'A shot of his own': the acceptability of a male hormonal contraceptive in Indonesia.
Male hormonal contraception has been shown to confer reversible infertility for at least one year; however, while clinical trials refine hormonal regimens, their acceptability, cultural meanings, and implications for study of men's sexualities remain under examined. This paper presents findings from interviews conducted with men and their female partners in a male hormonal contraception clinical trial in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, and describes the ideas expressed about this new contraceptive technology. Fourteen men and their partners in Jakarta and ten men and their partners in Palembang were interviewed about their motivations to participate in the trial and their perceptions of the injection's physical, psychological and social effects. Concerns such as excess fertility and attendant economic liability shaped one quarter of motivations reported by men, while many women highlighted how a male method could help them prevent pregnancy without physical complications. Intimacy and sexual relations between couples were key themes within interpretations of contraceptive acceptability. Taken together, the narratives presented in this study call attention to the need for more nuanced analyses of contraceptive acceptability, as well as to the importance of studies of new male contraceptives for the understanding of masculinities.
Solomon
Harris
H
Department of Anthropology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA. harris_solomon@yahoo.com
Yount
Kathryn M
KM
Mbizvo
Michael T
MT
D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D003272:Contraceptive Agents, Male / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D012747:Sexual Partners; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D003272:Contraceptive Agents, Male