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The Otoko path

Shall we meet?

Rings in your size, healthcare professionals to support you: Otoko is with you at every step with the thermal method. But it's not wise to skip steps. To get rings, you first come to an information session, pay what you can. Deal? In English, it's a video call with Sam, wherever you live. In French, there's also our ring-making workshop in Pantin, or a collective near you. It's that simple.

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Five years of sessions and workshops

Why not order right away?

The thermal method is still experimental. Our approach is a human one, built on conversation and grassroots education. We'd rather get to know each other before going any further, to make sure everyone consents.

  1. You find your size by trying

    Only trying on tells you which size fits. A ring that's too tight comes off right away, and you build up the wear time gradually, over several weeks. The session teaches you all this before you wear a ring at home.

  2. It's a protocol before it's an object

    The ring isn't what does the contraception: your body heat is. The ring only holds the testicles up, and the method takes a few precise habits, every day.

  3. Twelve rings, lent to you at home

    The trial kit comes to your home with twelve sizes, and you keep the two that fit. We lend it to people who have booked their session. That's a choice: in grassroots education, the method passes from person to person.

Your situation

Where are you at?

Step by step

How it goes, in four steps

  1. The information session

    With Sam, on a video call in English, wherever you are. In French, it also happens in Pantin, at Otoko's ring-making workshop in Pantin, or at a collective's workshop, in several cities in France and beyond. You'll go over how to find your size, the signals that mean the ring comes off, the 15 hours a day of testicular elevation, every day1, when the method isn't recommended, semen analyses, and the ground rules to agree on with your partner or partners.

  2. Trying on

    With the 12-size trial kit at home if your session is on video, or on site in Pantin. You keep the two rings that fit.

  3. Seeing a healthcare professional

    A semen analysis before you start wearing a ring, and a healthcare professional for the follow-up.

    Our map of professionals and labs, mostly in France

  4. Start slow, then check

    It's the lab that tells you when the method works as contraception for you, after several months. Until then, you still need another method.

Video call, Pantin, or workshop: formats, dates, and prices

Since late 2021

people supported, at a workshop or in a session2
2,500
ring-making workshops, and hundreds of one-on-one sessions2
180

What people ask us most

Common questions

Do I have to come to Paris?
No. In English, the session is a video call with Sam, wherever you are, on your own or as a couple. Sessions in Pantin and Otoko's ring-making workshops, where you make your own rings, are in French. The trial kit ships outside France too: only the shipping changes, and you see the rate for your address at checkout. Collectives run workshops in France and elsewhere: their calendar in French.
I've already read a lot about it. Do I really need the session?
Yes, and it's not a test. The session starts from what you already know and adds what an article can't give you: how to find your size, the signals from your body to watch for, and answers to your own questions.
How much does it cost?
The session is pay what you can, with no minimum, and you pay afterwards. The trial kit has a fixed price, your two rings included. Semen analyses are done at a lab. In France, you need a prescription, and national health insurance covers part of the cost3; elsewhere, it depends on your country. The details, option by option.
Is the kit price a deposit?
No. The kit price includes the two rings you keep. You send the other ten back, and there's no deposit to get back.
I don't have much money.
The session can be free: it's pay what you can, with no minimum, and what some people give lets others come without paying anything. At the workshop, your two rings are included in the pay-what-you-can price. The kit has a fixed price.
How long can I keep the kit, and how do I send it back?
You send the kit back within 30 days. Need more time? Just send us a message. In France, the return label comes by email. Outside France, write to us and we'll tell you how to send it back. the trial kit guide walks you through each step.
Do I need a semen analysis before the session?
No. The first semen analysis comes before you start wearing a ring, and the session explains how to get one. The order between the session and the medical appointment doesn't matter.
There are no times left. What can I do?
A video session takes up to three bookings at the same time, so joining a time someone has already booked is often the quickest way. Otherwise, try the collectives' calendar in French, or write to [email protected].

When you're ready

See you soon!

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Sources

  1. Soufir JC, Mieusset R. Guide pratique d'une contraception masculine hormonale ou thermique. Andrologie, 2012;22:211-215. Expert opinion, protocol described for briefs, low level of evidence.
  2. Otoko: public figures (2,500 people supported at a workshop or in a session, count of July 17, 2026; more than 180 ring-making workshops since late 2021, first with Moonring, then with the nonprofit, registered in January 2025).
  3. French national schedule of laboratory tests (NABM), test 0070 (semen analysis with sperm morphology), June 2026 version, and the French national health insurance (ameli.fr) for the reimbursement rate. These are French rules: outside France, access and coverage depend on your country.

Our rings are prototypes, cast in platinum-cure silicone, with no CE marking. It's body heat that pauses sperm production, and it's semen analyses that check the contraception.

Otoko, a French nonprofit (association loi 1901).

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