Men, masculinities and diabetes: ‘doing gender’ in Italian men’s narratives of chronic illness

Abstract

There has been a growing interest in the study of masculinity and its intersection with health. However, and despite epidemiological data showing men’s general disadvantage in health, there are only a few empirical studies that explore men’s experiences of chronic illness. Drawing on empirical data collected in qualitative research on masculinity and autoimmune diabetes, this article investigates the multiple ways in which gender may intersect with health, in an attempt to go beyond the widespread thesis that ‘masculinity is bad for men’s health’. In line with more recent critical perspectives on the study of men’s health that have challenged this oversimplistic assumption, this work further problematises masculinity in relation to health and illness. In‐depth interviews have been conducted with 40 young/adult diabetic men from working/middle‐class backgrounds. The findings show that gender might intersect health in complex ways and diabetic men can embody and re‐signify health practices in order to fulfil or redefine dominant ideals of masculinity. From the analysis, three different ‘diabetic masculinities’ have been identified and will be discussed: the Diabetic Quantified Self, the Athlete and the Free Spirit.

Efeitos Do Autocuidado Apoiado Por Enfermeiros Em Homens Com Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2

“…Como parte desse cenário, eles podem deparar-se com episódios de agudização de sua condição, o que os leva a buscar serviços de pronto atendimento (22) . Há que se destacar a importância de os enfermeiros compreenderem os aspectos que estão relacionados à construção sociocultural dos homens com diabetes e que impactam sobre o cuidado em saúde (23) .…”

Relación del machismo con la aceptación de la diabetes mellitus tipo 2 en hombres adultos

“…Los resultados señalan que los hombres adultos con puntuaciones más altas de machismo tienen menor aceptación al diagnóstico de la DMT2. Esto tal vez se debe a que los estándares de ser hombre en la sociedad están por encima de la salud, pues los individuos deben demostrar control de emociones y mantenerse fuertes y dominantes de sus necesidades físicas proyectando un modelo a seguir para otros sin desmeritarse como hombres 31,32 . Dentro de las dimensiones del machismo, se encontró que, a mayor homofobia, menor aceptación de la DMT2.…”