Masculine Culture Analysis

Masculine Culture. Many cultures have a similar belief that men should be tough, emotionless, and capable individuals able to provide for their family and protect them. This idea often casts sickness as a weakness that men should not have. This of course is a very limiting and often harmful perspective for cultures to practice and is often embedded in many males subconscious that in turn affects the way they approach health. According to Will H. Courtenay's article, “Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men's well-being: a theory of gender and health,” health behaviors between females and males are not only different but greatly affect the risk of illness each face. Furthermore a majority of findings all point out that adult men make fewer
health care visits and are “significantly more likely than women to have had no recent physician contacts, regardless of income or ethnicity” (2000, pp. 1386). Back when this article came out in 2000 it was estimated that men died approximately 7 years younger than women and had higher death rates for all 15 leading causes of death, except Alzheimer's disease which Matthew Hoffman writes in his article “6 Top Health Threats to Men” that men often don't live ling enough to develop (Courtenay, 2000, pp. 1385). Although these health gaps are closing Hoffman explains that even in 2008 “men still die five years earlier than their wives, on average” (Hoffman, 2008). One of the reasons why he didn't tell anyone about his discomfort was because he didn't know that his symptoms were associated with prostate cancer. If it weren't for my aunt he probably wouldn't have questioned that there was anything wrong with his health nor would he have sought information about the health risks that men have. He also, most likely, didn't want to accept that there was anything wrong with his health.
Orphaned at a young age my grandfather learned early how to be an independent and capable person. He worked all his life to be able to provide for himself, and then for his family based on the guidelines that the male figures in his life provided for him. Illness had no place in his life because it would have inhibited him of performing his duties as a man and head of the household as he understood them. Demetrius Porche, DNS, RN, editor in chief of the American Journal of Men's Health says that "Most men's thinking is, if they can live up to their roles in society, then they're healthy," he continues, "as long as they're working and feeling productive, most men aren't considering the risks to their health" (Hoffman, 2008). This was true for my grandfather. Even after he had to retire he still busied himself around the house and outside. He loved to garden, he did most of the grocery shopping (often he would ride his bike to the store if my aunt was using the car), washed the dishes, cleaned the bathrooms, and he spent most of the day tinkering with objects both constructing and deconstructing things in his workshop
outdoors. His illness, unfortunately, forced him to stay indoors and prohibited him of doing all the things he had taken responsibility of as the man of the house and as a result this effected him the most.