Health and the social construction of masculinity in men's health magazine (original) (raw)
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Chapter 1 THEORISING MASCULINITY AND MEN ’ S HEALTH
2008
Men in the United States, on average, die more than 5 years younger than women (Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 2007). For all 15 leading causes of death, except Alzheimer’s disease, and in every age group, men and boys have higher death rates than women and girls (Courtenay, 2003). Men’s age-adjusted death rate for heart disease and cancer are both 1.5 times higher than women’s (DHHS, 2007). Men are also more likely than women to suffer severe chronic conditions and fatal diseases (Verbrugge & Wingard, 1987), and to suffer them at an earlier age. Nearly three out of four persons who die from heart attacks before age 65 are men (American Heart Association, 1995). Similar patterns in morbidity and mortality have been observed in the UK, Canada and Australia (see Courtenay, 2002; and Chapters 3, 6 and 9). A variety of factors infl uence and are associated with health and longevity, including economic status, ethnicity, and access to care (Laveist, 1993; Pappas et al., ...
Constructions of masculinity and their influence on mens well-being: a theory of gender and health
Social Science and Medicine, 2000
Men in the United States suer more severe chronic conditions, have higher death rates for all 15 leading causes of death, and die nearly 7 yr younger than women. Health-related beliefs and behaviours are important contributors to these dierences. Men in the United States are more likely than women to adopt beliefs and behaviours that increase their risks, and are less likely to engage in behaviours that are linked with health and longevity. In an attempt to explain these dierences, this paper proposes a relational theory of men's health from a social constructionist and feminist perspective. It suggests that health-related beliefs and behaviours, like other social practices that women and men engage in, are a means for demonstrating femininities and masculinities. In examining constructions of masculinity and health within a relational context, this theory proposes that health behaviours are used in daily interactions in the social structuring of gender and power. It further proposes that the social practices that undermine men's health are often signi®ers of masculinity and instruments that men use in the negotiation of social power and status. This paper explores how factors such as ethnicity, economic status, educational level, sexual orientation and social context in¯uence the kind of masculinity that men construct and contribute to dierential health risks among men in the United States. It also examines how masculinity and health are constructed in relation to femininities and to institutional structures, such as the health care system. Finally, it explores how social and institutional structures help to sustain and reproduce men's health risks and the social construction of men as the stronger sex.
The Social and Behavioral Foundations of Men's Health—A Public Health Perspective
Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, 2006
To paraphrase a landmark book title, Why are Some People Healthy and Others Not? The Determinants of Health of Populations [1], why are some men healthy and others not? The answer to this question is as complex as the definition of health. Health and health status often result from health behavior. Too many men smoke, drink, and overeat; place themselves in risky situations; exercise too little; and seek preventive care infrequently. Too many men of color are dying younger than they should. The challenge for health care providers is to better understand the determinants of men's health and the factors that influence positive and negative health behaviors, and to find ways to effectively modify the social and behavioral factors that influence the health of their male patients.
Journal of Men's Health, 2011
Gender, the complex of social relations and practices attached to biological sex, is one of the most important socio-cultural factors influencing health and health-related behavior. Although a large body of health research suggests that men with similar social disadvantages as women experience poorer health outcomes in relation to disability, chronic illness, injury rates and mortality, men's health is rarely deconstructed through the lens of gender. The purpose of this article is to increase understanding of the ways in which masculinities intersect with other social determinants of health creating health disparities among men, and to provide direction for masculine affirming health interventions aimed specifically at men. With the goal of promoting the health of men and decreasing health disparities, the authors have developed, within the Canadian context, an innovative theoretical framework for men's health, Health, Illness, Men and Masculinities (HIMM), based on the influence of masculinity throughout the lifecourse. We discuss three main phases of men's lifecourse showing how masculinity intersects with other social determinants of health differently during youth, middle-age and the older years. The HIMM Framework points to the need for research and theory development that moves us beyond a limited focus on any one individual man to consider men's health and illness practices in the larger social context within which masculinity is defined and produced. It can thus advance men's health research and theory development, and provide direction for policy, education, health care delivery and health promotion initiatives aimed specifically at men in many locales, contexts and countries.
