Men's Sense Research Articles

The Impact of Adult Men's Sense of Beauty on Their Appearance Management Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Self-esteem

This study found that appearance management based on personal aesthetics is becoming important to modern people, but many studies were conducted mainly on women. We aimed to study whether men's sense of beauty influences appearance management behavior and the mediating effect of self-esteem, and the subjects were men in their 20s to 60s living across the country.The analysis method was multiple regression analysis and Sobel test. The results of the study showed that the aesthetic values of men's aesthetic consciousness (=-.133, p<.05) and social values (=.132, p<.05) showed that the lower the aesthetic values and higher the social values of men's aesthetic consciousness, the higher their self-esteem. It was high. The influence of aesthetic consciousness on appearance management behavior is expressed in terms of aesthetic values (=.141, p<.05) and social values (=.130, p<.05). The higher the aesthetic values and social values of male aesthetic consciousness, the higher the appearance. Management behavior was high. The mediating effect of selfesteem in the relationship between aesthetic values and appearance management behavior is (Z=2.030, p<.05), and the mediating effect of self-esteem in the relationship between social values and appearance management behavior is (Z=2.030, p<.05). The mediating effect of self-esteem in relationships was (Z=-2.051, p<.05). These results have academic significance as a study on men's aesthetic consciousness and can be used as basic data to establish the development and differentiation of the beauty industry targeting men.

A conflict escalation comparison: Couples from the general population and couples engaged in high‐intensity conflict

AbstractObjectiveThe purpose of the present study was to test a model that examines the characteristics of the escalation process among heterosexual couples. It also examined how women's use of verbal and physical violence is associated with a sense of danger in men.BackgroundThe prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) is a critical concern for public health. IPV has serious physical and mental health consequences on the victim.MethodsParticipants were 165 women. The first subsample (n = 70, 42.42%) comprised women from the general population, and the second (n = 95, 57.57%) was composed of women living in relationships characterized by high‐intensity conflict (research population). Structural equation modeling was performed to assess the hypothesized model and to test the research hypotheses.ResultsAnalysis indicates that the use of violence (verbal and/or physical) by one partner was positively correlated to the use of violence by the other partner. The analysis also shows that the woman's use of violence positively affects the man's sense of danger only for couples from the general population. Finally, the man's sense of danger is related to his violence toward the woman.ConclusionIn a high‐conflict relationship, violence is less reciprocal but escalates more easily, whereas in the general population, violence is more reciprocal but more moderate. In addition, emotions are an essential component of marital conflict and influence the development and management of conflict. Emotional components, such as a sense of danger, may be a risk factor in the escalation of conflict to violence.

Precarious Manhood Beliefs Are Positively Associated with Erectile Dysfunction in Cisgender Men.

The notions that manhood is hard to attain, easy to lose, and needs to be proven via public action constitute precarious manhood beliefs (PMB). PMB is a new concept and it remains unclear whether and how PMB relate to erectile dysfunction (ED) in cisgender men. The ability to achieve an erection remains considered as a cornerstone of masculinity and sexual performance can be conceived as a proof of one's masculinity. In this context, ED can be received as sexual failure and a threat to a man's masculinity and sense of adequacy. For these reasons, the hypothesis that PMB are associated with ED warranted empirical testing. In an anonymous online survey focusing on men's mental health conducted in German-speaking countries of Europe, 507 cisgender men (Mage = 44.2, SDage = 15.2) completed measures on PMB, sexual function, self-stigma, social desirability, and conformity to traditional masculinity ideology (TMI). Multilinear regression analysis with stepwise introduction of relevant covariates evaluated potential associations between PMB and ED. Of a 507 cisgendered male sample, 63.1% reported an increased risk for ED based on previously established cutoff points. Elevated levels of PMB endorsement among the men predicted reduced sexual and erectile function in all models, even when accounting for relevant control variables such as age, education, self-stigma, social desirability, or conformity to TMI. Group comparisons revealed that the men suffering from ED showed higher levels of PMB endorsement but not self-stigma nor TMI relative to men without ED. PMB are significantly associated with ED. While determining causality will require further study, our results may support the hypothesis that higher levels of PMB endorsement may lead to increased tension to perform sexually, resulting in increased psychological pressure and a higher risk to develop ED.

