The social construction of male infertility: a qualitative questionnaire study of men with a male factor infertility diagnosis

Abstract

Although recent research has highlighted the distressing impact of infertility for men, fertility issues are still routinely seen as a ‘women's issue’ – even when male factor infertility is highlighted. This article reports findings from a qualitative questionnaire study focusing on a sample of men with a male factor infertility diagnosis; an under‐researched and marginalised group in the context of reproductive medicine. Our analysis suggests that male factor infertility is viewed by men as a failure of masculinity, as stigmatising and silencing, and as an isolating and traumatic experience. It is also clear that these themes are shaped by wider societal discourses which present men as (unproblematically) fertile, uninvested in parenthood and stoic in their approach to emotional distress. Such norms also ensure that reproduction continues to be presented as a ‘women's issue’ which burdens women and marginalises men. In understanding male factor infertility experiences, the damaging nature of the social construction of male fertility is then more clearly illuminated.

Risky Business: Increasing Fertility Knowledge of Men in the General Public Using the Mobile Health Application Infotility XY

“…Seeking fertility information can be perceived as threatening to a man’s sense of masculinity due to the feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy that infertility can produce ( Hanna & Gough, 2020 ). The stigma attached to male infertility may prevent men from seeking fertility information directly from health professionals ( Grace et al, 2019 ).…”

Organizing male infertility: Masculinities and fertility treatment

“…Our analysis aims to complement the themes generated in the research of Hanna and Gough (2015, 2020), which were outlined earlier (see Table 1). It is important for us to acknowledge how these same themes were present within the materials we have analyzed.…”

“…Such studies also stress how male infertility is still underresearched particularly in relation to its social construction—with notable exceptions, such as work done by Daniels (2008) and Barnes (2014). In this paper, we train our attention to the organization of male infertility within the UK fertility sector and aim to complement Hanna and Gough's (2015, 2020) findings on men experiencing infertility with how organizations in the sector compound or challenge such experiences. As mentioned above, part of this has been discussed by Barnes (2014), specifically in relation to how fertility treatment professionals can unintentionally often perpetuate hegemonic masculinity in their practice.…”

“…Male fertility as crisis and failure of masculinity (Hanna & Gough, 2020; Herrera, 2013; Hinton & Miller, 2013)…”

Medice, cura te ipsum: A first‐person experience with male infertility

“…Psychological distress in infertility is well‐known in women, and only to a lesser extent described and investigated in men 6,7 . Patients coming to my office in the suspicion of male infertility, however, have always reported distress from their condition, with the onset of depression and anxiety, including the onset of a sense of unease when together with friends with children or pregnant, as well as a general fear of being inadequate for the partner.…”