Men’s health across the life course: A gender relational (critical) overview
Journal of Gender Studies
consider the possibility that ill-health processes in males and females are intrinsically interwoven, such that the development of relationships reflects limitations and opportunities for both. Our analysis provides greater insights into explanations for gendered patterning in morbidity and mortality as well as how a gender order instigates social vulnerabilities and inequalities in health.
The Case for Retaining a Focus on “Masculinities” in Men’s Health Research
International Journal of Men's Health, 2016
Within the health research literature there is increasing attention focussed on how the concept of “masculinities” can be employed to understand health and illness and used to inform health care practice and policy. At the same time, valuable critiques of masculinities frameworks have emphasised that there is often, within the published literature, a lack of rigour in defining and using these ideas, a tendency towards rigid and essentialist notions about men and gender but also recognition that some approaches specify masculinities as the “cause” of poor health outcomes for men, women and children. We consider and respond to these important questions and, using examples from empirical studies, make the case that it is important to advance the use of masculinities in men’s health research both as a means to describing the challenges to men’s health and the strengths men draw upon to promote their health and remedy illness. We argue, first, that masculinities be operationalised as “co...
Masculinity and Men's Mental Health
Journal of American College Health, 2001
ow are men and women different from each other? How do these differences affect their health? At the most elementary level, these age-old questions seem logical to ask and relatively simple to answer. The differences between biologically determined categories of male and female are apparent. To some, these structural differences account for how the sexes become susceptible to certain diseases and illnesses, as well as for the dramatic differences in the longevity of men and women. However, as has been demonstrated elsewhere, health is much more complicated than biological processes. Physical health is embedded in a complex system of interactions among biological factors and psychosocial processes that have been shown to have enormous reciprocal effects. As medicine has expanded its focus beyond exclusive emphasis on physiological structure, it has been forced to embrace a more complex conceptualization of the differences between women and men. Although it is frequently useful to think of the differences in terms of biological sex, it has recently become clear that the most productive avenues of investigation are those that study women and men in terms of gender. When people use the term sex, they are limited to considerations of biological mechanisms. When they use the term gender, however, they can broaden their focus into analysis of social, cultural, and psychological issues that pertain to the traits, norms, stereotypes, and roles of women and men. Articles on aspects of men's health published in the May 2000 and subsequent issues of the Journal of American College Health in the series Emerging Issues in College Health exemplify this effort to understand how the male gender
Sociology of Health and Illness, 1990
The emergence of gender as a major area of interest in medical sociology in the 1970s set an exciting agenda for future research. However, despite a growing literature, our understanding of the mechanisms linking gender and health has advanced little in recent years. This may, in part, be due to problems in conceptualising gender. In particular, despite theoretical advances, biological sex and sociological gender continue to be conflated in empirical research. In this paper we argue that sex and gender are not necessarily coincidental and that gender roles and gender role orientations may cross-cut sex. We draw upon a recent tradition of research on gender role orientation in psychology which assesses the level of 'masculinity' and 'femininity' in an individual's self-concept through identification with traditionally 'masculine' and 'feminine'characteristics. Considering a range of health measures we conclude that the sex (male-female) differences that are traditionally found in research on gender and health may mask an association of 'femininity' with relatively poor health and 'masculinity' with relatively good health in both men and women.
