For men, who were, historically, freer to partake in sexual activity than women, the primary reason for using birth control was to avoid disease and illegitimate children, and, to a lesser extent, to reduced the economic burden of having too many children.

Some social rules regarding birth control relied on the abstinence or control of the male. For instance, some indigenous Australian communities forbade men to have sex with their wives for several months after the birth of a child. In many areas in early Europe, royalty and men of standing (e.g., among 10th-century Ottonian Saxons) would have sex with their wives only for procreation, usually resulting in a rapid succession of births, after which they would spare their wives from having too many children by turning to prostitutes for recreation. Also in early Europe, men often turned to prostitutes to limit the number of children in the family, so as to prevent the family fortune from being split among too many heirs.

Aristotle (384–322 BCE) wrote that homosexual relations in Crete were an officially condoned population control method. The Mohave of New Mexico considered anal intercourse to be a favor to women, since it would not result in pregnancy. In Jewish traditions, the law of niddah separated a husband and wife during menstruation to prevent conception during this time, for hygienic and health reasons.

Hopeful, but unreliable, natural methods of birth control included coitus reservatus (withholding ejaculation) and coitus interruptus (ejaculating outside the vagina). Coitus interruptus was common during the time of Mohammed, and Islam endorsed the practice, unless the woman disagreed. Meanwhile, the Book of Genesis tells of the fate of Onan, who practiced coitus interruptus with his dead brother's wife to prevent her from becoming pregnant: he was put to death for "spilling his seed on the ground."

Historians believe that ancient Egyptian men wore fabric condoms, mainly for protection from disease, as long ago as 1000 BCE. The Romans used condoms made of animal intestine. In the 1500s, Fallopius, an Italian, invented a linen sheath to be worn to prevent the transmission of syphilis – later in the century the cloth was soaked in a chemical solution that was considered to be a spermicide. By the 1700s, most condoms were made out of animal intestines – they were expensive, but could be washed and reused. (Often they came with a silk ribbon with which to tie them on.) King Charles II used animal-skin condoms to prevent having illegitimate heirs or contracting diseases. Of course, Charles II is not a testimony to the efficacy of animal-skin condoms: he had at least 13 illegitimate children.

In 1844, vulcanized rubber condoms hit the markets. Men generally wore them to avoid catching diseases such as gonorrhea and syphilis. As a result, for years afterward, condoms became associated with prostitution and disease.

The first condom advertisement appeared in 1861 in The New York Times – the product was "Dr. Power's French Preventatives." Laws were passed in the US 12 years later making it illegal to advertise contraceptives and allowing the postal service to confiscate condoms sold through the mail. A similar law was passed in 1882 in Canada, making it illegal to sell or advertise birth control, unless it was "for the public good."

The first latex condom was invented in the 1880s, but they were not widely used until the 1930s. During World War I, the American troops were not allowed to use condoms, as many Americans believed that "loose" sexual behavior deserved the effects of disease. But by World War II, US troops were encouraged to use condoms. A training film urged, "Don't forget – put it on before you put it in."