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Gender and Sexuality Portfolio Post Three: Connection to Popular Culture

We as humans learn a lot about the world around us from our exposure to social media and popular culture. Pop culture is arguably one of the most influential teachers when it comes to understanding one’s role in society, whether that role is based on gender, sex, race, class, religion, or any other characteristic of one’s identity. From the TV we watch, to the music we listen to, and everything in between, we are constantly being reminded of how we are allowed to fit into society and what thoughts and behaviors are acceptable. This is extremely evident when we look at the way masculinity is taught in pop culture in the United States. Popular songs across all genres include messages about being a man, including the need to have sex with multiple women, to show off one’s material possessions and wealth, and to be successful and powerful over other men. Magazines and advertisements show us that being fit and attractive are critical aspects of masculinity, and athletes are often used to sell this model of the ideal masculine man. Similarly, we often look at successful actors, musicians, political leaders, and other influential men as the standard representation of what it means to be a man. Movies, TV shows, and music videos are also guilty of teaching restrictive and destructive ideas of masculinity to men and women of all ages.

Looking in pop culture for artifacts of masculinity and mental health was a little difficult. There are a lot of examples of men addressing different mental health issues and the importance of breaking down the idea that men cannot talk about these issues, but there is not much content that talks about how masculinity directly affects a man’s mental health. When I was looking for artifacts in pop culture related to masculinity and mental health, I found many different examples that address mental health in men within each of these categories of pop culture: music, famous men, and movies. Lyrics from songs of all genres show different ways that men have talked about and dealt with different issues of mental health. Some examples of these include “Unwell” by Matchbox Twenty, “Help!” by the Beatles, “1-800-273-8355” by Logic, various songs by Kid Cudi, and many more. Some songs raise awareness about general issues in mental health while others address specific issues that the artists themselves have faced.

Other ways I saw men and mental health intersect in pop culture was through influential and successful men using their agency to discuss their own experiences with mental issues. Dwayne Johnson is known for saying that mental illness does not discriminate and that often times men have harder times talking about their own issues with mental health because they have been told not to. He uses his story of personal struggle to try to inspire others to reach out for help and talk about their struggles. Pete Davidson, an actor on SNL, is also known for being very upfront about his own personal mental health issues, and he often addresses these issues using humor as a way to make the subject more approachable in his sketches. Men like Johnson and Davidson shed light on the reality of these situations and set examples as men that it is not shameful or unmanly to have a mental illness.

Movies also have become more involved in exploring mental illness in general, and some, though not directly stated, show examples of how masculinity in our society has an effect on developing mental illness or on how men cope with mental illness. Goodwill Hunting is one fantastic example of how the intersection of being a man and having traumatic childhood experiences can cause serious problems down the road related to mental health and stability in life. Similarly, It’s a Wonderful Life explores the way that traits of masculinity, such as monetary success, can affect one’s mental health: in this movie, the main character attempts to kill himself because he has gone bankrupt and feels like he is a failure that the world would be better without. Silver Linings Playbook is another movie that shows mental illness in the male protagonist and the way his life and relationships are affected as he tries to move forward after a diagnosis and time in a psych unit. It shows examples of men coping with mental illness and trying to form healthy relationships while dealing with their illness.

The artifact I chose to use was the movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, based on the book by Stephen Chbosky. I chose this movie because it has a heavy focus on mental illness, but each of the male characters in the movie exhibits a different form of masculinity, and their issues, coping mechanisms, and experiences are all very different. Some examples given clearly talk about mental health and masculinity, where other examples only address one or the other. Overall, this movie provides a lot of different ways to look at masculinity and mental health. For the most part, it retells the story, using preparation and reinscription as the main enforcers. There are some scenes and relationships throughout the movie that revise the story through critique. Examples of these will be explored in the next section.

Retell: According to authors Foss, Domenico, & Foss, pop culture often retells the binary by sending “messages about gender [that] align with the prescriptions of the master narrative of the binary” (106). Retelling or reinforcing of the binary occurs by showing characters following cultural norms of their gender, being rewarded by following these norms and punished for stepping out of line. It also includes situations where the binary may be questioned or revised, but is immediately shut down and reinforced. These different techniques are called preparation, prescription, and reinscription (106). Preparation specifically targets children and young adults by showing them the roles that are allowed to them in their lives in the binary. Prescription targets adults by enforcing the roles that they have been taught their whole lives. Reinscription initially looks like it challenges the binary, however, it quickly turns around to reinforce the binary.

