Men, Condoms, Commodity Chains: Analysing Evidence Production on Male Condoms through a Case Study in Accra, Ghana

Joe Strong, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Sexual and reproductive health programmes and policies rely on evidence to measure critical development indicators. This study problematises these measures by examining how the current data commodity chain on male condoms invisibilises the roles gender, power, and pleasure. Multi-method primary data were collected between 2020-21 in Accra, Ghana, with men aged 18+, and analysed alongside a narrative analysis of data collection instruments. This study highlights how masculinities are embedded in men’s condom non-/use. Moreover, alongside fertility regulation, condoms assume meanings that connect to love, intimacy, trust, pleasure, and the circumstantial nature of sex. This study highlights that condoms are better understood in relation to sex and sexuality than fertility. A conceptual reframing of condom non-/use requires research instruments that can better capture evidence on complex phenomena beyond contraceptive prevalence estimates.