Interesting article, John. But, at the risk of sounding PC, and with limited
knowledge of the specific case of Australia, here are some counter-arguments:

1. Historically, women were under-represented in health research. That’s why the
more recent focus on women’s health.

2. Cultural constructions of “masculinity” are important for health (linked to
various forms of risk taking and violence). Moreover, they are not “endogenous”
to individual men. The term endogeneity implies masculinity is innate. In fact,
it is learned through socialization and reinforced by the expectations and
sanctions of others (especially, but not exclusively, men). Of course, these
cultural constructions vary with the historical context and the political and
economic structures of societies (and individual men’s location in them) and
it’s important to investigate precisely how. But that doesn’t mean that “what
it means to be a man” and the power dynamics between men and women are
irrelevant for health or immune to change.

3. I agree that other SDOH factors like unemployment, stress, lack of access to
public transit, etc. have a huge impact on health. But why should we expect
these factors to affect men’s health any differently than they affect women’s
health? In other words, isn’t poverty bad for male and female hearts and male
and female minds, whereas “hegemonic masculinity” is bad for men because it
motivates them to take unhealthy risks (hence, lower life expectancy) and bad
for women because it subjects them to greater violence and control (hence, more
rapes, murders by spouses, and chronic ailments)? If there is something
different about how poverty affects men, then isn't that because it is bound up
with cultural constructions of masculinity (e.g., the man has to "bring home the
bacon")?

Jeff


--
Jeff Denis
PhD Candidate
Department of Sociology
Harvard University

"The principle of organizing our society for the benefit of all the people and
not for a privileged few - that is still here and that is a principle to which
we adhere." - Tommy C. Douglas



Quoting John Macdonald <[log in to unmask]>:

> I love it and will read it all and use it when speaking to Australian
> parliamentarians this coming week. The website keeps me going. Thank you,
> Dennis.
>
> But I notice that no one takes me up on my challenge when I say - in this
> international men's health week - that simplistic western notions of gender
> and totally understandable concern for gender inequalities in health in some
> countries and situations prevent us from using the social determinants of
> health framework to look at inequalities in health some men experience. Pity
> that political correctness seems to prevent us looking at men's health other
> than to say they must change their behaviour. Go tell that to men in families
> in western Sydney, white as well as Indigenous, who are affected by job
> insecurity, poor transport, poor access to affordable good food etc. Here in
> Australia the dominant gender discourse is about hegemonic masculinty. If
> anyone is intersted in a social determinants approach to men's health:
> "Shifting paradigms: a social-determinants approach to solving problems in
> men's health policy and practice"
> John J Macdonald MJA 2006; 185 (8): 456-458
> https://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/185_08_161006/mac10104_fm.html
>
> John Macdonald
>
>
>
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