Preparation and reinscription are the two main ways that Perks retells the story of masculinity and mental illness. Preparation, or the “socializ[ation of] children in anticipation of adulthood in the binary” happens throughout the entire movie, as it takes place in a high school (106). The first main example of this is the way that the main character, Charlie, is treated in his school. Charlie is a nerd, he has had a history of mental health problems, and he is not the most masculine of men: he is often bullied for these attributes. Real men should be smart and successful, but not nerds, and Charlie is taught this in one scene when a group of peers find out that he has completed an assignment far in advance for their English class; his peers teach him of his wrong-doings by taking him to the bathroom and bullying him. He is often called mean names in the school setting, and when he wears a suit to class, something out of the ordinary for a man in high school, a group of kids mock him, saying “nice suit” and laughing. Similarly, his best friend, Patrick, who identifies as gay, is often bullied, teased, mocked throughout the entire movie. He is even beaten up for confronting a jock (the manliest of men) for tripping him in the lunchroom. All of these are examples of ways the movie prepares children and adolescents for the world in the binary, because they show the undesirable consequences of stepping out of line, even in the slightest.

Related to masculinity and mental health, you can see the binary being reinforced by looking at the different ways in which the male and female characters cope with their mental health problems. The female characters, Sam in particular, are very open about their issues in the past and are willing to talk about them. Sam shares that she loves bulimia and that she was sexually assaulted by her dad’s friend at an early age. This is normal and ok, because she is a woman and is expected to have and talk about these types of things, according to the rules of the binary. On the other hand, Charlie, who has experienced many traumatic events in his life, rarely, if ever, brings up his problems and often tries to push them away, saying things like “I just get so messed up inside”, “stop crying, stop crying”, and that he doesn’t want to be known as “the weird kid who spent time in the hospital”. There are many times throughout the movie when Charlie has a chance to reach out for help, whether to his parents, or his friends, but he chooses not to because he doesn’t want to worry them or doesn’t want to talk about what has happened. Charlie was sexually assaulted by his aunt, who died in a car crash years later, which Charlie blames himself for. He also lost his best friend the year before to suicide. He bundles up these experiences and his mental health deteriorates because of it. The movie reinforces this idea even more when looking at the family dynamic and seeing the super masculine, football playing brother is doing fine in his life and there is no mention of any issues he may be facing, because he fits the norm. Overall, Charlie’s experiences show how he is affected by the binary and his inability to talk about his mental health, and he is bullied often, which is even worse for his state, because he does not fit the hegemonic norm of masculinity.

Revise: This is the first method the authors give as a way to question or change the binary. Revising involves stretching, modifying, challenging, and expanding the binary in some way (121). The authors give two examples of ways pop culture can revise the story of gender, and that is through critique and expansion. Critique involves questioning “the utility, appropriateness, and consequences” of the binary (121). It does not change the binary, but introduces characters, topics, and relationships that defy the norms and spark conversations about the presence of the binary. Expansion is when pop culture remakes categories and suggests multiple ways of being a man or woman (124). Showing multiple forms of masculinity, for example, would be a way to expand the binary.

In Perks of Being a Wallflower, there are quite a few aspects of critiquing the relationship between masculinity and mental health that are seen throughout. One major critique of the binary is seen in the relationship between Charlie and his gay friend, Patrick. According to the norms of society, men don’t seek emotional relationships, especially not with other men. Charlie and Patrick become very good friends, and near the end of the movie, they often lean on each other when one of them is feeling down. Charlie breaks up a fight where Patrick is being bullied and Patrick toasts to Charlie after learning about the death of his friend. This relationship critiques the binary and the idea of masculinity because these men have a meaningful and emotional relationship. It shows that men can form these emotional bonds and that they can be very beneficial for them. One reason Charlie and Patrick get so close is due to the unfortunate turn of events when Patrick’s closeted boyfriend is discovered and ultimately turns his back on Patrick. Charlie is there to help Patrick as he deals with this loss and tries to heal emotionally. This relationship questions the appropriateness of the binary by showing a male-male friendship that is emotional and supportive.

There are also examples related to mental health. The major critique of the binary happens at the end, when Charlie eventually breaks down, ends up in the hospital again, and is brave enough this time to share about his past with his aunt. Charlie is able to confront his mental health issues that have been progressing throughout the year, and there is reason to believe that his life is changing for the better at the end of the movie. This turn of events questions the utility of the binary enforcing the idea that men cannot have or express mental illness and that they must silently deal with them as to not appear weak. By showing how his life changes for the better after he gets help, Charlie breaks down this societal expectation of men and leaves room for conversation about mental health in young men and how it is experienced, coped with, and often times ignored.

