The Role of Masculinity in Men’s Health
Men tend to not talk about their physical and mental well-being that often. Why is that so?
Men’s health has long been neglected by policymakers, healthcare professionals and researchers until recent years, especially the role of gender (i.e., masculinity) and its influence on their well-being. It is important that men’s health receives its due, considering the key fact that the average life expectancy of men is 5 years shorter than that of women. The importance of men’s health can be explained by one critical fact; the life expectancy of men on average is 5 years shorter than women. To add to this, cardiovascular diseases and cancer are more prevalent in men than it is in women.
When we look at men’s inclination to seek help, we see even more startling statistics. Research has shown that almost 60% of men in America, only seek medical help when they think they have a serious health issue. Similarly, men are less likely to seek help for any mental health issues they may have experienced recently in comparison to the women who do not seek help. This gives me all the more reason to talk about men’s overall health. As a result, this article will explore the reasons why there is a smaller number of men who openly talk about their physical and mental health as well as seek help.
Shortcuts For The Busy Reader
What Is Movember?
Movember is a combination of the words moustache and November. It is an annual event celebrated every November when men from across the world rock their staches. But this initiative goes beyond that; it intends to shine a light on men’s health specifically prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention throughout this month. According to the Movember Foundation, approximately 10.8 million men around the world are diagnosed with prostate cancer with testicular cancer being more common among younger men. Furthermore, in terms of mental health account for 69% of all suicides worldwide.
The Movember Foundation aims to address the aforementioned causes, having funded more than 1250 projects globally on men’s health around the world. The charity aims to reinvent how physical and mental health services reach and support men. To avoid confusion between the charity and the initiative, we will refer to the entire initiative as Men’s Health Awareness Month.
But why are men so reluctant about seeking help for their physical and/or mental health?
One of the reasons men are considered to be reluctant to seek help is due to the popular notion of ‘masculinity’, which endorses the belief that men must be at the peak of physical strength, mental resilience and complete self-reliance. This misconstrued notion does not fall short of having repercussions on impacting generations of men which we will explore in the next section.
What Is Masculinity?
For generations, men have been taught that the norm for them is to be strong, successful, in control and capable; to be the “man’s man”. More importantly, this results in an active avoidance to express their emotions. Research has shown that emotional expression has been commonly perceived as ‘feminine’ behaviour while action-oriented coping styles such as smoking, consumption of alcohol and sometimes even violence are perceived to be behaviours that align with the traditional definition of ‘masculinity’.
Over time, these notions have often been misconstrued and men have been taught that this is the norm, with society reinforcing these unhealthy traits ultimately giving rise to toxic masculinity. This kind of perception of masculinity is restrictive, subsequently limiting men’s choices and ultimately impacting their health as it has been suggested that men tend to adhere to these norms to a tee. This often leads men to steer clear of expressing their emotions or suppress any behaviours that may be considered ‘feminine’ causing adverse effects to their mental health.
Men and Their Health
On a societal level, these behaviours men engage in can be explained by the unrelenting pressures they face. For example, men tend to overwork themselves in order to be able to acquire tangible things that define ‘success’. Should they fail to fulfil these ideals, feelings of failure tend to arise as well as compromise their well-being. For instance, men’s professions take centre stage in their lives increasing the levels of work-related stress they face on a daily basis. This has been shown to affect both their physical health as well as their mental health.
When men experience mental health illnesses such as depression and anxiety but do not actively seek help, they are even more reluctant to voice their struggles. Instead, men engage in unhealthy coping behaviours such as extreme sports, violence, overworking, alcohol and drugs which again perpetuates the image of ‘masculinity’. Moreover, society often tends to be dismissive of the traumas men have experienced, to the extent that any coping behaviour they display is often punished instead of trying to focus on the underlying problem.
Moreover, it has to be understood that we are not referring to men as a homogenous group of individuals. We have to acknowledge challenges around men’s health through a wider sociocultural context and consider the extent to which the role of gender interconnects with factors such as financial ability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and disability, just to name a few. Men from minority groups have a reduced health profile score when compared with the ethnic majority. For example, African American men and Hispanic men have an average life expectancy that is 8 years and 6 years shorter than Caucasian men, respectively.
So can we support and encourage men to take more care of themselves as well as their physical and mental well-being?
Across the article, one thing seems to be prevalent - the need for men to maintain this false image of success in order to uphold an unhealthy view of masculinity. One way to help break down these stereotypes and by extension, societal expectations is by offering programs that educate men to be more aware of the health issues they face. By increasing health literacy, we can also reduce the stigma around mental health by normalising feeling vulnerable as well as making use of language that is non-judgemental.
Moreover, creating a safe space for men to engage in conversations about the challenges they face regarding their well-being through programs such as support groups. This gives men the opportunity to have more open conversations about their experiences without the fear of being judged.
Ultimately it is important that we rid this harmful perception of masculinity which plays a significant role in men seeking help for their well-being. Opening conversations and providing a safe environment which encourages men to be vulnerable and express their feelings/challenges, can ultimately bring society one step closer to motivate men to be open about seeking help.
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