Sperm Counts : Overcome by Man's Most Precious Fluid / Lisa Jean Moore.
Moore, Lisa Jean, author.
2007
HQ1090 .M668 2007eb
Available Online

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Title Sperm Counts : Overcome by Man's Most Precious Fluid / Lisa Jean Moore.
Author Moore, Lisa Jean, author.
ISBN 9780814761144
DOI https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814761144.001.0001
Published New York, NY : : New York University Press, [2007]
Copyright ©2007
Language English
Language Note In English.
Description 1 online resource : 18 black and white illustrations
Other Standard Identifiers 10.18574/nyu/9780814761144.001.0001 doi
Call Number HQ1090 .M668 2007eb
Dewey Decimal Classification 306.7081
Summary 2007 Choice Outstanding Academic TitleWinner of the Passing the Torch Award from the Center for Lesbian and Gay StudiesIt 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.
Access Note Access limited to authorized users.
System Details Note Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
Digital File Characteristics text file PDF
Source of Description Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 18. Sep 2023)
Series Intersections ; ; 17
In New York University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2000-2013
Available in Other Form print 9780814757185
Linked Resources Online Access
Record Appears in Online Resources > Ebooks
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Frontmatter
Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface: Sperm Autobiography
1. In the Beginning, There Was Sperm
2. Lashing Their Tails: Science Discovers Sperm
3. My Sperm in Shining Armor: Children's Books
4. Overcome: The Money Shot in Pornography and Prostitution
5. The Family Jewels: Sperm Banks and the Crisis of Fatherhood
6. The Little Bit Left Behind: Semen as Evidence
7. The Future of Sperm
Methods Appendix: Becoming a Sperm Researcher
Notes
Index
About the Author

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