In March, Mike Pridgen, a 28-year-old comedian based in New Jersey, got a vasectomy and posted the process on TikTok. His doctor, off camera, can be heard saying “little pinch here” and Mr. Pridgen winces, his eyes shut tight behind his glasses, bracing for pain.

“Oh,” Mr. Pridgen says. “That’s not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

That video has now been viewed more than two million times and the response has been overwhelmingly positive, he said. The comments, which were mostly from women, were celebratory and encouraging. They thanked him for “sharing his journey” and for encouraging other men to do the same.

Vasectomy, a quick, outpatient surgical procedure that cuts the tubes that carry sperm, is one of the most reliable and cost-effective forms of contraception available — with almost none of the side effects or complications of birth control methods that are geared toward women. Yet, it has remained relatively rare: in the United States, an estimated 500,000 men get the procedure each year. Some surveys suggest roughly […]