Cohort Profile:Ten to Men(the Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health)
International Journal of Epidemiology, 2016
Male health is an important issue which has not received the attention it deserves. Males have life expectancies that are significantly shorter than those of females, and the gap is widening. Predictions from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 suggest that by 2030, females will be outliving males by 7.2 years. 1 A significant amount of this excess mortality is attributable to key lifestyle factors 2,3-including poor diet, sedentary behaviours, smoking and use of alcohol and other drugs-that are more prevalent in males than females. 4 In addition, males are less likely to visit health professionals, use health services or participate in preventive programmes. 5 Progress in the area of male health-and probably female health too-has been hampered by a failure to take into account the role of gender as a key determinant of health. This is despite the powerful role that gender plays at a biological, psychological and social level. Internationally, there have been some excellent longitudinal studies that have involved sizeable numbers of males and have looked at very relevant social determinants of health (e.g. workplace-and employment-related factors), 6 but these have not explicitly focused on gender and associated constructs, such as masculinity. One of the reasons for this is that studies involving both males and females, by necessity, seek information from participants that is relevant to both but do not 'drill down' into factors relating to one and not the other. This means, for example, that they have not explored the way in which characteristics that might be regarded as traditionally masculine, like risk-taking, self-reliance and stoicism, might influence health behaviours and health outcomes. They also have not taken into
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Perception of masculinity amongst young Malaysian men: a qualitative study of university students
BMC Public Health, 2013
Background: Perception of Masculinity plays an important role in men's lifestyles and health behaviors. Although, the importance of masculinity has been widely discussed in men's health literature, very little is known about the meanings of masculinity in the Malaysian setting. This research aimed to explore the meanings of masculinity among Malaysian university men.
BMC Public Health, 2016
Background: Effective approaches that engage men in weight loss and lifestyle change are important because of worldwide increases, including in Canada, in obesity and chronic diseases. Football Fans in Training (FFIT), developed in Scotland, successfully tackled these problems by engaging overweight/obese male football fans in sustained weight loss and positive health behaviours, through program deliveries at professional football stadia. Methods: Aims: 1) Adapt FFIT to hockey within the Canadian context and integrate with HealtheSteps™ (evidence-based lifestyle program) to develop Hockey Fans in Training (Hockey FIT); 2) Explore potential for Hockey FIT to help overweight/obese men lose weight and improve other outcomes by 12 weeks, and retain these improvements to 12 months; 3) Evaluate feasibility of recruiting and retaining overweight/obese men; 4) Evaluate acceptability of Hockey FIT; and 5) Conduct program optimization via a process evaluation. We conducted a two-arm pilot pragmatic randomized controlled trial (pRCT) whereby 80 overweight/obese male hockey fans (35-65 years; body-mass index ≥28 kg/m 2) were recruited through their connection to two junior A hockey teams (London and Sarnia, ON) and randomized to Intervention (Hockey FIT) or Comparator (Wait-List Control). Hockey FIT includes a 12-week Active Phase (classroom instruction and exercise sessions delivered weekly by trained coaches) and a 40-week Maintenance Phase. Data collected at baseline and 12 weeks (both groups), and 12 months (Intervention only), will inform evaluation of the potential of Hockey FIT to help men lose weight and improve other health outcomes. Feasibility and acceptability will be assessed using data from self-reports at screening and baseline, program fidelity (program observations and coach reflections), participant focus group discussions, coach interviews, as well as program questionnaires and interviews with participants. This information will be analyzed to inform program optimization. Discussion: Hockey FIT is a gender-sensitive program designed to engage overweight/obese male hockey fans to improve physical activity and healthy eating choices, thereby leading to weight loss and other positive changes in health outcomes. We expect this study to provide evidence for a full-scale confirmatory pRCT.
Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services
The unnecessary question what a man is without his masculinity, is deeply ingrained into the socially established norms of strength, power, virility and machoism. Although the traditional male masculinity stereotype and its association with meat consumption are still undisputable for many “real” men, there is indication about a shift toward a new modern evolutionary masculinity which reflects more sustainability values. The chapter explores this based on a survey of Sydney men. It reveals the influence of new factors, such as environmental, health and animal welfare concerns, which shape the concept of the masculine. Meat-eating men will experience increasing pressure to defend their traditional masculinity. The Sydney study also explores the factors likely to influence Australian men to replace a meat-centred diet with more plant-based alternatives.
