There is a widely held belief that contraception is the responsibility of people who menstruate. In both everyday life and the research on family planning, people assigned male at birth, usually men, are rarely the focus, although (prospective) fathers can prove to be an exception. In response to this “shadowing” of men, recent research in public health has increasingly begun to center the  perspectives of men (and boys), who want to be more active in contraception.

In this blog post, I summarize some key findings of our interview study as well as an ethical reflection of the recruitment process on the internet platform Reddit.

Contraception “is [not only] a woman’s job”

We wanted to know how men “develop a critical consciousness of (their) masculinity” and how that awareness shapes their attitudes toward family planning and contraception.

The men we interviewed all live in Germany. While not all identified within the gender binary, all were assigned male at birth and comfortable being referred to as men. In the interviews we saw a pattern of questioning what it means to be a “real” man. Topics included traditional gender roles, social expectations, the possible harms of these enacted expectations, and ways to redefine them by thinking and acting differently. All names here are pseudonyms.

Negative and Positive Role Models

Rejecting male role models —like the stereotypical “primitive soccer fan”—came up often. Many men spoke about emotionally distant fathers, especially when it came to expressing feelings. They shaped their own masculinities by rejecting these toxic traits and choosing instead to care for their own and their partners’ physical, emotional, and sexual wellbeing.

Some men found more inspiring role models in pop culture. Gerrit admired Mufasa from The Lion King as a strong, loving father figure. Friedrich, 48, looked up to Leonardo DiCaprio in the ’90s, describing him as a “counter-image to masculine gender norms” because of his soft features and non-muscular build. Many participants talked about the value of therapy and counselling, which helped Michael to understand his sexuality as fluid. He playfully challenged gender norms, through crossdressing and kissing other men in public spaces. A gay male friend showed him that deep, loving connections between men don’t have to involve sex or romance. Other participants emphasized their caregiving responsibilities—for children, partners, and other family members.Evolving to Wanting to be More Active

Most participants wanted to take a more active role when it came to contraception, although meanings of  “active” differed widely. Several described how their views had changed over time. In the past, they hadn’t thought about contraception much at all, often because “it wasn’t their body.” Their stories and reflections were central to our study:Michael, for instance, shared:

“in relation to masculinity, I used to be cold and distanced like saying: ‘it [contraception] is

    a woman’s job; you do you. I do not want anything to do with this. I am here to have fun.’

    But now I am more like: ‘No, I also have responsibility, so we share responsibility.’ So, you

   just empathize with another person and recognize that their desire or need is not to become

        pregnant. So, I left behind this hard and rigid ideal of masculinity […]. [C]ontraception is

   part of living healthily and living responsibly.’”

At the time of the interviews, none of the men had had a vasectomy but the topic came up frequently. Their reasons varied: some felt too young, some wanted to be in a stable relationship with someone who didn’t want children, and others simply didn’t know where to begin.Manuel talked about his involvement in a collective of men working for reproductive justice. His political and activist engagement showed how men can also take action outside of their relationships and sexual encounters. The group explored alternative ways to prevent pregnancies, like mild testicular heating, a method that temporarily reduces sperm count. These grassroots approaches offer promising directions for future research.

Being Critically Supportive

In our study, being critically supportive meant that men had strong opinions about contraceptive methods but still supported their partners’ decisions. Many were concerned about the negative side effects of the pill. Still, as Justin said, it was his girlfriend’s body and therefore her choice.

Justin described a time when he and his girlfriend tried to get the morning after pill, but the pharmacist refused to provide it. Even though they were both upset, Justin took the lead and insisted they go to another pharmacy, knowing the refusal was illegal.

Georg talked about his long-time partner’s gender transition. Because sterilization was required at the time to legally change gender in Germany, pregnancy was no longer a concern.  He reflected:

“Yeah, that was exciting, because in my head I was never homosexual, but in the

end, in this context, I was kind of indirectly made homosexual. It does not really

matter to me, but to come to terms with this societal pressure… [was hard] So, that

was a moment where I thought to myself: ‘OK, this is a whole new challenge to my

identity.’”

What Needs to Change

Regardless of sex or gender, people need universal entry points to access to family planning and contraception services.

As the interviews showed, developing this kind of critical awareness requires emotional stability, curiosity, health literacy, time, and sacrifice (or at least compromise).” That’s why supporting men in  gaining these resources should be part of their education. Critical supportiveness —especially from men who have sex with people who can get pregnant—is essential. I hope that this blog post encourages you–no matter your gender–to become (or stay) actively involved in conversations and decisions about contraception, especially if you’re having sex that could lead to pregnancy.

Jan Marc Morawe finished the M.A. in Gender Studies while we worked on the last paper of the MANFOKUS project. Other (open access) articles of the project deal with smoking cessassion by (expectant) fathers and “Gender-transformative health interventions that involve men and boys”. If you speak German, check out our policy brief, too. You can follow Jan Marc on Bluesky at janmarcmorawe.bsky.social.