GUYnecology: The Missing Science of Men's Reproductive Health

by Rene Almeling

What is healthy sperm  or the  male biological clock ? This book details why we don't talk about men's reproductive health and how this lack shapes reproductive politics today. 

For more than a century, the medical profession has made enormous efforts to understand and treat women’s reproductive bodies. But only recently have researchers begun to ask basic questions about how men’s health matters for reproductive outcomes, from miscarriage to childhood illness. What explains this gap in knowledge, and what are its consequences?

Rene Almeling examines the production, circulation, and reception of biomedical knowledge about men’s reproductive health. From a failed nineteenth-century effort to launch a medical specialty called andrology to the contemporary science of paternal effects, there has been a lack of attention to the importance of men’s age, health, and exposures. Analyzing historical documents, media messages, and qualitative interviews, GUYnecology demonstrates how this non-knowledge shapes reproductive politics today.
 

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction

303 pages, Paperback

Published August 25, 2020

Reviews

[LaanSiBB]

I quite like medical anthropology work that supplements the knowledge gap in cultural studies and political economy. From sociology to medical history, the book rove between attentions to address male reproductive science. It gives hints on how we came into awareness for norms under consumer culture as egg-chicken relationship to male construct.

Aside from the heavy pedagogical tendency from this book, one might ask generational difference in attitudes to reproduction. I don't believe Gen Z would have the same reproductive expectations of other coined generations. It is indeed a tough quest to investigate the environmental influence to biomedical adaptations, especially the digital age provides an alternative platform to not only change sexual habits, but also to guide public decision-making, exchanging opinions from many to many.

[Megan]

*I was given a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNFed at 11%. Nothing against this book, I just went into it expecting to learn about men's reproductive health, and it's actually more concerned with gender studies and why male reproductive science is so lacking. From what I read, it is well written!

[Taylor Allesch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such interesting research! It really reframed how I view a-lot of things, not only as a sex therapist but also as someone who has been TTC for a bit now. The four stars is for the content - as for how it is written, for undergrad and grad school I have done a lot of research so am used to reading dry research. Even for me, this was dry. Don't pick it up expecting a fun, light read!

[Paige Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hold men to higher reproductive standards🗣️🗣️