BMC public health, 2014
The dietary content of advice in men's lifestyle magazines has not been closely scrutinised. We carried out an analysis of such content in all 2009 issues (n = 11) of Men's Health (MH) focusing on muscularity, leanness and weight control. Promotion of a mesomorphic body image underpinned advice to affect muscle building and control weight. Diet advice was underpinned by a strong pseudo-scientific discourse, with citation of expert sources widely used to legitimise the information. Frequently multiple dietary components were advocated within one article e.g. fat, omega-3 fatty acids, thiamine, zinc and high-glycaemic index foods. Furthermore advice would cover numerous nutritional effects, e.g. strengthening bones, reducing stress and boosting testosterone, with little contextualisation. The emphasis on attainment of a mesomorphic body image permitted promotion of slimming diets.Advice to increase calorie and protein intake to augment muscle mass was frequent (183 and 262 ref...
Leaving the Meatrix? Transformative learning and denialism in the case of meat consumption
Environmental Education Research
Despite growing evidence of many environmental and other problems being caused by industrialized meat production, the issue of meat consumption is still generally seen as a private affair that has nothing to do with politics or education. This article problematizes meat consumption and discusses transformative learning theory in the light of the authors' experiences with denialism in critical meat education. It reveals the potential of a crossfertilization through which transformative learning theory gains complexity and critical meat education benefits from a more coherent theoretical and practical frame.
Sociology of Health & Illness, 2021
Também denominada de Rota Bioceânica ou Corredor Rodoviário Bioceânico, a RILA pode ser considerada um dos projetos mais ousados e importantes com foco no desenvolvimento de Mato Grosso do Sul. Saindo do Brasil, passando pelo Paraguai, pela Argentina, até chegar aos portos do Chile, abre novas perspectivas para a exportação e importação do Estado e das demais regiões brasileiras até a Ásia e a América do Norte. Esta integração da América do Sul com a Ásia e a América do Norte pode ser vista sob a ótica política, econômica, cultural e territorial a partir do Corredor Bioceânico, que possibilita agregar, a um curto espaço de tempo, serviços logísticos modernos e eficientes, por meio de uma infraestrutura física que seja válida para todos os países e que possa proporcionar uma integração ampla e profunda entre os territórios envolvidos. Conforme as pontuações de Castro (2019), o Corredor Bioceânico objetiva a redução de tempo de viagem, a incrementação da conectividade entre o Centro-Oeste brasileiro e a Argentina, o Paraguai e o Chile, com o objetivo de trazer mais eficiência para os movimentos de cargas e também de passageiros, criar novos fluxos de comércio, assim como promover o desenvolvimento das cadeias produtivas regionais. Reforça o referido autor que há necessidade de um maior estímulo e coordenação dos agentes locais a fim de promover os interesses dos territórios mencionados e de sua população. Neste contexto, em 2016, foi criada a Rede Universitária da RILA, durante o I Seminário da então Rede Universitária da Rota de Integração Latino-Americana (UniRila). A UniRila é formada pelas universidades que compõem o Conselho dos Reitores das
Men, Food, and Prostate Cancer: Gender Influences on Men’s Diets
American Journal of Men's Health, 2010
Although healthy eating might enhance long-term survival, few men with prostate cancer make diet changes to advance their well-being. Men’s typically poor diets and uninterest in self-health may impede nutrition interventions and diet change. Food choice behavior is complex involving many determinants, including gender, which can shape men’s health practices, diets, and prostate cancer experiences. Developing men-centered prostate cancer nutrition interventions to engage men (and where appropriate their partners) in promoting healthy diets can afford health benefits. This article presents an overview and synthesis of current knowledge about men’s food practices and provides an analysis of diet and diet change behaviors for men with prostate cancer. Masculinity and gender relations theory are discussed in the context of men’s food practices, and suggestions for future applications to nutrition and prostate cancer research and diet interventions are made.