Pulp Vietnam: War and Gender in Cold War Men’s Adventure Magazines by Gregory A. Daddis

<i>Pulp Vietnam: War and Gender in Cold War Men’s Adventure Magazines</i> by Gregory A. Daddis

Remembering the Holocaust in the Anthropocene

Abstract: This paper explores how the "environmental turn" for the last 25 years has been shaping remembrance of the destruction of Europe's Jewish populations. I argue that climate change is not just one more catastrophe to pass into the broad analogical field of the Holocaust. In fact, international Holocaust consciousness and understandings of what we now call the Anthropocene have long been intertwined and mutually constitutive. The paper starts in the 1990s with acclaimed writers Anne Michaels and W.G. Sebald, who sought to recast the Holocaust's significance to modernity against a long backdrop of geologic time. Their memorial fiction, which grounds the history of the Holocaust in the eroding landscapes of Europe, reflects a growing and urgent global concern for the vulnerability of the environment and a sense of man's responsibility for preserving human and biological life. The paper then moves through more contemporary examples of the sublimation of Holocaust memory in discourse about global warming—evident in terms like "climate change denial" and calls to "bear witness" to mass extinction events. For better or worse, journalists and scholars who write about environmental activism frequently call on memory of World War II and genocide in order to redefine what constitutes "grievable life." Example authors include historian Timothy Snyder, who has predicted that climate change may lead to new genocidal wars over Lebensraum ; scientist James Lovelock, who has urged nation states to consider how to limit the coming influx of climate refugees; theorist Bruno Latour, who has argued, via Nazi philosopher Carl Schmitt, that we must "name our enemies" in the new climate wars; and essayist Ari Brostoff who has attempted to think climate catastrophe through Walter Benjamin's meditations on the angel of history. The implicit question in all of their work is this: What histories and philosophical traditions can help us redefine humanity's entangled relationship to nature in order to take political responsibility for saving life on Earth? In other words, the Anthropocene requires "a usable past"—but what will that usable past be?

In harmony or out of tune: Affective and emotional geographies of all-male choirs in London, UK

This article examines the growing popularity of weekly amateur choral singing for adult men, with a specific focus in London, UK. This paper moves away from discourses of social health and wellbeing to bring together critical studies of masculinity with emotional geographies of sound, to better understand the links between choirs as an affective space and the complex, symbolic relationship between men and their voices. Where research has shown that non-competitive group activity is central to men's sense of connection and provides a space for men to express emotions, friendship and intimacy, there is great potential to analyse how the role of sound (volume, vibrations) and use of choral voice work (softening, blending, harmonies) directly facilitates this connection. This paper remains cautious of presenting group singing as an automatic panacea to disconnection, exploring the exclusions for those who are ‘out of tune’ and (musically and socially) unable to harmonise with others.

Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behaviors Related to Secondhand Smoke and Smoking in the Home: A Qualitative Study With Men in Malaysia.

