British Pakistani Muslim Masculinity, (In)fertility, and the Clinical Encounter. Issue 2 (17th February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Blell, Mwenza
• Is Part Of: Medical anthropology. Volume 37:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 117
• Page End: 130
• Publication Date: 2018-02-17
• Subjects: British Pakistanis -- assisted reproductive technologies -- ethnic minorities -- infertility -- masculinity; Medical anthropology -- Periodicals; 362.1
• DOI: 10.1080/01459740.2017.1364736
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0145-9740

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The experiences of men facing fertility disruptions are understudied. For British Pakistanis, the impact of infertility is heightened for women because of normative pressures to bear children. But what of men? I present data from in-depth interviews in North East England with infertile British Pakistani Muslims and relevant health professionals. British Pakistani men's level of participation in clinical encounters and responses to diagnoses of male factor infertility must be understood in the context of kinship, the construction of Pakistani ethnicity in the UK, and the subordinated forms of masculinity which accompany this identity.