The Journal of Sex Research, 2013
Content analyses have cataloged the sexual scripts present in magazines largely because of their perceived value to readers and their potential role as sex educators. Although it is generally agreed that magazines have the potential to influence sexual attitudes and behavioral intentions, the effects of this medium are not as frequently researched as are other forms of media. The current study tested whether exposure to magazines was associated with intentions related to sexual consent negotiation. A survey of 313 college students indicated that exposure to men's magazines was significantly associated with lower intentions to seek sexual consent and lower intentions to adhere to decisions about sexual consent. In contrast, exposure to women's magazines was significantly associated with greater intentions to refuse unwanted sexual activity. Overall, the findings of this study further reinforce the critical need for responsible and realistic portrayals of sex in entertainment media, specifically magazines. Magazines advertise that they hold the answers to some of our most intimate questions. In summer 2009, magazines promised to improve readers' sexual lives. Cosmopolitan (June 2009) promised readers: ''Best. Sex. Ever. Our gutsy new tips are guaranteed to give him the most badass orgasm imaginable. And you too.'' Maxim (July 2009) caught readers' attention by uncovering secrets about lingerie ''complete with helpful pictures.'' Seventeen magazine (July 2009) provided 50 flirting tips to its teenage readers. Cover lines like these are commonplace on today's magazines. Sex has become such a mainstay in magazine coverage that it is difficult to imagine a women's or men's magazine that does not promise to unveil sexual secrets or provide tips for readers to attain sexual prowess. When Cosmo (July 2009) included an article about virgins, its cover appropriately advertised, ''Virgins in Cosmo-We thought this day would never come.'' It is clear-in the world portrayed by popular women's and men's magazines-that sexual activity is the norm. As Gill (2008) wrote, ''In the post Cosmopolitan (magazine) west, heroines must no longer embody virginity but are required to be skilled at a variety of sexual behaviors and practices'' (p. 53). Recent trends in print media have led to concern over the future of the magazine industry (Glaser, 2005), but the number of magazine readers has actually increased over the past decade (Association of Magazine Media [MPA], 2011). Of all media outlets, the growth in
Journal of Health Communication, 2019
Alcohol-facilitated sexual assault is a serious problem on college campuses, and bystander intervention has been shown to be a successful method in reducing sexual assaults. Although there are a number of factors associated with individuals' intentions to intervene in sexual assault situations, the media's cultural scripts that link alcohol consumption to sexual success may play a role. Alcohol advertisements, in particular, routinely portray women as sexual objects and often link alcohol consumption to sexual success; therefore, exposure to such content may be negatively associated with people's intentions to intervene in alcohol-facilitated sexual assault situations. Thus, the current study investigated if exposure to and perceptions of objectified images of women in alcoholic beverage advertisements were associated with college students' intentions to intervene in alcohol-facilitated sexual assault situations. Undergraduate college students (N = 1208) were randomly assigned to view three alcohol advertisements that either included highly-objectified or low-objectified women, and then they reported their perceptions of the women in each of the alcohol advertisements and their intentions to intervene in sexual assault situations. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that individuals' perceptions of alcohol advertisements moderate the relationship between exposure to objectifying alcohol advertisements and intentions to intervene in sexual assault situations.
Experiences and perspectives of the parents of emerging adults living with type 1 diabetes
BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care, 2020
IntroductionWhereas it is widely recognized that emerging adulthood can be a difficult time in the life of an individual living with type 1 diabetes, relatively little is known about the experiences of their parents or guardians. These individuals once shouldered much of the burden for their child’s diabetes ‘self’-management, yet their contribution is often overlooked by the adult healthcare system. Here, we set out to gain an understanding of the perspectives of parents of emerging adults living with type 1 diabetes.Research design and methodsSemi-structured interviews were performed with a purposeful sample of parents of emerging adults with type 1 diabetes recruited from two urban young adult diabetes clinics and through a national diabetes charity. Thematic coding was derived using a constant comparative approach.ResultsAnalysis of interviews with 16 parents of emerging adults with type 1 diabetes identified three themes: parental experiences of the transition to adult care; ne...
