School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Sociol Health Illn. 2012 Nov;34(8):1246-61. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2012.01471.x. Epub 2012 Apr 4.
Sexually transmitted infection testing rates among young men remain low, and their disengagement from sexual health services has been linked to enactments of masculinity that prohibit or truncate discussions of sexual health. Understanding how men align with multiple masculinities is therefore important for tailoring interventions that appropriately respond to their needs. We draw on 32 in-depth interviews with 15-24-year-old men to explore the discourses that facilitate or shut down sexual health communication with peers and sex partners. We employ a critical discourse analysis to explore how men's conversations about sexual health are constituted by masculine hierarchies (such as the ways in which masculinities influence men's ability to construct or challenge and contest dominant discourses about sexual health). Men's conversations about sexual health focused primarily around their sexual encounters - something frequently referred to as 'guy talk'. Also described were situations whereby participants employed a discourse of 'manning up' to (i) exert power over others with disregard for potential repercussions and (ii) deploy power to affirm and reify their own hyper-masculine identities, while using their personal (masculine) power to help others (who are subordinate in the social ordering of men). By better understanding how masculine discourses are employed by men, their sexual health needs can be advanced.
性传播感染检测率在年轻男性中仍然较低，他们与性健康服务脱节与禁止或缩短性健康讨论的男子气概表现有关。因此，了解男性如何与多种男子气概保持一致，对于量身定制干预措施以满足他们的需求非常重要。我们借鉴了 32 名 15-24 岁男性的深入访谈，探讨了促进或阻碍与同龄人及性伴侣进行性健康沟通的话语。我们采用批判性话语分析来探讨男性关于性健康的对话是如何由男子气概的等级制度构成的（例如，男子气概如何影响男性构建或挑战和质疑性健康主导话语的能力）。男性关于性健康的对话主要集中在他们的性经历上——这通常被称为“男人之间的谈话”。还有一些情况是，参与者采用了“男子汉气概”的话语，（i）不顾潜在后果而对他人施加权力，（ii）利用权力来肯定和强化自己的超男子气概身份，同时利用自己的个人（男子气概）权力来帮助处于男性社会等级劣势的他人。通过更好地了解男性如何使用男子气概话语，可以促进他们的性健康需求。
