Age and embodied masculinities: Midlife gay and heterosexual men talk about their bodies

Lodge, Amy C.; Umberson, Debra

doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2013.03.004

Cited by 62 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…In addition, younger men may feel the loss of sexual function more acutely than older men, 44 especially as sexuality plays a central role in both gay and straight masculine identity. 45 Older gay men reporting higher masculine self-esteem is also consistent with emerging research on resiliency in…”

Section: Gay Men Agingsupporting

confidence: 80%

The Health Effects of Masculine Self-Esteem Following Treatment for Localized Prostate Cancer Among Gay Men

Allensworth-Davies

Talcott²,

Heeren

et al. 2016

LGBT Health

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Purpose: To identify factors associated with masculine self-esteem in gay men following treatment for localized prostate cancer (PCa) and to determine the association between masculine self-esteem, PCa-specific factors, and mental health factors in these patients. Methods: A national cross-sectional survey of gay PCa survivors was conducted in 2010-2011. To be eligible for the study, men needed to be age 50 or older, reside in the United States, self-identify as gay, able to read, write, and speak English, and to have been treated for PCa at least 1 year ago. One hundred eleven men returned surveys. Results: After simultaneously adjusting for the factors in our model, men aged 50-64 years and men aged 65-74 years reported lower masculine self-esteem scores than men aged 75 years or older. Lower scores were also reported by men who reported recent severe stigma. Men who reported feeling comfortable revealing their sexual orientation to their doctor reported higher masculine self-esteem scores than men who were not. The mental component score from the SF-12 was also positively correlated with masculine self-esteem. Conclusion: PCa providers are in a position to reduce feelings of stigma and promote resiliency by being aware that they might have gay patients, creating a supportive environment where gay patients can discuss specific sexual concerns, and engaging patients in treatment decisions. These efforts could help not only in reducing stigma but also in increasing masculine self-esteem, thus greatly influencing gay patients' recovery, quality of life, and compliance with follow-up care.

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Section: Gay Men Agingsupporting

confidence: 80%

The Health Effects of Masculine Self-Esteem Following Treatment for Localized Prostate Cancer Among Gay Men

Allensworth-Davies

Talcott²,

Heeren

et al. 2016

LGBT Health

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“…Midlife challenges affect women in both straight and lesbian marriages, yet existing studies primarily focus on straight marriages and grant little insight into how women in lesbian marriages navigate sex amid significant midlife events. Moreover, midlife men's and women's feelings about sex and intimacy likely depend on not only their own gender but also the gender of their spouse (Elliott & Umberson, ; Lodge & Umberson, , ; Umberson, Thomeer, & Lodge, ). These gaps in research limit our knowledge about the experiences of sex and sexuality among married women during midlife.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex in Midlife: Women's Sexual Experiences in Lesbian and Straight Marriages

Paine

Umberson

Reczek

2018

J of Marriage and Family

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Objective This study examines how married straight and lesbian women understand sexual changes in midlife. Background Sexual satisfaction is key to marital quality, yet marital sex typically diminishes in midlife. Little is known, however, about how married straight and lesbian women make sense of midlife sexuality. Comparing the narratives of lesbian and straight women can reveal how midlife events, relational contexts, and gender norms drive women's experiences of and responses to diminishing sex. Method Inductive and deductive analyses were performed on interviews with a convenience sample of 16 straight and 16 lesbian mostly high‐status married couples in Massachusetts. Results Lesbian and straight women suggest that sexual activity and desire diminish over time due to health, aging, and caregiving events, yet lesbian women additionally emphasize the importance of weight gain, caregiving for adult parents, and shared experiences of menopause. Women further describe distress when their sex lives diverge from norms specific to marriage and their sexual identities. Moreover, women report relationship work designed to maintain or reignite sex; when compared with straight women, lesbians describe more work and a stronger sense of duty to keep sex alive and uniquely describe medical providers as unhelpful in addressing sexual challenges. Conclusion The results suggest that relational contexts and cultural discourses shape straight and lesbian women's experiences of distress and comfort about diminishing sex in marriage.

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“…People with long-standing and newly diagnosed HIV continue to grapple with many of the same issues identified during the 1990s, but more have been identified; sexual pleasure in the context of serostatus, ageing, body image and managing risk, for example (see Bartos & McDonald, 2000;Beuthin, Bruce, & Sheilds, 2014;Davis, 2007;Flowers & Davis, 2012;Flowers, Davis, Larkin, Church, & Marriott, 2011;Langdridge & Flowers, 2013;Lodge & Umberson, 2013;Rosengarten, 2009;Westhaver, 2005). Solomon, O'Brien, Wilkins, and Gervais (2014, p. 243) have elucidated the ways that uncertainty permeates the experience of those ageing with HIV.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The work of negotiating HIV as a chronic condition: a qualitative analysis

Thompson

Abel

2016

AIDS Care

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Living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the industrialised world has for over a decade been conceptualised as living with a chronic illness. People living with HIV now are amongst the first to live and age with the virus. Drawing on a qualitative longitudinal study in a low-incidence area in a low-incidence country, this paper investigates the nuanced ways that people negotiate this condition. While it has been argued that HIV is a condition like any other chronic disease, our thematic analysis reveals some similarities and particularities around living with the condition. In comparing themselves to others with the condition, high levels of diversity of experience were identified that extended well beyond length of time from diagnosis. In comparing their illness with other illnesses, the location, for example, of their specialist service within a clinic for those with acute sexually transmitted diseases was identified as problematic. The work involved in maintaining a coherent sense of self in the face of existing and shifting challenges as a result of their infection was a second strong theme. The final theme involved flux and flex work in the ways people sought to gain and maintain control over various aspects of their lives. All of these experiences are mediated by place; that is the experience is not the same as that of those who live where there is a much higher incidence of infection. The work involved in negotiating this condition in low-incidence environments deserves more attention, but aspects of these findings are significant in higher incidence contexts as well; in particular, passivity in face of infection as one ages and the potential for medication refusal as a means of maintaining control over life and death.

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Age and embodied masculinities: Midlife gay and heterosexual men talk about their bodies

Cited by 62 publications

References 40 publications

The Health Effects of Masculine Self-Esteem Following Treatment for Localized Prostate Cancer Among Gay Men

The Health Effects of Masculine Self-Esteem Following Treatment for Localized Prostate Cancer Among Gay Men

Sex in Midlife: Women's Sexual Experiences in Lesbian and Straight Marriages

The work of negotiating HIV as a chronic condition: a qualitative analysis

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