Understanding Men and Health Masculinities, Identity and Well-being docx

UUnnddeerrssttaannddiinngg MMeenn aanndd HHeeaalltthh Masculinities, Identity and Well-being SStteevvee RRoobbeerrttssoonn UUnnddeerrssttaannddiinngg MMeenn aanndd HHeeaalltthh Masculinities, Identity and Well-being • How do men understand ‘health’? • What do men consider to be the role of health services in helping them stay well? • What inhibits or facilitates men’s engagement with health services? Notions about men’s health are wide ranging and much is said about the role masculinity plays in creating health outcomes for men. Based on empirical research and data, this book provides an interdisciplinary exploration of the links between men, health policy, gender and masculinity. It also offers explicit guidance for practice for those working in the health field looking to better understand and improve men’s health. Importantly the book: • Incorporates the views of disabled and gay men to highlight issues of diversity • Draws out key implications for health promotion work with men • Includes ‘key points for practice’ within each chapter Using interviews with men and health professionals the book explores the key aspects of men’s health and healthcare delivery. Although set within the UK context, it also has wider resonance as it considers how men conceptualize health, how this becomes embodied, the importance of relationships and emotions in men’s preventative health practices, and the socially contingent nature of men’s engagement with preventative health care services. Understanding Men and Health will be of particular interest to academics, students and researchers in nursing, health, sociology and gender studies as well as to pre- registration and post- registration health professionals with an interest in men and health. Steve Robertson is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Nursing at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. Designed by Grosvenor (Northampton) Ltd. 9 780335 221561 UUnnddeerrssttaannddiinngg MMeenn aanndd HHeeaalltthh Masculinities, Identity and Well-being SStteevvee RRoobbeerrttssoonn Understanding Men and Health Understanding Men and Health Masculinities, Identity and Well-being Steve Robertson Open University Press Open University Press McGraw-Hill Education McGraw-Hill House Shoppenhangers Road Maidenhead Berkshire England SL6 2QL email: enquiries@openup.co.uk world wide web: www.openup.co.uk and Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121–2289, USA First published 2007 Copyright # Steve Robertson 2007 All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of Saffon House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library ISBN–13: 9780335221561 (pb) 9780335221578 (hb) ISBN–10: 0335221564 (pb) 0335221572 (hb) Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data CIP data applied for Typeset by YHT Ltd, London Printed by Printed in Poland by OZ Graf. S. A. www.polskabook.pl I dedicate this book to my children, Raphael and Rachael, for the times when their smiles have helped me through and especially to my dad who continues to teach me so much about what it means to be a man. ‘And on the masculine side of this whole wide world there’s no 101% man.’ ‘101% Man’, from the Album Gaze by ‘The Beautiful South’. Contents Foreword xi Acknowledgements xiii Introduction 1 Purpose and format 2 Lay and professional narratives: methodology and method 4 Participant vignettes 10 1 The current context of men’s health and the role of masculinities 15 Introduction 15 Defining the men’s health field 15 What do we know about men and health? 21 Masculinity/masculinities and health 27 Summary 34 2 Conceptualizing health and well-being 37 Introduction 37 What constitutes ‘health’? 38 Issues of risk, responsibility, control and release 44 Summary 62 3 Embodied masculinities and health 66 Introduction 66 Experiencing the body 67 Bodily appearance and image 75 Bodies in place and space 83 Summary 91 4 Men, relationships, emotions and health 94 Introduction 94 Men, intimacy and health 95 Wider relationships, men and health 106 Implications for mental health 114 Summary 117 [...]... Department of Health has shown some specific concern with, and commitment to, addressing men s health Speeches made by ministers for public health (Department of Health 2000, 2004), the inclusion of men s health projects in the Health Development Agency’s (HDA) annual business plans, and the formation of an All Party Parliamentary Group on Men s Health, all suggest government recognition that men s health. .. UNDERSTANDING MEN AND HEALTH groups of men For example, it allows us to view domestic violence as a men s health issue as it requires particular interventions (for both men and women) to improve the health and well-being of men and women as both perpetrators or survivors of such violence What seems to be the case, as Sabo (2000: 133) highlights, is that a theoretical distinction can be drawn between men s... ‘masculinity’ and their relations to health behaviours; health policy and its impact on men s health behaviour and outcomes, and examples of health professional service development to address men s health issues Yet, in contrast to the growing, qualitative, empirical work on men s ‘illness’ experiences (for example Sabo and Gordon 1995; Cameron and Bernardes 1998; White 1999; Pateman and Johnson 2000; White and. .. However, the Men s Health Forum (MHF), the biggest independent UK body that works for the development of health services that meet men s needs, has consistently raised concerns about the level of Department of Health commitment to actively and coherently implement this policy rhetoric Their document, Getting it Sorted, sets out a policy programme for men s health (Men s Health Forum 2004a) and highlights... direction and losing identity as the manufacturing industries 2 UNDERSTANDING MEN AND HEALTH diminish and more women move out of the domestic sphere and into paid employment in the new(er) service industries This ‘double whammy’ constructs men simultaneously as ‘irresponsible’ in terms of health- related behaviours and as ‘victims’ of destructive processes of socialization that negatively impact on their health. .. own and others’ health requires dedicated consideration within the academic and clinical domain Across the world we are seeing activity on men s health, from academic departments being developed to the success of organizations such as the Men s Health Forum in England and the European Men s Health Forum in raising the awareness of the public and politicians to the importance of targeting men s health. .. research on gender, health and social 4 UNDERSTANDING MEN AND HEALTH capital, to make an argument that emotion for men is often communicated within and through action rather than being internally ‘felt’ or verbally articulated Chapter 5 expands the discussions initiated earlier (in Chapter 2) on responsibility for health and relates this directly to men s narratives on the role of health services It... in the current literature and discussions on men s health These concerns are threefold relating to male mortality, morbidity, and health- related behaviours and are summarized below: 16 UNDERSTANDING MEN AND HEALTH Box 1.1 Mortality, morbidity and ‘behaviour’ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Average life expectancy for men in the UK is approximately four years less than it is for women (Office for National... UNDERSTANDING MEN AND HEALTH category These explanations often rely on a notion of ‘masculinity’ that is to be understood as a set of shared characteristics, common to men, as if they are all the same Yet, for those who work with men, or even if we stop and take time to think about men we know, it is clear that men s experiences and practices are rich and varied The health experiences of gay men, men. .. use a ‘gender mainstreaming’ model Based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, this process: ‘ promotes the integration of gender concerns into the formulation, monitoring and analysis of policies, programmes and projects, with the 20 UNDERSTANDING MEN AND HEALTH objective that women and men achieve the highest health status’ (World Health Organization 2001) In the UK, the opportunity . HHeeaalltthh Masculinities, Identity and Well-being SStteevvee RRoobbeerrttssoonn Understanding Men and Health Understanding Men and Health Masculinities, Identity. place and space 83 Summary 91 4 Men, relationships, emotions and health 94 Introduction 94 Men, intimacy and health 95 Wider relationships, men and health