'One of the good guys': sperm donor masculinity and the falling Danish sperm count discourse. 2019

Alison Wheatley
a Science, Technology & Innovation Studies , School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh , United Kingdom.

Sperm banks in Denmark produce and export donor semen worldwide. The role of the sperm bank is to provide high-quality, safe semen from desirable donors. However, over the last 20 years, global sperm counts are reported to be falling. Along with these discourses comes the implication that poor fertility is a personal failing, which implies a conflation of 'fertility' with 'potency'. This paper draws on qualitative research with Danish sperm donors to explore how donors construct their identities as donors and as the producers of 'good sperm'. Accounts of the drive to produce the best sperm possible and the resultant confidence boost are bound up in ideas about masculine potency and potential and bodily performance and set against a backdrop of a moral panic surrounding the apparently declining Danish sperm count.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007407 Interviews as Topic Works about conversations with an individual or individuals held in order to obtain information about their background and other personal biographical data, their attitudes and opinions, etc. It includes works about school admission or job interviews. Group Interviews,Interviewers,Interviews, Telephone,Oral History as Topic,Group Interview,Interview, Group,Interview, Telephone,Interviewer,Interviews, Group,Telephone Interview,Telephone Interviews
D008297 Male Males
D003718 Denmark A country in northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. The capital is Copenhagen. Faeroe Islands,Faroe Islands
D005298 Fertility The capacity to conceive or to induce conception. It may refer to either the male or female. Fecundity,Below Replacement Fertility,Differential Fertility,Fecundability,Fertility Determinants,Fertility Incentives,Fertility Preferences,Fertility, Below Replacement,Marital Fertility,Natural Fertility,Subfecundity,World Fertility Survey,Determinant, Fertility,Determinants, Fertility,Fertility Determinant,Fertility Incentive,Fertility Preference,Fertility Survey, World,Fertility Surveys, World,Fertility, Differential,Fertility, Marital,Fertility, Natural,Preference, Fertility,Preferences, Fertility,Survey, World Fertility,Surveys, World Fertility,World Fertility Surveys
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D013076 Sperm Count A count of SPERM in the ejaculum, expressed as number per milliliter. Sperm Number,Count, Sperm,Counts, Sperm,Number, Sperm,Numbers, Sperm,Sperm Counts,Sperm Numbers
D014019 Tissue Donors Individuals supplying living tissue, organs, cells, blood or blood components for transfer or transplantation to histocompatible recipients. Organ Donors,Donors,Ovum Donors,Semen Donors,Transplant Donors,Donor,Donor, Organ,Donor, Ovum,Donor, Semen,Donor, Tissue,Donor, Transplant,Donors, Organ,Donors, Ovum,Donors, Semen,Donors, Tissue,Donors, Transplant,Organ Donor,Ovum Donor,Semen Donor,Tissue Donor,Transplant Donor
D055815 Young Adult A person between 19 and 24 years of age. Adult, Young,Adults, Young,Young Adults
D057228 Masculinity Male-associated sex-specific social roles and behaviors unrelated to biologic function.

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