Despite the health risks associated with secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, smoking in the home is common in Malaysia, and almost exclusively a male behavior. This study explored male smokers' knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors related to SHS exposure and smoking in the home, to guide future intervention development. Twenty-four men who smoked and lived in Klang Valley, Kuantan, or Kuala Terengganu took part in semi-structured interviews which explored knowledge and beliefs regarding SHS in the home, and associated home-smoking behaviors. Data were managed and analyzed using the framework approach. There was limited knowledge regarding the health risks associated with SHS: the smell of SHS in the home was a more prominent concern in most cases. Many had no rules in place restricting home smoking, and some suggested that smoking in specific rooms and/or near windows meant SHS was not "shared" with other household members. A few fathers had created but not maintained a smoke-free home prior to and/or after their children were born. Desire to smoke in the home conflicted with men's sense of responsibility as the head of the household to protect others and set a good example for their children. Men's home-smoking behaviors are shaped by a lack of understanding of the health risks associated with SHS exposure. Gaining a broader understanding of the factors that shape men's decisions to create a smoke-free home is important to facilitate the development of culturally appropriate interventions that address their responsibility to protect other household members from SHS exposure. Our findings highlight the need for public information campaigns in Malaysia to educate men who smoke regarding the health harms associated with SHS in the home and the ways in which SHS travels and lingers in household air. This is important given men's concerns about SHS often focus on the smell of cigarette smoke in the home. Our findings suggest a number of potential avenues for future intervention development, including household and community-level initiatives that could build on men's sense of responsibility as the head of the household and/or their general desire to protect their families.

Do the Marriageable Men want to Protect and Provide? The Expectation of Black Professional Hybrid Masculinity

Gender ideologies are embedded in intersecting race, class, and gender systems. Yet Black masculinity is often defined one-dimensionally, without attention to class variation in gender enactment. Particularly, with regard to heterosexual partnering, representations of Black masculinity most often involve men enacting compensatory displays to account for having too little masculine capital to meet the dominant culture’s protector–provider prerequisites for accomplishing marital masculinity. Drawing from interviews with 42 never-married Black professional men, I explore their ideas about how masculinity ought to be done within the marital relationship—a critical site for the reproduction of gender inequality. Findings reveal that these men construct “Black professional hybrid masculinity” around a simultaneously racialized and classed compensatory strategy of masculine protection and equitable spousal sharing, resisting simple classification as either hegemonic or counterhegemonic. Rather, it is a distinctly hybrid masculine strategy. These men cherry-pick hegemonic gender norms to reconstruct gender identities that reaffirm their sense of manhood and idealize their future wives as symbols of hybrid femininity—work-devoted women who are also femininely in need of masculine protection. This research offers an intersectional extension of hybrid masculinity and illustrates the need for heterogeneous and context-varied theories of how Black men do gender.

Hearing From Men Living With HIV: Experiences With HIV Testing, Treatment, and Viral Load Suppression in Four High-Prevalence Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

Engaging men in HIV services remains a challenge across sub-Saharan Africa. There is a critical need to better understand facilitators of men's successful engagement with HIV services and assess if there are similarities across contexts. We conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 92 men living with HIV (MLHIV) across Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, and Eswatini, most of whom had been diagnosed with HIV within the last 5 years. We coded interviews for themes using a constant-comparative approach. We contextualized our findings within a socioecological framework. HIV testing was primarily motivated by illness (individual level), though illness was sometimes accompanied by prompting and support from healthcare providers and/or intimate partners. Once diagnosed, nearly all participants reported immediate linkage to care, initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and subsequent ART adherence. ART initiation and adherence were facilitated by men's sense of agency and ownership over their health (individual level), social support from intimate partners, friends, and family (interpersonal/network level), supportive-directive counseling from healthcare providers (institutional/health systems level), and male-friendly services, i.e., rapid, respectful, private (institutional/health systems level). Health literacy regarding viral suppression (individual level), strengthened by patient-provider communication (institutional/health systems level), was highest in Uganda, where most men could discuss viral load testing experiences, report their viral load status (most reported suppressed), and demonstrate an understanding of treatment as prevention. Elsewhere, few participants understood what viral load suppression was and even fewer knew their viral load status. Our findings reveal socioecological-level facilitators of men's progress across the HIV-care continuum. Programs may want to leverage facilitators of ART initiation and adherence that span socioecological levels—e.g., healthcare ownership and agency, social support, supportive-directive counseling—and apply them to each end of the continuum to encourage early HIV testing/diagnosis and improve health literacy to help men understand and achieve viral load suppression.

