't explain all the findings here. The more likely explanation lies in the way that men are raised and socialized.


Men have notoriously few intimate relationships outside of romance so it would make sense that they'd struggle when losing the one person they can open up to.

It could also explain why they might not initiate a break up even in a relationship that's not working and why they'd seek a partner out more aggressively. In general, women have a much larger network from which they can find intimacy and emotional support and are less reliant on romantic relationships.

Men's general state of loneliness could also explain why they benefit so much physically and mentally from being partnered. It's truly amazing that having strong social bonds with other people can be so good for your health, to the point where loneliness and isolation can actually hurt your longevity.

It's nice to think that guys might be more romantic than we give them credit for. But taking a breakup really hard is not necessarily a good thing. Men might be more likely to distract themselves from their pain with potentially harmful activities like overworking, drinking/drugs, or seeking rebound relationships or sex. Men are also more likely than women to stalk or otherwise harm their exes.

The 'male loneliness epidemic' has almost become a meme at this point, but it continues to rear its head in new and surprising ways. Being the sole outlet for a man's emotional support and intimacy is a lot of pressure to put on any woman in a relationship. We've got to raise the next generation of boys to feel comfortable seeking closeness in other arenas in life.

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