Rewrite: Foss, Domenico, and Foss define rewriting the binary as “disrupt[ing] any connection between bodies and gender expectations, suggesting that any behavior, any quality, and any kind of appearance is appropriate for any body” (128). Rewriting the binary can be achieved in two ways: synthesis and innovation. Synthesis involves the presentation of a new gender that includes both masculine and feminine traits (128). This new gender includes characteristics of both genders, without deeming one better than the other. Innovation involves escaping the binary entirely. There is no relationship between gender and body and “openness and flexibility are the only rules for constructing and performing this kind of gender” (132).

In the movie, there are no evident forms of rewriting the binary in terms of masculinity and mental health. Most of the instances where these two constructs are discussed involve heavily enforcing current ideas about masculinity, involving not acknowledging mental health problems or reaching for help, or beginning to critique the way mental health and masculinity are related. This is pretty typical for pop culture, because synthesis and innovation are hard to find across all medium. There are slight hints of synthesis, as a main focus in the movie is the teen’s involvement in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but these are just glimpses and do not dive into the possibilities that are available through rewriting the binary.

I have learned a lot about masculinity and mental health through this project. The biggest major I learned is that we don’t really talk about the ways masculinity affects mental health in pop culture. We have just begun to explore men having mental health issues, but not many sources cite masculinity as a possible cause for some of them. There are discreet indications of these issues, like I had mentioned in the intro section, and I only hope this conversation becomes something that is tackled more frequently in popular culture. Overall, movies like Perks of Being a Wallflower bring forward these issues of mental health in men and, while the setting of the movie allows for many examples of retelling the binary, there are some glimmers of critiquing it as well, through relationships between characters and the ultimate improvement of Charlie’s life when he is finally able to talk about what has happened to him and how it has been affecting his health and life. This movie may not rewrite the binary or give us a way to escape it, but it begins to look at what it means to be a man with mental illness and shows alternate forms of masculinity: one that involves finding support in friends and family, and tackling the issues that one faces as a man and as a human being.

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Gender and Sexuality Portfolio Post Two: Connection to Course Concepts

“Be a Man.”

According to former NFL player and coach, Joe Ehrmann, these three words are the most destructive thing you can say to a young boy (Ehrmann, 2013). To strive to “be a man” in our society is a very negative and unhealthy journey. It forces a man to separate himself from the humanly experience of feelings and emotions, and it negatively effects a man’s mental health, causing issues like depression (Valkonen & Hanninen, 2012), substance abuse, and suicide (Creighton, Oliffe, Ogrodniczuk, & Frank, 2017).

The relationship between masculinity and mental illness is not a simple one. Men, and women, have varying relationships with hegemonic masculinity based on different aspects of their individual identity. In our class, we have defined five key concepts that help in exploring this topic from various angles. These key concepts provide opportunities to better understand the relationship between masculinity and mental illness in our society. By looking at masculinity and mental health and how they relate to ideas of the social construction of gender, agency, privilege, oppression, and intersectionality, we can get a better idea of how our society’s definition affects men of all race, socioeconomic status, sexuality, etc.

Gender, and gender roles, in our society, exist as a matrix (Foss, Domenico, & Foss, 2013). The ways in which society defines gender and the pressures to perform these definitions often guide and influence one’s life without them even realizing it (Floss et al., 2013). Often times, the roles one is assigned as their gender does not fit who they are or how they feel. This is because gender, the entire idea of it, is a social construct. What does this mean? It means that the rules we use to police ourselves and others on a daily basis are not natural. They are creations of the society in which an individual lives in (Floss et al., 2013). These rules and definitions of what it means to be a man or a woman are so embedded in our culture— our laws, our religions, our development—that they impact every individual in every aspect of their live, regardless of their awareness of these rules. How do we know these concepts are not natural? When scholars look at gender cross-culturally, we see that definitions of gender are not the same in one society versus another (Floss, et al., 2013). We also see changes across historical periods within a single society of what it means to be male or female. Even within a single society, what it means to be a man or a woman differs even between subgroups, such as race. Gender is something that is learned throughout one’s life, and it is taught by our parents, the hospital staff, our peers, our teachers, our role models, and anyone else that comes into contact with an individual at any point in time during their life.

