Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - July 22, 2009
Seeking medical advice, including being tested for human immunodeficiency virus, goes against many black men's notion of masculinity, U.S. researchers say.
Waverly Duck, a post doctoral associate at Yale University, said the current leading gender, masculinity and health behavior models are not relevant enough to African-American men and their distinctive notion of masculinity.
Through a combination of focus groups and in-depth interviews, Duck asked African-American men about their own understanding of their gender identity and examined how that identity, as well as how it is achieved and maintained, relates to their health.
Two-thirds of the participants described masculinity based on patriarchy, heterosexuality, subordination of others, economic security and physical dominance -- also known as hegemonic masculinity -- as the standard.
However, the study, published in the Journal of African American Studies, also found that when African-American men are economically marginalized, sexuality and sexual performance become the means by which they prove their masculinity.
Health seeking behaviors, including going to the doctor and HIV testing, go against their notion of masculinity by potentially interfering with the freedom of their sexual activities, Duck said.
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