Does The Sperm Make The Man?

Matthew Lin examines ejaculate's place in culture:

[M]en who suffer from infertility have reported feelings of depression and inadequacy, even though they have little control over the range of genetic and environmental factors that may contribute to their condition. These attitudes reflect the belief that sperm act as a stand-in for the male and his self-worth: The better the sperm, the better the man.

[Lisa Jean Moore, author of Sperm Counts: Overcome by Man’s Most Precious Fluid] writes, "an important part of the experience of male infertility is the projection of the sperm’s characteristics…onto the men who produce them." In many cases, however, ARTs like intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), the technique where a single sperm is injected into an egg, enable men to overcome infertility problems like low sperm count, motility, and poor morphology.

The question remains: Will the advent of such procedures reduce the emasculating stigma associated with infertility, or will it perpetuate the notion that good sperm equals a good, masculine man—i.e. One capable of producing a baby?

(Photo by Flickr user Asiatic League)