Phallic competence: Fatherhood and the making of men in Ghana

Abstract

Popular notions of womanhood among most Ghanaian societies highlight the role of motherhood, particularly biological motherhood. It has been generally acknowledged, however, that family planning programs have not worked as well as they might have because they failed to acknowledge men’s fertility desires by focusing almost exclusively on women’s “unmet need.” The current study investigates the meanings and significance of biological fatherhood and their relationship to constructions of masculinity among a sample of urban Ghanaian men. Data are derived from interviews on reproductive preferences and decision making among 11 men in 11 monogamous husband‐wife dyads, held following a questionnaire survey among some 265 junior and senior staff/spouses of the University of Ghana in 1997 and 1998. It particularly addresses the associations men make among adulthood, marriage, manhood, and biological fatherhood. Results suggest that men’s associations between biological fatherhood and manhood, as indicated by notions of phallic competence, have important implications for marital stability, remarriage and extra‐marital relationships.