Men's Health and Masculinity
Overview
HIMM Framework
The Health, Illness, Men and Masculinities (HIMM) framework[1] was conceived as a guide for examining the influence of masculinity on men's health throughout all stages of the lifespan. The framework's objective is to inform research surrounding men's health and masculinity as to improve health education, policies, and services targeted towards men. The HIMM framework emphasizes the impacts on men's health that occur as a byproduct of the interactions between mainstream conceptualizations of masculinity and social determinants of health such as income and social status, race, employment, and education.[2]
Risky Behaviours
Accidental Injury
Smoking
Findings from the World Health Organization (WHO) state that the prevalence of tobacco use in men is approximately four times higher than that in women, from a rate of 48% compared to 12%[3].
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Many studies have examined the relationships between smoking and masculinity and found that men's smoking behaviour is generally associated with features of hegemonic masculinity. Such aspects of hegemonic masculinity that are linked to smoking include the desire to reject association with feminine qualities, the drive to appear dominant in social situations over women and other men, being stoic or emotionally invulnerable, and being in control.
Furthermore, research studies have also identified several social determinants that contribute to the way in which smoking and masculinity are linked.
Smoking and Cultural Identity
The gender disparity of smoking prevalence varies, and can be more extreme in countries such as China, Korea, and Indonesia, where the ratio of men to women smokers is closer to 10:1. [4] Oftentimes in such cultures, beginning smoking is seen as a rite of passage from childhood into manhood. In some countries such as Indonesia, women smokers are culturally derided while smoking is a key presence in social interactions among men. As such, these men smoke as a way to reaffirm their masculinity and reject feminine attributes. Additionally, immigrant men who come from countries with a high smoking prevalence often continue to smoke in their new country as a means to maintain their cultural identity. [5]
Smoking and in Gay Men
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Smoking and and Stress
Hegemonic masculinities commonly promote the notion that a man should remain stoic and emotionally unaffected, even in the face of great stressors. Consequently, smoking is commonly used by men as a means to stabilize their emotions and deal with stress stemming from school, work, or at home. The stressors that contribute to smoking behaviours change over the life course; for example, one primary stressor that prompts smoking behaviour in many adult men is the transition to fatherhood[6].
Binge Drinking
Stress and Hostility
Reluctance to seek medical help
References
- ↑ Evans, Joan; Blye, Frank; Oliffe, John L.; Gregory, David (26 Jan 2011). "Health, Illness, Men and Masculinities (HIMM): a theoretical framework for understanding men and their health". Journal of Men's Health. 8: 7–16 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ WHO | The determinants of health. (2019). Retrieved 21 July 2019, from https://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/
- ↑ WHO | Gender and tobacco. (2019). Retrieved 27 July 2019, from https://www.who.int/tobacco/research/gender/about/en/
- ↑ Kodriati, N., Pursell, L., & Hayati, E. (2018). A scoping review of men, masculinities, and smoking behavior: The importance of settings. Global Health Action, 11(sup3), 1589763. doi: 10.1080/16549716.2019.1589763
- ↑ Ng N, Weinehall L, Ohman A. ‘If I don’t smoke, I’m not a real man’–Indonesian teenage boys’ views about smoking. Health Educ Res. 2007;22:794–804.
- ↑ Johnson JL, Oliffe JL, Kelly MT, et al. The readings of smoking fathers: a reception analysis of tobacco cessation images. Health Commun. 2009;24:532–547.
White, Cameron, Oliffe, John L., Bottorff, Joan L. (2012). From the Physician to the Marlboro Man: Masculinity, Health, and Cigarette Advertising in America, 1946–1964. Men and Masculinities, 15(5), 526-547.
Mahalik, J., & Burns, S. (2011). Predicting health behaviors in young men that put them at risk for heart disease. Psychology Of Men & Masculinity, 12(1), 1-12. doi: 10.1037/a0021416