Sex Roles, 2011
The aim of this comparative quantitative content analysis was to investigate how US and Dutch teen girl magazines cover sexual desire (i.e., sexual wanting, and pleasure) and sexual danger (i.e., sexual risk, and negative physical/health consequences of sex). Relying on the sexual scripts framework and Hofstede's cultural dimension of masculinity/femininity, we examined (a) how the coverage varied for boys and girls, (b) how it differed between the United States and the Netherlands, and (c) how gender differences varied by country. The sample comprised 627 sex-related feature stories from all 2006-2008 issues of three US (i.e., Seventeen, CosmoGirl! United States edition, and Teen) and three Dutch teen girl magazines (i.e., Fancy, CosmoGirl! Netherlands edition, and Girlz!). Overall, sexual wanting occurred more frequently in the US magazines than in the Dutch magazines. In the US coverage, boys' sexual wanting received more attention than girls' sexual wanting, whereas in the Dutch coverage sexual wanting was depicted equally often for boys and girls. The depiction of sexual pleasure did not vary by gender in either country, but was generally more visible in the Dutch magazines than in the US magazines. Sexual risks and the negative consequences of sex were associated with girls more than with boys, and were primarily depicted in the US magazines rather than in the Dutch magazines.
Preteen Boys, Body Image, and Eating Disorders
Men and Masculinities, 2015
In recent years, academic and public attention has increasingly focused on the issue of men’s preoccupation with body image and the increasing incidence of eating disorders among men. Although most of this focus has been on young and adult males, media discourse has tended to extend explanations for men’s aspirations for social body ideals to explanations for eating disorders in young boys. In this article, we take a critical look at the way the boys/body image/eating disorder nexus has been represented in some of the mainstream media. In particular, we propose that the boys/body image/eating disorder nexus has been constituted as a truth that tends to underplay the complexity of the relationship between eating disorders and boys’ dissatisfaction with their bodies, as recognized by researchers and health practitioners, and as evident from our own study of preteen boys diagnosed with an eating disorder. In this article, we use interviews with the six boys and their mothers collected ...
Looking westwards: Men in transnational men’s magazine advertising in India
Global Media and Communication, 2017
This study examines advertising content of four top-selling Indian editions of transnational men’s lifestyle magazines ( Men’s Health India, GQ India, FHM India and Maxim India) to understand how it constructs masculinity for upper-class urban Indian men. Through content analysis of advertisements, the study finds greater presence of international brands and Caucasian models than domestic Indian brands and Indian models. Male models often appear alone and in decorative roles as opposed to professional roles. The study discusses the emergence of class-based glocal masculinity that helps assimilate upper-class Indian men into the global consumer base through shared ideals, goals and values.
A cognitive analysis of animal imagery in digital discourse: a case study of Bengali tweets
Journal of World Languages
As explored in relevant literature, both ecolinguistics and cognitive linguistics emphasize metaphors as conceptual devices to frame the reality around us. Animal metaphor forms an interesting domain to comprehend human-animal relationship at the interface of ecolinguistics and cognitive linguistics. Deriving from this, the research questions the suitability of the animalized language through Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and Conceptual Blending Theory (CBT). Data from Twitter has been analyzed to understand how the animals on social media impacts the human mind in establishing speciesism among Bengali speakers. Hence, to supplement the research with an ecological perspective, a mixed-method approach has been employed using three studies: (1) to understand the general public opinion on using animal metaphor; (2) to present the cognitive operations of the imaginative mind in using animal metaphor; and (3) to check the reflection of human attitude in real-time practices. The resear...
Linked oppression: Connecting animal and gender attitudes
Feminism & Psychology, 2018
Ecofeminists and animal rights advocates have posited a connection between the oppression of women and the oppression of animals. Although male/female comparisons regarding attitudes toward animals have frequently been considered, only limited research has focused on gender roles and animal attitudes. We therefore examined the relation between gender roles and animal attitudes with undergraduate students (260 males, 484 females) at a public university in Texas. Participants responded to an online Qualtrics survey that assessed their attitudes toward animals, gender norms, and several forms of sexism. The survey also presented participants with questions about their justifications for meat consumption. As hypothesized, pro meat-eating justifications were positively related to sexist attitudes as well as traditional gender roles and negatively related to gender role transcendent attitudes. On the other hand, pro-animal attitudes were positively correlated with gender role transcendent attitudes and negatively correlated with benevolent/hostile sexism and traditional gender attitudes. Our results empirically supported ''the linked oppression thesis,'' that gender and animal attitudes are connected.