MASCULINITIES & HEALTH

1. MASCULINITIES &HEALTH

2. American Men at Risk • American men die, on average, 5.4 years earlier than their female counterparts.

4. American Men at Risk US men suffer higher death rates than women from all causes of death:

5. American Men at Risk US men suffer higher death rates than women from all causes of death:

7. American Men at Risk

8. Beliefs and Behaviors • Belief: belief |biˈlēf|noun • an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists • something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion or conviction • Behavior: • the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, esp. toward others

9. Demonstrating Masculinities Health-related beliefs and behaviors, like other social practices that women and men engage in, are a • Means for demonstrating • femininities and masculinities.

10. Signifiers of Masculinity • social practices thatunderminemen's health are often signifiers of masculinity that • instruments that men use in the • negotiationof • social power and • status. • What are some examples of these social practices?

11. Masculinity Ideology • Masculinity ideology is defined as the endorsement and internalization of cultural belief systems about masculinity and the male gender… • (Pleck, Sonenstein, & Ku, 1993, p. 88).

12. Key terms to understand: • Endorsement • Internalization • Cultural belief systems

13. Traditional Masculinity Ideology • Seven Key Dimensions: • the requirement to avoid all things feminine; • the injunction to restrict one’s emotional life; • the emphasis on toughness and aggression; • the injunction to be self-reliant; • the emphasis on achieving status above all else; • non-relational, objectifying attitudes toward sexuality; • and fear and hatred of homosexuals.

14. Gender role socialization • Masculinity ideology is thought to arise through a process of gender role socialization whereby young boys (as well as girls) internalize cultural norms and expectations about male-appropriate behavior from families, peer groups, and society

15. Key terms and concepts: • Gender role socialization • Cultural norms and expectations

16. These internalized gender role norms serve as a means by which men organize and process information about themselves and the external world (Spence, 1993).

17. masculinities • A perspective on gender, which holds that there is no one “true masculinity” but rather there are many masculinities that vary according to the social context (Levant, Richmond, Majors, Inclan, Rossello, & Heesacker, 2003)

18. Constructionist Perspective • Gender is not two static categories, but rather ``a set of socially constructed relationships which are produced and reproduced through people's actions'’ • ie., not male or female • rather “maleness” and “femaleness” • Gender is ``something that one does, and does recurrently, in interaction with others''

19. Gender is a Verb • it is achieved or demonstrated and is better understood as a verb than as a noun • Most importantly, gender does not reside in the person, but rather in social transactions defined as gendered

20. Active Agents • Men and boys are active agents in constructing and reconstructing dominant norms of masculinity. • This concept of agency -- the part individuals play in exerting power and producing effects in their lives -- is central to constructionism (Courtenay, 1999a)