Men's Health Body, Identity and Social Context

by Broom, Alex; Tovey, Philip

• ISBN13: 9780470516560
• ISBN10: 0470516569
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-02-24
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

This book explores the social, political and theoretical underpinnings of the men's health field. Written by experts in the field, it provides a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between cultural understandings and health-related issues. It looks at important issues such as prostate cancer, chest pain and heart disease and how men experience such problems. It examines sexuality, mental illness and ethnicity as well as the role that sport can play in men's health outcomes.

Author Biography

Alex Broom is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Newcastle, Australia Philip Tovey is a Reader in Health Sociology in the School of Healthcare at the University of Leeds, UK

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. viii
Introduction: men's health in context	p. 1
Toward a new men's health	p. 3
Outline of the book	p. 5
Theorising masculinity and men's health	p. 9
Introduction	p. 9
Health and the social construction of gender	p. 11
Theorising masculinity in the context of health	p. 13
Conclusion	p. 26
Positioning prostate cancer as the problematic third testicle	p. 33
Introduction	p. 33
Moving-into prostate cancer	p. 36
Moving-through prostate cancer	p. 42
Moving out from prostate cancer	p. 50
Conclusion	p. 53
Men, masculinity and help-seeking behaviour	p. 63
Introduction	p. 63
Are men more reluctant to seek help than women, or is it just a myth?	p. 63
Gender role socialisation and help-seeking behaviour	p. 64
Help-seeking vis-à-vis the social construction of hegemonic masculinity	p. 70
Masculinities, identity and help-seeking behaviour	p. 73
Conclusion	p. 77
Gender and psychosocial adaptation after a coronary event: a relational analysis	p. 83
Introduction	p. 83
Method	p. 86
Living in denial	p. 87
Coping with diagnosis, treatment and recovery	p. 90
Reconstructing gender identity during extended recovery	p. 91
Discussion	p. 99
Conclusion	p. 104
Spectacular risk, public health and the technological mediation of the sexual practices of gay men	p. 107
Introduction	p. 107
Spectacular risk and public health	p. 109
Measuring and explaining risky behaviour	p. 112
Technologically mediated sexual cultures	p. 114
Public health after 'barebacking'?	p. 116
Conclusion	p. 120
Young men, masculinity and alcohol	p. 126
Introduction	p. 126
Young men's alcohol consumption	p. 126
Influences on young men's clririking	p. 128
The importance masculinity	p. 129
Recent qualitative research	p. 132
Quantitative analysis: beliefs and behaviour
Conclusion
Men's mental health	p. 145
Introduction	p. 145
Rates of mental disorders	p. 146
The social-constructionist perspective	p. 149
Gender portrayals in advertising of psychotropic drugs	p. 151
Over-and underachievement as a male mental health syndrome	p. 154
Men, warfare and mental health	p. 156
Conclusion	p. 158
Sport, health and steroids: paradox, contradiction or ethical self-formation?	p. 163
Introduction	p. 163
Sport and health as paradox	p. 164
From paradox to moral and ethical performance	p. 167
Bodybuilding as ethical practice and performance	p. 169
Physical growth and personal transformation in bodybuilding	p. 171
Dedication and the use of time	p. 173
Health as distinction	p. 176
Conclusion	p. 178
Racialised masculinities and the health of immigrant and refugee men	p. 132
Introduction	p. 182
The new men's health	p. 183
The health disparities literature in relation to race and ethnicity	p. 186
Marginalised masculinities and men's health	p. 188
Immigrant and refugee men in Australia	p. 190
The social context of immigrant and refugee men's health	p. 192
Gender issues facing immigrant and refugee men	p. 194
Conclusion	p. 196
Future research agenda in men's health	p. 202
Introduction	p. 202
Some guiding assumptions in research	p. 203
Dualistic thought	p. 204
The dominance of biomedical conceptions of health	p. 206
Developing new perspectives on men's health and illness	p. 208
Index	p. 215
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