Making Males Mindful of Their Sexual and Procreative Identities: Using Self‐Narratives in Field Settings

Assisting men to appreciate themselves as sexual beings capable of creating human life will help them protect their own health and well-being while safeguarding their partners and potential children. My experience conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with men aged 16–30 has convinced me that it is possible to enhance young men’s mindfulness about their sexual and procreative identities; the challenge for reproductive health care providers and educators is to explore creative ways of doing so. Individuals construct and express their identities by interacting reflecting and telling personal stories; they rely on language to make sense of their relationships and figure out who they are. Thus without the concepts and linguistic tools to capture the nuances of their everyday sexual and procreative lives many young men will have muddled and fragmented identities in these areas. If professionals are to help young men develop—and in some cases transform—their identities they should pursue three objectives. First they should expose young men to a set of theoretically informed ideas that allows them to identify and represent aspects of their sexual and procreative lives in practical ways. Second they should emphasize substantive themes encouraging men to recognize their ability to have sex and create human life as a powerful life force interwoven with other aspects of their lives. Third they should provide young men with private guidance and diverse group opportunities to construct and reflect upon their personal stories about procreative issues. (excerpt)