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“Even when you write with a pencil there is an eraser to clean it”: Examining men's conceptualisations of and involvement in emergency contraceptive use in Accra, Ghana - Social Science & Medicine
Men's knowledge of post-coital contraceptives was high, while knowledge of the specific term ‘emergency contraception’ was lower. While some men understood the pills in ways that aligned to Global Health framings, many more men saw emergency contraceptive pills as another means of pregnancy prevention in line with other contraceptives. This included its conceptualisation as a contraceptive that facilitates pleasurable (condomless) and spontaneous sex. Gendered perceptions of women who use emergency contraceptive pills were bound in sexual stigma, and men indicated that emergency contraceptive pills were a directly observable form of contraception that they could pressure their partner into using. Understanding plural conceptualisations away from ‘emergency’ are necessary to create policies and programmes that account for men's involvement.
“If I Am Ready”: Exploring the relationships between masculinities, pregnancy, and abortion among men in James Town, Ghana - Social Science & Medicine
Findings framed sex and reproduction as both a facilitator and a threat to men's masculinity. Reproduction was an essential component of being a man. Men discussed the need to fulfil masculine ideals of being independent, provide financially, and be in an acceptable relationship in order to be ‘ready’ for fatherhood. However, men similarly operationalised the notion of ‘readiness’ as the driving force behind their involvement in abortion decision-making. As being a father without being ready could lead to social ostracism and derision, men discussed forcing their abortion desires onto their sexual partners and other pregnant people. Achieving masculine ideals, therefore, was a critical motivation for controlling women and pregnant people's bodies.
Men's involvement in women's abortion-related care: a scoping review of evidence from low- and middle-income countries - SRHM
The majority of studies were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa and were qualitative. Evidence indicated that male involvement was significant, shaping the ability for a woman or girl to disclose her pregnancy or abortion decision. Men as partners were particularly influential, controlling resources necessary for abortion access and providing or withdrawing support for abortions. Denial or rejection of paternity was a critical juncture in many women's abortion trajectories. Men's involvement in abortion trajectories can be both direct and indirect. Contextual realities can make involving men in abortions a necessity, rather than a choice. The impact of male (lack of) involvement undermines the autonomy of a woman or girl to seek an abortion and shapes the conditions under which abortion-seekers are able to access care. This scoping review demonstrates the need for better understanding of the mechanisms, causes and intensions behind male involvement, centring the abortion seeker within this.
Exploring the roles of men and masculinities in abortion and emergency contraception pathways, Ghana: a mobile phone-based mixed-methods study protocol - BMJ Open
Global commitments have established goals of achieving universal sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) access, but critical obstacles remain. Emergency contraception and induced abortion are overlooked in policy and research. Men’s roles in the SRHR of others are significant, particularly as obstacles to universal SRHR. Evidence on gender, masculinities and SRHR is essential to understand and reduce the barriers faced by individuals seeking to avoid the conception or continuation of a pregnancy.
From contradictory to complementary: Acknowledging the complex everyday choices of men’s sexualities - BMJ Medical Humanities Blog
Health messaging often assumes a distinction between the desires and personal narratives, or ‘fantasies’, of sexuality, and the lived everyday experiences and behaviours, the ‘realities’. Our studies reveal that rather than consider these binary, they are in fact complementary. We consider the importance that health services and messaging acknowledge how constructions of good health practices and behaviours are non-linear and fluidly move between the enactment of fantasies and negotiated realities, which may not correlate with ‘best practices’.
Adapting research with men during COVID-19: Experiences shifting to mobile phone-based methods - International Journal of Social Research Methodology
It is impossible to understand masculinities without social research methods. Speaking and interacting with men is the fundamental cornerstone of the project. Conducting these methods through ‘non-social’, distanced means, as a response to COVID-19, presents new challenges and opportunities and ethical considerations.
Researching men, critically feminist: reflections on designing a survey on masculinities - FemQuant
Understanding the obstacles people who can become pregnant face when accessing healthcare is an essential step in providing equitable services. Men can play a significant role in shaping the access of critical sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The nature of this role must be understood to avoid creating policies that situate people who can become pregnant in a vacuum, burdening them with navigating health systems without social, economic of political support.