In a new video from Buzzfeed's intrepid "The Try Guys," we see dudes try labor pain simulation, and it shocks them in more ways than one. Electrical stimulation is used to induce muscle contractions — similar to those women experience during childbirth — in men. As Dr. Yvonne Bohn, MD, OB/GYN and mother of two, points out, there isn't "any external pain, in my opinion, that could simulate the way that labor feels." Nonetheless, the Try Guys are determined to feel as much of the pain women feel during childbirth as possible — from the mild to the unbearable.
"It's like a million ants and needles just crawling through my skin," one comments during the "mild pain." Unsurprisingly, the men's reactions escalate to screams. "I love my mom; I'm sorry that I did this to her," one man comments in a dead-eyed monotone after his harrowing ordeal.
Of course, empathy (the ability to imagine what someone else is feeling) isn't conditional on actually feeling what that person is feeling. While women should never be obligated to prove or validate any of their experiences to men, physically experiencing what others endure can be illuminating. View the Try Guys' enlightenment by electrocution below.
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