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 \u201cshadowing\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this blog post, I summarize some key findings of our interview study<\/a> as well as an ethical reflection of the recruitment process on the internet platform Reddit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Contraception \u201cis [not only] a woman\u2019s job\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We wanted to know how men \u201cdevelop a critical consciousness of (their) masculinity\u201d and how that awareness shapes their attitudes toward family planning and contraception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The men we interviewed<\/a> 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 \u201creal\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Negative and Positive Role Models<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Rejecting male role models \u2014like the stereotypical \u201cprimitive soccer fan\u201d\u2014came 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\u2019 physical, emotional, and sexual wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some men found more inspiring role models in pop culture. Gerrit admired Mufasa from The Lion King<\/em> as a strong, loving father figure. Friedrich, 48, looked up to Leonardo DiCaprio in the \u201990s, describing him as a \u201ccounter-image to masculine gender norms\u201d 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\u2019t have to involve sex or romance. Other participants emphasized their caregiving responsibilities\u2014for children, partners, and other family members.Evolving to Wanting to be More Active<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Most participants wanted to take a more active role when it came to contraception, although meanings of \u201cactive\u201d differed widely. Several described how their views had changed over time. In the past, they hadn\u2019t thought about contraception much at all, often because \u201cit wasn\u2019t their body.\u201d Their stories and reflections were central to our study:Michael, for instance, shared:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cin relation to masculinity, I used to be cold and distanced like saying: \u2018it [contraception] is<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n a woman\u2019s job; you do you. I do not want anything to do with this. I am here to have fun.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n But now I am more like: \u2018No, I also have responsibility, so we share responsibility.\u2019 So, you<\/p>\n\n\n\n just empathize with another person and recognize that their desire or need is not to become<\/p>\n\n\n\n pregnant. So, I left behind this hard and rigid ideal of masculinity [\u2026]. [C]ontraception is<\/p>\n\n\n\n part of living healthily and living responsibly.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019t want children, and others simply didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being Critically Supportive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In our study, being critically supportive meant that men had strong opinions about contraceptive methods but still supported their partners\u2019 decisions. Many were concerned about the negative side effects of the pill. Still, as Justin said, it was his girlfriend\u2019s body and therefore her choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Georg talked about his long-time partner\u2019s gender transition. Because sterilization was required at the time to legally change gender in Germany, pregnancy was no longer a concern. He reflected:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, that was exciting, because in my head I was never homosexual, but in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n end, in this context, I was kind of indirectly made homosexual. It does not really<\/p>\n\n\n\n matter to me, but to come to terms with this societal pressure\u2026 [was hard] So, that<\/p>\n\n\n\n was a moment where I thought to myself: \u2018OK, this is a whole new challenge to my<\/p>\n\n\n\n identity.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Needs to Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of sex or gender, people need universal entry points<\/a><\/em> to access to family planning and contraception services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the interviews showed, developing this kind of critical awareness requires emotional stability, curiosity, health literacy, time, and sacrifice (or at least compromise)<\/a>.\u201d That\u2019s why supporting men in gaining these resources should be part of their education. Critical supportiveness \u2014especially from men who have sex with people who can get pregnant\u2014is 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\u2019re having sex that could lead to pregnancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/a><\/em> and \u201cGender-transformative health interventions that involve men and boys<\/a><\/em>\u201d. If you speak German, check out our policy brief<\/a><\/em>, too. You can follow Jan Marc on Bluesky at janmarcmorawe.bsky.social<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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. 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