Sperm Counts: Overcome by Man's Most Precious Fluid [Hardcover]

Lisa Moore (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0814757189 | ISBN-13: 978-0814757185 | Publication Date: July 1, 2007

2007 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

Winner of the Passing the Torch Award from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies

It has been called sperm, semen, seed, cum, jizz, spunk, gentlemen's relish, and splooge. But however the “tacky, opaque liquid that comes out of the penis” is described, the very act of defining “sperm” and “semen” depends on your point of view. For Lisa Jean Moore, how sperm comes to be known is based on who defines it (a scientist vs. a defense witness, for example), under what social circumstances it is found (a doctor’s office vs. a crime scene), and for what purposes it will be used (in vitro fertilization vs. DNA analysis). Examining semen historically, medically, and culturally, Sperm Counts is a penetrating exploration of its meaning and power.

Using a “;follow that sperm” approach, Moore shows how representations of sperm and semen are always in flux, tracing their twisting journeys from male reproductive glands to headline news stories and presidential impeachment trials. Much like the fluid of semen itself can leak onto fabrics and into bodies, its meanings seep into our consciousness over time. Moore’s analytic lens yields intriguing observations of how sperm is “spent” and “reabsorbed” as it spurts, swims, and careens through penises, vaginas, test tubes, labs, families, cultures, and politics.

Drawn from fifteen years of research, Sperm Counts examines historical and scientific documents, children's “facts of life” books, pornography, the Internet, forensic transcripts and sex worker narratives to explain how semen got so complicated. Among other things, understanding how we produce, represent, deploy and institutionalize semen-biomedically, socially and culturally-provides valuable new perspectives on the changing social position of men and the evolving meanings of masculinity. Ultimately, as Moore reveals, sperm is intimately involved in not only the physical reproduction of males and females, but in how we come to understand ourselves as men and women.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In Sperm Counts, Moore’s new book about the cultural meanings of sperm, she tells this story to illustrate her own childhood naiveté about a substance that, as she now sees it, is far from simple. These days, according to Moore, sperm has tremendous cultural meaning—and looking at it in its many contexts, from children's books to pornography, can tell us a great deal about the skittish state of American masculinity. . . . Sperm Counts is a serious book, and the first on its subject. But it also includes anecdotes from Moore’s life, lending it a more conversational tone than most academic works. The book's margins are even squiggled with sketches of sperm—flip the pages and they swim around. (This is a subject matter, after all, that requires a certain degree of levity.) Moore happily lists spermatic nicknames (‘baby gravy,’ ‘gentlemen’s relish,’ ‘pimp juice’) before skewering, in a later chapter, the burgeoning home sperm-test industry (sample ad slogan: ‘I don't know how that semen got in my underwear!’).”
-Salon.com

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“You may never look at the family jewels the same way again”
-Conceive Magazine

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“Written from a cultural, social, gender study standpoint, and provides useful insights for an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural examination of masculinity. . . . Anyone interested in semen, sperm, sperm donation, sex education or pornography will have something to learn.”
-Sex Roles

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“[Moore] examines how sperm is seen through a variety of social lenses, including pornography, sperm banking, children's books on reproduction and criminal DNA evidence.”
-Between the Lines Magazine

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“Incredibly well researched and captivating read.”
-Girlwithpen.blogspot.com

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About the Author

Lisa Jean Moore is Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies and Coordinator of Gender Studies at Purchase College, State University of New York. She is author of Sperm Counts: Overcome by Man’s Most Precious Fluid, co-author of Missing Bodies: The Politics of Visibility , and co-editor of the forthcoming collection The Body Reader (all from NYU Press).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (July 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814757189
• ISBN-13: 978-0814757185
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #504,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sperm Counts, July 23, 2007

By 

Michael Ortiz (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sperm Counts: Overcome by Man's Most Precious Fluid (Hardcover)

Whatever you might call it, wherever it might spill, and whatever you think you might know about it, sperm is used to not only reproduce human bodies, but also to reproduce ideology. In this "Gospel of Sperm" if you will, Lisa Jean Moore goes above and beyond conventional understandings of sperm by taking an in depth, detailed sociological look behind the sperm scenes.

Ultimately, sperm has become defined and presented in accordance to its masculine originators. From the names we give it(soldiers, troops, little guys) to the actions we assign to it(seek, swim, penetrate), sperm takes on the gender that its male producers associate themselves with, thus turning sperm as we know it into a cultural substance rather than just a biological one. Eventually, men come to partially define themselves according to the vitality and potency of their sperm. Hence, men and their semen become codependent masculinities, each helping to define the other.

By investigating the likes of the Medical Industrial Complex, reproductive technology, science, religion, pornography, and her own personal experiences, Moore exposes the meaning behind our given definitions of sperm. She observes how sperm is presented and portrayed to children as well as adults, and analyzes how and why we come to know sperm in the ways that we do.

Sperm Counts is a superb book for anyone interested in gender studies, and in particluar, medical/reproductive studies. It is not just an account of sperm, but also an account of cultural representations and social implications.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Racing Tadpoles, October 5, 2007

By 

Jacquelyn Rollins "scholar in training" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sperm Counts: Overcome by Man's Most Precious Fluid (Hardcover)

My most memorable conception of sperm comes from "Look who's talking" where the opening scene shows the sperm competing with each other to push their way into the egg. Apparently, there are many more meanings of sperm, and this book goes beyond the single minded understanding of man's most precious fluid.

"Sperm Counts" delves into every conceivable crevice to describe the ways in which sperm has been used to validate patriarchy and conversely how it can be an enemy to the very thing it legitimizes (by proving identity in crime scenes). American culture rooted in Puritanical values views sperm as a strictly biological substance, while Moore looks at it through a sociological and feminist lens: What do children's books about reproduction teach? What norms, values and prescriptions are passed on and learned through the ways sperm are introduced to young ones? How has the commodification of sperm separated men from the embodiment of masculinity in sperm? How has reproductive technology changed the way we view fatherhood?

Moore discusses all of these questions without bashing men or masculinity- she brings to light certain issues that threaten and hopefully change our understanding of men and their sperm. It seems that Moore's goal in writing this book is not female domination but men's liberation from the strict ideal identity of what it means to be a man. And while some may view her theories as brash or radical, after looking at her education, job experience, and methodology (often over-looked, but provides proof of her research and validity) her theories follow through and hold their own weight.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sperm counts: a unique, thought provoking, & fresh perspective, September 25, 2007

By 

Lara Rodriguez (NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sperm Counts: Overcome by Man's Most Precious Fluid (Hardcover)

How many ways to talk about and discover SPERM?

I really didn't anticipate too many, but Moore does an incredibly thorough investigation on not only the depictions of sperm, but also reproduction, masculinity, sexuality, and gender.

This text appears radical in its content while simultaneously remaining impressive in its inquiry of the many biological and social realities surrounding sperm; Sperm Counts is not only about sperm, but how sperm functions as the vehicle for many other discourses relevent to American gender and social issues. It is at once ambitious and sucessfully critical as it provides a cohesive analysis of what I always just thought of as a disposable product-- perhaps even more important, Moore offers us PERSPECTIVE in this work, as we are introduced to a variety of diverse and important ideas that appear non-judgemental; this isn't just feminist spew which may sometimes unintentionally alienate.

Highly reccommended.