So how does the social construction of gender relate to masculinity and mental health? As mentioned in the previous post, hegemonic masculinity is a construction of ideals that a society deems the “standard” or default for all men. It is a set of traits that we as a culture have decided are the most desirable: being white, being a man, having money, having lots of sex (with women), being strong and able, and more. These ideas are taught at a very young age. The documentary, The Mask You Live In, explores the many ways that our teaching of masculinity is detrimental to boys growing up in the United States. This documentary interviews boys and men about the ways masculinity has negatively impacted their lives. The main issues that were brought up by a majority of the men and boys interviewed were the ways in which societal expectations of strength and emotionlessness had negative effects on their mental health and their sense of self. Boys are socialized at a young age to show less empathy and vulnerability, and the boys that do not adhere to these rules are instantly targeted as “sissies”, wimps, and worse (Siebel et al., 2015). To be associated with anything that society deems “feminine” is essentially social suicide for young boys. This makes being a boy very difficult for those who do not live up to the expectations of their peers and society. Because emotions, vulnerabilities, and “weakness” are socially defined feminine, most boys and men do not reach out for help when they are feeling off, because it may earn them the label of “less of a boy” (Siebel et al., 2015). In fact, less than 50% of boys and men with mental health challenges seek help (Siebel et al., 2015). Men and boys are avoiding receiving help and living a healthy life all because of a set of standards that tell them that who they are isn’t quite enough.

Social construction of gender is also seen when looking at the types of mental illnesses that men experience. Men and boys are taught in this society to externalize their pain, leading to all sorts of negative impacts for the society as a whole. These externalizations are often signs of depression in men, which is different than the typical signs of depression we think of (Siebel et al., 2015). This often causes depression to go unnoticed in boys, which can often lead to isolation, substance abuse, violence, and suicide (Ehrmann, 2013). Because society bases the classifications of depression off of “womanly” characteristics, the young men that have the strength to come forward about their mental health issues may not even receive the right care, because this “masculine” form of coping is not understood to be depression.

Overall, the social construction of masculinity has negative effects men, and society as a whole. No matter what your sex, gender, race, class, or sexual orientation, we are all affected by the rules masculinity and the matrix of gender, and until we as a society can be comfortable with just letting men (and women) be who they are, we will continue to experience the negative effects.

Agency is another key concept that helps us understand the relationship between masculinity and mental health. Everyone has agency, however, not everyone has the ability to take agency in every situation or context. Agency is the ability to make a choice or decision. It is taking the power you have in a specific situation and using that power to impact or effect the outcome of the situation. It involves recognizing the choices that are available to you and being able to make a choice that affects you and others (Foss et al., 2013). When someone has agency, they are able to take control of some aspect of their life and change it.

One aspect of agency involves a technique called reframing. Reframing is all about using different angles in your mind to look at a situation and understand or interpret it (Foss et al., 2013). It allows for an individual to examine different options for taking agency and usually helps an individual find positive ways to make change or deal with a challenging situation.

This technique is exactly what Joe Ehrmann uses to take agency in a negative situation and redefine masculinity. Joe Ehrmann was an NFL player in his younger days: the ultimate masculine man. He is now a coach and an advocate for teaching positive masculinity within the realm of sports. Ehrmann talks a lot about the phrase “be a man” and how confusing and destructive that is for young boys. Men are taught to separate themselves from their human emotions and weakness, because to do otherwise would constitute them as “sissies”. He mentions in his TEDx talk about the ways that boys are elevated in their social standings based on their ability to perform sports and perform strength on the playground. Children that cannot do this are ostracized and bullied; those who avoid the violence are then enforced to follow these rules of society as a way to avoid victimization at the hands of their peers. The use these traits and definitions of manhood, according to Ehrmann, are related to nearly every social issue we experience as a culture: issues of racial discrimination, violence against women and children, mental health issues and suicide, and more.

This TEDx talk is quite discouraging as Erhmann lists all the negative effects of masculinity, that is, until the last few minutes when he uses his agency to bring forward a new idea. Ehrmann reframes masculinity and explains his definition of what it means to be a real man. According to his definition, being a man is all about forming relationships and working for a cause. He bases this definition off of his experience working with those that are near the end of their lives and the things that they reflect on and value. Ehrmann, a white, successful, athletic, straight man, uses the power and agency he has in his position to take control of an issue that has hurt him and so many others. He offers a solution to the crisis at hand: a form of masculinity that allows men to experience emotion, form important bonds and relationships, and work for a cause. This type of masculinity is achievable for all types of men and women, and is not based off gender roles or characteristics in society. It is a positive form of masculinity and by using his power as a coach and influential football player, Ehrmann has the ability to make a change in the lives of young boys, and ultimately, help to shape a new idea of masculinity in our culture. By reframing what it means to be a man, Ehrmann uses his agency to inspire hope and establish a form of masculinity that would allow men to experience healthy emotions and relationships.

