Following the Whitings: The Study of Male Pregnancy Symptoms

Abstract

In their long careers, John and Beatrice Whiting inspired investigation into a great variety of topics. Of these inquiries, men’s experience of pregnancy-like symptoms occupied the interest of the late Ruth Munroe and the author for some years. Men’s symptoms-morning sickness, lassitude, and so on-vary greatly both among individuals and across cultures. At the upper extreme, men average as many as five pregnancy-related symptoms in some culture groups, where they also display other behaviors related to the reproductive process (e.g., male “menstruation”). Tests and behavioral responses among such men (and among similar males elsewhere) typically reveal female-like choices on covert measures but also a surprising pattern of defensively masculine choices at the overt level (e.g., drinking, wife beating). A case study invites still other questions. To help resolve some of the issues raised by these findings, the author proposes a new program of research focusing on potential hormonal correlates of male symptomatology.