Men themselves tend to dismiss health needs as a means of constructing
and performing dominant forms of masculinities. If to be ill and
requiring of help and care are culturally represented as characteristically
feminine, linked to vulnerability, weakness and loss of control over one’s
body, then avoiding the imputation of illness is a way for many men to
establish masculinities by demonstrating difference from women. Some
men may do this by not only ignoring signs of illness and failing to seek
appropriate medical care but also deliberately taking risks such as drinking
to excess, speeding or fighting, demonstrating fearlessness, lack of
concern for one’s health and control over one’s body (Courtenay, 2000;
Watson, 2000; White, 2002). These aspects of hegemonic masculinities
have implications for the steps men may take to protect or otherwise
neglect the health of their bodies and the ways in which they interact with
health care providers.