Masculinity, ageing bodies, and leisure

Wiersma, Elaine; Chesser, Stephanie

doi:10.1080/11745398.2011.615718

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This ensured they were 'meaningful' (Roland and Chappell, 2015) and appealing to the men, by enabling them to re-connect with activities that were reminiscent of their younger masculinities and sense of 'self'. This is consistent with research that suggests older men seek to maintain their engagement in activities they have undertaken throughout their lives (Genoe and Singleton, 2006;Wiersma and Chesser, 2011;Phinney et al, 2013;Milligan et al, 2015). Previously, technological initiatives have tended to offer only one device in isolation (along with a limited set of games or applications chosen in advance by the researcher), such as the Nintendo Wii (Leahey and Singleton, 2011) or iPads (Upton et al, 2011;Leng et al, 2014), and so this may limit their appeal to older men who have interests that cannot be catered for by this technology or who may struggle with some of the actions required to engage with it.…”

Section: Provide Opportunities To Re-connect With Activities Associatsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…For some, this was a liberating experience and enhanced the appeal of the TI as well as their own confidence and wellbeing. Furthermore, through engaging with the technology, the men challenged the negative social constructions associated with an 'old man', which in conjunction with the physical bodily changes of ageing can detrimentally impact on their willingness to participate in activities (Wiersma and Chesser, 2011). This highlights the benefits of using 'off-the-shelf' gaming technology when delivering technological initiatives rather than the specialised, yet potentially stigmatised dementia-specific technology.…”

Section: Provide Opportunities To Re-connect With Activities Associatmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Exploring the ‘active mechanisms’ for engaging rural-dwelling older men with dementia in a community technological initiative

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research has suggested ecopsychosocial initiatives can promote a sense of wellbeing and inclusion in people with dementia. However, few studies have elucidated the ‘active mechanisms’ whereby such initiatives can achieve these outcomes, so hindering their generalisability. This is particularly pertinent when seeking to support community-dwelling older men with dementia who are reluctant to engage with traditional health and social care initiatives. This paper reports on a study that drew from the principles of Participatory Action Research to explore the ‘active mechanisms’ of a technological initiative for older men (65+ years) with dementia in rural England. An individually tailored, male-only initiative, using off-the-shelf computer game technology (e.g. iPad, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect) was delivered over a nine-week period. Multiple qualitative methods were employed, including: focus groups, open interviews and extensive reflective field notes, to gather data from the perspective of 22 men, 15 care partners and five community volunteers. The data were analysed thematically and interpreted using a masculinity lens. Three mechanisms contributed to the initiative's success: the use of the technology, the male-only environment and the empowering approach adopted. The paper argues that initiatives aimed at community-dwelling older men with dementia would be advised to consider these gendered experiences and ensure participants can maximise their masculine capital when participating in them, by providing enabling activities, non-threatening environments and empowering approaches of delivery.

show abstract

Section: Provide Opportunities To Re-connect With Activities Associatsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Provide Opportunities To Re-connect With Activities Associatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the ‘active mechanisms’ for engaging rural-dwelling older men with dementia in a community technological initiative

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A pragmatic masculine embodiment is concerned with the use of the body as a resource for the completion of physical, masculine activities and the gender roles through which they are sustained (Connell 1995, Robertson 2006, Watson 2000, Wiersma and Chesser 2011. Alongside its physiological effects, PD's symptoms came to be known through their effects on the body's ability to complete a range of stereotypically masculine forms of labour and the identities expressed through them.…”

Section: Pd and A Pragmatic Masculine Embodimentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ageing, masculinity and Parkinson's disease: embodied perspectives

Gibson

Kierans

2016

Sociology Health & Illness

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Parkinson's disease (PD) presents as an illness which predominantly affects older men. However older men's lived experiences of PD, including how they are influenced by age and gender relations has seen little empirical study. Drawing on Watson's male body schema, this paper explores how men engage with masculinities and ageing in order to make sense and meaning from PD. Data is presented from 30 narrative and semi structured interviews with 15 men of various ages who were living with PD. Findings suggest that PD threatens a visceral embodiment located in the body's basic movements and intimate functions; a pragmatic embodiment expressed through men's everyday occupations and an experiential embodiment concerned with emotions and sensations felt within and through the body. In addition, each dimension of men's embodiment also intersected with the ageing process, a process also shaped in turn by broader social and cultural concerns regarding the positions and possibilities of men's lives as they move through the life course. This paper concludes by discussing the implications of gender and ageing in understanding men's experiences of PD.

show abstract

“…sense that men may not necessary embody hegemonic masculinity, but conform to this ideal (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005), and is being captured by what men do rather then what men are, thus found to subsist within men's social interactions. Norms of masculinity are actively constructed and reconstructed by men (Wiersma & Chesser, 2011), and masculine identity as a stereotypical ideal, embedded in the social context in which they live (Courtenay, 2000). Ethnic and cultural variations can be found in perceptions of gender ideals.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cacioli & Mussap, 2014), homosexuality (Slevin & Linneman, 2010), cancers (e.g. Hammond, Teucher, Duggleby and Thomas, 2012), maintenance of independence (Smith et al, 2007), and leisure/health (Wiersma & Chesser, 2011). Ageing is often associated with threat to older adults (Levy, 2009), for example, being a victim of negative stereotypes of ageing has been linked with cardiovascular stress (Levy et al, 2008), increased psychological distress and poorer quality of life (Yuan, 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Men's experiences of middle-age: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Vas

Forshaw

Grogan

2016

NORMA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Middle-age is distinctive in both the quantity of stressors experienced and their nature, so is an important area of study. This study used semi-structured e-mail interviews to investigate how a group of nine Caucasian, middle class, heterosexual men aged between 45 and 55 years made sense of ageing and middle age. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach was employed. Analysis of the accounts indicated four superordinate themes: (1) feelings of being trapped in between post-industrial and contemporaneous gender ideals, (2) mind over body, and the disregard of the metrosexual body ideology, (3) fatherhood, being busy, and lost opportunities, (4) holistic and inward self-awareness. Future studies are needed to enable an understanding of middle-aged men's experiences of distress associated with ageing, and to investigate whether this is associated with the progress of long-term physical and mental conditions at midlife.

show abstract

Masculinity, ageing bodies, and leisure

Cited by 11 publications

References 40 publications

Exploring the ‘active mechanisms’ for engaging rural-dwelling older men with dementia in a community technological initiative

Exploring the ‘active mechanisms’ for engaging rural-dwelling older men with dementia in a community technological initiative

Ageing, masculinity and Parkinson's disease: embodied perspectives

Men's experiences of middle-age: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About