Ehrmann does take agency in the example above, which is an awesome step in changing the way we think about masculinity. However, it is important to recognize that he is granted quite a bit of privilege based on his race, gender, class, and other defining characteristics, and this privilege allows him the chance to stand up and make a change. Privilege is another key term we look at in this class, and is important in understanding the relationship between mental health and “being a man”. Privilege is something that a person has based on a characteristic they possess that is valued culturally, and this “something” gives them a leg-up on other people in the same context that lack this specific characteristic (Launis & Hassel, 2015). Privilege often comes at the expense of other groups of people, usually through oppression of that group (Launis & Hassel, 2015, p. 74). The characteristics of hegemonic masculinity are often the most privileged characteristics in our society: maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, financial success, athleticism. Privilege, as we have learned, is not unconditional; the privileges a person has changes in different contexts.

One privilege that we see in masculinity is the result of a man’s race. Whiteness is a pivotal characteristic for achieving masculinity. That being said, white men have the privilege of being born with a higher “ranking”, if you will, in relation to other men. In one article that explores mental health in African-American males, the author points out that all the ways that being black negatively affects these men’s mental health, on top of the already negative effects of masculinity (these ideas are explored in more detail in the intersectionality section). Racial inequalities add to the already impossible task of achieving masculinity, and this is seen in other racial groups as well. Men are less likely to reach out for help when something is wrong, and men of color, specifically “Black, Latino, and Asian men [. . .] have much lower utilization [of mental health services] rates than white men” (Whitely, 2017). White men systematically have more privilege to access mental health services, based on their financial and social status compared to men of color (Xanthos, 2008). For example, white males’ rate for employer based health coverage is over 70% whereas black male’s coverage is just over 50% (Xanthos, 2008, p. 4). Other marginalized groups of men, those that lack white privilege and heterosexual privilege, have higher suicide rates than their white counterparts: specifically in Native Americans and gay men (Whitely, 2017). While all men suffer from being compared to the hegemonic norm, white men have the privilege of being born into one of the main characteristics of masculinity, allowing them a sense of superiority amongst other males.

Oppression goes hand-in-hand with privilege: where you have one group with privilege, you have all the “others” experiencing oppression. Oppression occurs when a group of people have a characteristic that is deemed not valuable by society, and this causes this group to be shunned, marginalized, and left with less power and opportunity compared to the privileged group. This happens on a societal level, because there are larger systems at play than just one individual’s personal prejudice. Oppression is embedded in our history, our culture, and our government in the US, making it that much harder to make progress towards equality.

Oppression plays a large role in the relationship between masculinity and mental health. In general, the “laws” of masculinity oppress all men because it does not allow them to be comfortable with who they are and often keeps them from being able to experience deep human emotions and vulnerabilities. One example of this oppression can be seen in a blog post titled “How Depression Made Me a Man.” This blog is posted on the National Alliance on Mental Illness website, and gives a specific case story of how a man’s discomfort with his own emotions lead him to develop depression and eventually, led to the attempt to take his own life. Because society says men that have emotions other than anger are weak, this man held back his emotions, rather than allowing himself to process them, “tr[ying] [his] hardest to push them down as deep and far away from the surface as [he] could” (Asmar, 2018). His mental state worsened over time, due to his inability to acknowledge his own emotions, and eventually this led where many oppressed men’s stories lead: to a suicide attempt. After the recovery process, the author learned about the ways that masculinity had oppressed him and his feelings, and how detrimental this was to his own mental health. Now, the author reports that he has accepted and dealt with his mental illness, and that it gives him courage to talk about it. This case is just one of millions of examples of the way the oppressive rules of masculinity in our culture negatively affect the men trying to achieve them.

Intersectionality is one of my favorite things to discuss, especially in relation to mental health and its causes. An intersectional approach is when we look at an issues from multiple intersecting and overlapping viewpoints. In this case, it is looking at the ways that an individual’s multiple aspects of their identity cross paths and influence their experience based on those identities (Launis & Hassel, 2015). For example, looking at the effect of masculinity on a white man’s mental health is very different than looking at the effect of masculinity on a black man from a low socioeconomic status’s mental health. There may be some similarities, such as depression, violence, and drug use, however, systems of privilege and oppression affect the black man’s experience in a way that is completely different from the white man’s experience.

