University of Exeter, UK.
Health (London). 2012 Mar;16(2):208-25. doi: 10.1177/1363459311403943. Epub 2011 May 20.
Statistically, men make less use of health-care services than women. This has been interpreted as the result of the 'hegemonic' masculine code in which 'real' men are understood to be physically fit, uninterested in their health and self-reliant. However, less attention has been paid to understanding how hegemonic masculinity intersects with the wider western socio-cultural contexts of men's help-seeking, particularly the valorization of health as a form of social achievement. This article presents the results of interviews with 14 higher socio-economic status (SES) men to uncover their 'interpretive repertoires' in relation to health and illness, help-seeking and masculinity. Although many interviewees drew on the stereotype of the 'Neanderthal Man' who avoids the doctors to explain help-seeking by men 'in general', they constructed their own experiences of help-seeking in terms of being responsible, problem-solving and in control. It is argued that the framing of help-seeking in terms of 'taking action' chimes with an increasingly pro-active 'expert patient' approach within western health-care. This conceptual reconstruction of the dominant masculine code in relation to help-seeking, from 'Neanderthal Man' to 'Action Man', may lead to greater gender equality in terms of accessing health-care. However, it has the potential to exacerbate social inequalities between men from different SES groups.
从统计学角度来看，男性使用医疗保健服务的频率低于女性。这被解释为“霸权”男性规范的结果，在这种规范中，“真正的”男性被认为身体健康、对健康不感兴趣且自力更生。然而，人们对理解霸权男性气质如何与男性寻求帮助的更广泛的西方社会文化背景相交织，特别是将健康视为一种社会成就的形式，关注较少。本文介绍了对 14 名社会经济地位较高（SES）男性的访谈结果，以揭示他们与健康和疾病、寻求帮助和男性气质相关的“解释性剧目”。尽管许多受访者借鉴了“穴居人”的刻板印象，即避免看医生，以解释男性“普遍”寻求帮助的行为，但他们根据自己负责任、解决问题和控制局面的经验来构建自己寻求帮助的经历。有人认为，寻求帮助的框架是“采取行动”，这与西方医疗保健中越来越积极主动的“专家患者”方法相吻合。这种与寻求帮助相关的霸权男性规范的概念重构，从“穴居人”到“行动人”，可能会在获得医疗保健方面实现更大的性别平等。然而，它有可能加剧来自不同 SES 群体的男性之间的社会不平等。
