Middle Eastern masculinities in the age of new reproductive technologies: male infertility and stigma in Egypt and Lebanon.
Worldwide, male infertility contributes to more than half of all cases of childlessness; yet, it is a reproductive health problem that is poorly studied and understood. This article examines the problem of male infertility in two Middle Eastern locales, Cairo, Egypt, and Beirut, Lebanon, where men may be at increased risk of male infertility because of environmental and behavioral factors. It is argued that male infertility may be particularly problematic for Middle Eastern men in their pronatalist societies; there, both virility and fertility are typically tied to manhood. Thus, male infertility is a potentially emasculating condition, surrounded by secrecy and stigma. Furthermore, the new reproductive technology called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), designed specifically to overcome male infertility, may paradoxically create additional layers of stigma and secrecy, due to the complex moral and marital dilemmas associated with Islamic restrictions on third-party donation of gametes.
Inhorn
Marcia C
MC
Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, and Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Michigan, USA.
D000328:Adult; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004534:Egypt; D005298:Fertility; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000208:ethnology*; D007514:Islam; D007861:Lebanon; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000639:trends*; D012307:Risk Factors