As mentioned above, the experience of life in our society is much different for a black man then it is for a white man. There are many ways that intersectionality plays a role in the development of mental health issues for men, specifically related to the African American population. Not only are black men at risk for insecurity in their masculinity based on race, but they also are “confronted with unique social and environmental factors” that influence their mental health (Xanthos, 2008, p. 1). Some of these factors that black men experience as a result of the intersection of their sex, race, and sometimes socioeconomic status include:

- lower socioeconomic status as a result of structural racism

-less access to resources as a result of geographic location privilege

- poor living conditions

-discrimination in schools

-violence in community and/or neighborhood

- low self-esteem as a result of internalization of racist ideas

-“minority status stress,” or the stress of being the only minority in a group of white

people (Xanthos, 2008, p. 2).

The intersecting identities of being a male oppressed by hegemonic masculinity, a black male oppressed by racism, and a black male from low socioeconomic status oppressed by structural imbalances, make this population and others highly susceptible to mental health issues. Because of systematic imbalances, black males often face many more barriers to mental health care, including financial barriers and lack of culturally sensitive providers (Xanthos, 2008). Hegemonic masculinity puts men “under pressure to adhere to [. . .] silence about feelings, a withholding of emotions, an ability to bear burdens alone, and a refusal to appear weak” and this applies heavily towards black men’s sense of masculinity, especially because they cannot ever achieve the “whiteness” that is so valued in hegemonic masculinity (Xanthos, 2008, p. 3). By examining this population, it is easy to see that intersectionality plays a huge role in the risk of developing mental health disorders in minority men, especially due to the risk factors that are attached to being a minority in the United States.

Masculinity affects mental health in men in so many different ways, and some groups are affected more than other by the standards that society holds for achieving masculinity. Oppression is seen across all groups, as men are oppressed in different ways by the rules and characteristics of hegemonic masculinity. Privilege is seen in white males, who are born with at least one quality that heightens their masculinity above men of color. Agency is seen in men who take what they have learned from their negative experiences with masculinity and try to make a change by redefining what it means to be a man. Intersectionality is seen in the ways that some groups are more predisposed to developing mental disorders than other groups, based on their overlapping identities. And finally, men developing mental illnesses as a result of the negative effects that masculinity have on their self-worth is entirely explained by the social construction of gender and hegemonic masculinity.

References

Asmar, Roro. (2018, March 7). How depression made me a man [web log comment]. Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/March-2018/How-Depression-Made-Me-a-Man

Coleman, D. (2015). Traditional masculinity as a risk factor for suicidal ideation: cross-sectional and prospective evidence from a study of young adults. Archives of Suicide Research, 19, 366-384. doi:10.1080/13811118.2014.957453

Creighton, G., Oliffe, J., Ogrodniczuk, J., Frank, B. (2017). “You’ve gotta be that tough crust exterior man”: depression and suicide in rural-based men. Qualitative Health Research, na, 1-10. doi: 10.1177/1049732317718148

Ehrmann, J. [TEDx Talks]. (2013, February 20). Be a man: joe ehrmann at TEDxbaltimore 2013. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVI1Xutc_Ws

Price, E. C., Gregg, J. J., Smith, M. D., Fiske, A. (2015). Masculine traits and depressive symptoms in older and younger men and women. American Journal of Men’s Health, 12, 19-29. doi:10.1177/1557988315619676

Rogers, A. A., DeLay, D., Martin, C. L. (2016). Traditional masculinity during the middle school transition: associations with depressive symptoms and academic engagement. J Youth Adolescence, 46, 709-724. doi:10.1007/s10964-016-0545-8

Siebel Newsom, J., Congdon, J., Anthony, J., Disney, A., Dreyfous, G., Johnson, S. E., Schmidt, W., Scully, R. K., Shriver, M., (Producers), & Siebel Newsom, J. (Director). (2015). The mask you live in [Documentary]. United States: The Representation Project.

