Customer Reviews

Sperm Counts: Overcome by Man's Most Precious Fluid

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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.

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.

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.

Sperm Counts offers a wide variety of data on how social policy and pop culture view "man's most precious fluid." Lisa Jean Moore's education and job experience makes her an expert on this subject matter.

This book should serve as a required text for any 101 gender study course in academia. There is a lot of valuable information to digest but Moore's writing style allows the book to flow very easily.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The author, while dubbing sperm man's most precious fluid, seems to have little use for men themselves. In fact, she seems to look forward to the day when there will be no further use for them. I suspect she would be quite content were gallons of semen put into storage, thereby assuring future generations while dispensing with the need for men completely. Her experience working at sperm banks seems to have skewed her point of view so totally that she exaggerates the importance of such services in the grand scheme of things. In addition, she seems convinced that the risks of HIV infection have made semen a toxic fluid for most people despite the evidence that tens of millions of couples somehow don't share this view and continue to reproduce the old fashioned way. Perhaps if she had spent less time interviewing prostitutes, porn stars, and fellow academics in the "gender studies" community and had spent even a little time speaking with ordinary men instead, she would have come away with a different perspective.

Do NOT listen to the reviewer below me. The author interviewed countless individuals, and looks at a background that revolves arond sperm. She addresses how sperm has been used, how sperm has shaped male self-identity, and how the use of sperm without a man (either in-vitro, or among lesbians) is shaping new identitys of families. The man below clearly has a scewed perspective, and a biased agenda to push, as the book in no way reflected what he wrote. Did he even read the book? I highly doubt it, and if he did, his biases stood in the way of him understanding it.
The book would not be difficult to understand to the majority of "lay" people, and that is what the author intended. Revealing and informational.