Abstract
ABSTRACTThe experiences of men facing fertility disruptions are understudied. For British Pakistanis, the impact of infertility is heightened for women because of normative pressures to bear children. But what of men? I present data from in-depth interviews in North East England with infertile British Pakistani Muslims and relevant health professionals. British Pakistani men’s level of participation in clinical encounters and responses to diagnoses of male factor infertility must be understood in the context of kinship, the construction of Pakistani ethnicity in the UK, and the subordinated forms of masculinity which accompany this identity.
Highlights
The experiences of men facing fertility disruptions are understudied
Was conducted between 2007 and 2009 in a cluster of towns in North East England and consisted of participant observation and 86 life history interviews with British Pakistani women and men of different ages and reproductive statuses, in order to understand how infertility might influence the reproductive stories of a wider range of people than those diagnosed with infertility
Understanding the broader context of British Pakistani men’s lives can illuminate the perceptions of health professionals with whom they engage in fertility treatment settings
Summary
This article is based on a three-year project investigating infertility in the lives of British Pakistanis. In this alternative view of marriage, the most important relationship practices are procreating Whilst this couple was eventually able to conceive, Naseem’s husband resisted treatment for a long period, refusing to provide semen samples or attend consultations. Women praised and protected their husbands, clearly committed to the conjugal relationship and choosing not to reveal the cause of infertility because “it would be degrading to your husband.” Walle (2004) has written about the way in which maintaining secrecy around things which might cause shame provides protection for Pakistani men; families comply with this as it is in their interest as well, but this extends beyond Pakistani men, including to white British men (see Throsby and Gill 2004)
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