Valkonen, J., Hanninen, V. (2012). Narratives of masculinity and depression. Men and Masculinities, 16, 160-180. doi:10.1177/1097184X12464377

Whitely, R. (2017, February 6). Men’s mental health: a silent crisis [web blog comment]. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-about-men/201702/mens-mental-health-silent-crisis

Xanthos, C. (2008). The secret epidemic: exploring the mental health crisis affecting adolescent african-american males. Healthcare for the Underserved: Morehouse School of Medicine. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/Ashley/Downloads/The_Secret_Epidemic_Exploring_the_Mental.pdf

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Gender and Sexuality Portfolio One Post: Introduction to Special Interest Topic

As a psychology major, mental health has always been something that has been of interest to me. Throughout my time at Augustana, understanding the ways that culture, societal norms, and other outside factors affect mental health has become the most exciting part of psychology for me. After taking Gender Studies courses and courses in psychology related to poverty, development, and cross-cultural examinations in mental health, I have begun to see many overlaps in my classes, specifically related to my interests in the ways that outside factors influence one’s mental health. One of the most fascinating overlaps I see involves mental illness and masculinity; specifically, the way that hegemonic or traditional masculinity affects the mental health of men who strive to achieve ideals that are essentially impossible to achieve. I will be exploring this relationship within this paper and throughout the term.

There are many different types of masculinity and many different ways to achieve the characteristics that society deems desirable. Hegemonic masculinity is the most talked about type of masculinity because it is seen as the standard or default form within a certain culture or society. In the United States, hegemonic masculinity involves maleness, whiteness, straightness, able-bodiedness, financial success, strength, control (in situations or over emotions), athleticism, and many other characteristics. Whether men know it or not, they are always being compared to this unrealistic ideal and it affects almost every avenue of their lives, throughout every stage of their lives. Mental health goes hand-in-hand with this topic, as it has been seen in studies that a man’s mental health often can relate to his masculinity. One of the articles I referenced describes the relationship quite well: “Masculinity can be a problem when it is attained, when it is not attained, and when a man does not want to attain it” (Valkonen & Hanninen, 177). Basically, because men are always being measured on the hegemonic masculinity yard stick, their mental health can be affected by the teachings of masculinity whether they perfectly fit the mold, they work to achieve the mold, or they deny the mold altogether. I chose to look at this relationship because, as I mentioned, I find it important to understand the workings behind mental illness. Biology plays a huge role in mental illness, but it cannot be denied that a person’s environment plays just as big of a role. As a future social worker, I want to understand what it is about a person’s environment that causes these illnesses, because, while we can’t change a person’s biology, there is always room to improve a person’s environment in order to encourage positive mental health. In the next few paragraphs, I will explore the literature on masculinity and mental health issues, looking to find answers about what causes these issues and what issues specifically are most prevalent.

Researching this topic was not an easy task. Entering the terms “masculinity” and “mental health” lead to a decent amount of information, but not nearly as much as expected. It seems that this topic is up and coming in the field of psychology, which is addressed in many of the articles examined for this post. After refining the search, using more terms such as “depression”, “gender”, “hegemonic masculinity”, “mental health”, “men”, and others一in many different combinations一 patterns began arising, specifically relating masculinity to depression and/ or suicide/ suicidal ideation. With help from Academic Search Complete and PsychInfo, I was able to pull together an entire list of studies (at least twelve) that addressed the issue of masculinity and depression. I picked five studies that covered this topic in a variety of ways, allowing for examination of masculinity and depression from multiple viewpoints, including differences in age, geographic location, and even gender. While the studies all had different spins on the exact research question or the population being studied, there were many overarching themes that came from their research and many interesting ideas for future research and intervention.

The five studies I examined asked a variety of questions about this relationship between masculinity and mental illness. Researchers, both male and female, questioned relationships between traditional masculinity and suicidal ideation, the relationship between men’s position in relation to hegemonic masculinity and their level of perceived depression, the effects of conformity to traditional masculinity on depressive symptoms and academic involvement, and many more. It was evident when looking at the studies that these issues are prevalent across all age groups.

One study in particular, by Rogers, DeLay and Martin, looked at the way conformity to masculine norms has an effects on both male and female middle-school age students in regards to their mental health and their academic achievement. They found that boys, while adjusting to the switch from elementary school to middle school, increased in their conformity to traditional masculinity (Rogers, DeLay, & Martin, 2016). They also found that this increase in traditional masculinity was positively related to increase in depression and negatively related to academic achievement. While girl’s often did not change in level of conformity, their levels of depression and academic achievement were also affected by the enforcement of masculinity. This study was related to Price, Gregg, Smith, and Fiske’s study that looked at masculine traits of depression expression in men and women of older age groups. These researchers found that both men and women that endorse masculine traits exhibited depressive symptoms in ways that differ from the typical symptoms exhibited, making it less likely to be realized as depression (Price, Gregg, Smith, & Fiske, 2015). These two studies were very interesting because they explored the role of masculinity in both men and women’s lives. They both found evidence that endorsement of masculinity lead to negative outcomes in mental health. In the Price article, the authors acknowledged the importance of this information, as women are not often considered when it comes to studying the effects of masculinity. The information in both of these articles could be used to enrich clinical settings by encouraging psychologists to consider the effects of masculinity on how individuals exhibit depressive behaviors. It also suggests the idea that masculinity takes a prevalent role in people’s lives around the middle school age, which could lead to creating interventions that work with children to help them deal with the mental health issues that arise during that time, such as depression, or prevention methods that could help students from developing these issues as they navigate this developmental time. It is important that these studies included age and gender as other factors because it shows the detrimental effects of masculinity across many different levels.

The other three studies focused heavily on just men’s experience with masculinity and the ways it plays a role in their lives. These studies found many relationships between masculinity, depression, and suicidal ideation. One study interviewed nine different men on the ways that their position or relationship with hegemonic masculinity effects their reported depression. This study found that the ideals of masculinity had an effect on the men who lived up to the standards but eventually cracked under pressure, for whom the standard was completely unattainable, and the effect when masculinity impacted their lives socially despite the attempt to resist the norm (Valkonen & Hanninen, 2012). This study showed that masculinity has a negative impact on men’s mental health across a variety of situations. Even when men reject the norms of masculinity, their lives are affected by the weight that masculinity has in everyday life. One group in this study found that acting out masculine ideals had a positive effect on their mental health: this group was the anomaly, and my question for these men would be, “how long are you willing to actively demonstrate these characteristics before you become too tired of being something you are not or shouldn’t have to be?” This study looked at men in both rural and urban settings, which is important because there are different ideas about masculinity between those two groups, even within the same geographic area. Another study done looked specifically at men in rural areas that had died from suicide. Family members were interviewed about the men that had died and many mentioned that hegemonic masculinity ideals could have had some effect on the deaths of their loved ones. Many mentioned substance use, which is often a form of self-medicating when depression is present, while others mentioned the possibility of their loved one deviating from the “norm” of heterosexuality as being a possible cause. Despite the individual differences in reasoning, all of the families commented on the fact that society discourages men from addressing their feelings and how this had a negative effect on their loved ones’ life (Creighton, Oliffe, Ogrodniczuk, & Frank, 2017). The last study also looked at the way traditional masculinity affects men’s lives related to suicide. Coleman analyzed archival data and found evidence that suggests an association between masculinity and suicidal ideation. This data was different than others because Coleman did not find a significant relationship between depression and masculinity. In fact, he found that most men that died of suicide did not have reported depression at all: whether that is due to lack of help-seeking or not is not explored. Instead, he found that the cases of suicide may have involved something called “escape suicide”, which would involve suicide as a result of trying to escape a stressful situation or period in one’s life (Coleman, 2015). This is related to the Rural Men study mentioned above because many of those men did not have reported depression but may have completed suicide as an attempt to escape a something that classified them as less masculine. The relationship between depression, suicidality, and masculinity is not a concrete one, but these three studies look at the ways men are affected by the possible relationships in their everyday life, whether it be in the form of depression or other a-typical behaviors that hint at these feelings.

These studies look at the relationship between masculinity and mental health across many dimensions, and they give insight on the ways masculinity affects both men and women. Masculinity affects young boys and girls in their transition in middle school, leading to higher levels of depression and lower levels of academic engagement, and it affects older men and women in their outward symptoms or displays of depression. It also has been seen to be related to higher levels of suicidal ideation among men as well as higher levels of depression in men that endorse hegemonic masculinity and its ideals. The studies, when examined together, show an alarming relationship between masculinity and mental health in our culture and in other cultures. It does not just affect men; masculinity has negative effects on all members of a society, as hegemonic masculinity is the standard comparison for everyone, no matter what sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, race, ability, etc. My hope is to learn more about different intervention techniques and education programs that exist to teach youth about hegemonic masculinity today. With the knowledge we have gained and are continuing to gain, it would be a shame if no one took advantage of the opportunity to help our youth in an attempt to better their lives down the road.

References

Valkonen, J., Hanninen, V. (2012). Narratives of masculinity and depression. Men and Masculinities, 16, 160-180. doi:10.1177/1097184X12464377

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