Caring masculinity as caring capital in the field of marriage: Chinese rural migrant men’s engagement with digital dating

ABSTRACT The concept of hegemonic masculinity has been used in Chinese sociology since the early-2020s to explain Chinese wealthy men’s power over women in the market reform era. Scholars have also paid attention to the ways in which rural, working-class men achieve a sense of manhood, but the links between digital media and gender theory have often not been explored. To fill in this gap, this article examines the ways in which Chinese rural migrant heterosexual men sophisticatedly employ digital technology and gain advantages in the highly competitive field of marriage, translating savvy digital media usage into cultural capital. Research findings drawing upon our long-term ethnography offer substantial evidence of a relationship between men’s active use of digital technology, caring practices, and the desirability of rural migrant men. As such, we develop the concept of caring capital in relation to men’s ability to: master romantic online courting manners, display caring behaviors during follow-up offline courtship, and please their (future) parents-in-law. Research limitations are discussed.

Pre-pandemic Predictors of Loneliness in Adult Men During COVID-19.

Loneliness is a major public health issue, with its prevalence rising during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and mandated “social distancing” practices. A 2020 global study (n = 46,054) found that, in comparison to women, men experienced the greatest levels of loneliness. Although research on predictors of loneliness during COVID-19 is increasing, little is known about the characteristics of men who may be particularly vulnerable. Studies using prospective data are needed to inform preventative measures to support men at risk of loneliness. The current study draws on rare longitudinal data from an Australian cohort of men in young to mid-adulthood (n = 283; aged M = 34.6, SD = 1.38 years) to examine 25 pre-pandemic psychosocial predictors of loneliness during COVID-19 social restrictions (March–September 2020). Adjusted linear regressions identified 22 pre-pandemic predictors of loneliness across a range of trait-based, relational, career/home and mental health variables. Given the extensive set of predictors, we then conducted penalized regression models (LASSO), a machine learning approach, allowing us to identify the best fitting multivariable set of predictors of loneliness during the pandemic. In these models, men's sense of pre-pandemic environmental mastery emerged as the strongest predictor of loneliness. Depression, neuroticism and social support also remained key predictors of pandemic loneliness (R2 = 26, including covariates). Our findings suggest that men's loneliness can be detected prospectively and under varying levels of social restriction, presenting possible targets for prevention efforts for those most vulnerable.

Embracing risky refuge: women, land laws and livelihood vulnerabilities in rural Kenya

There has been a growing interest in laws governing resources particularly land in reference to gender in Africa. Law reforms in relation to land have produced potentially useful regulations and espoused egalitarian land rights. However, the backdrop to these reforms contains a scene of land disputes, resistance to laws, violence against women and poor enforcement leading to injustices to women with a pervasive effect on families in vulnerable communities. Using focused ethnographic research methods, the writer investigated women's land rights between November 2015 and August 2016. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions, review of archival records and observations were utilised. The study found that in contexts of prolonged livelihood vulnerabilities, as in the case of the Luo people of south-western Kenya, women seeking refuge from livelihood difficulties employ two strategies to anchor their security. They migrate from marital homes to fishing villages and also lay claim to marital land, which is held by men according to customary laws. These strategies produce social dilemmas and risky manoeuvering. Statutory land laws that are enacted to mitigate land related conflicts undermine the existing customary land laws that advantage men. Therefore, women's land claims, and statutory land laws that espouse equality in land ownership, destabilise men's sense of masculinity. By drawing on the experiences of women, I show the intersection between land laws, enduring injustices and gender relations in a context of strained livelihoods.

Step Forward the Cowards! – Humiliation, Shame and Countershame in Memories of the White Feather Campaign

One of the most enduring and dramatic tropes of the First World War is the image of a young woman giving a white feather to a man who is not in uniform to shame him into enlisting. This article examines the ‘White Feather Campaign’ from a history of emotions perspective, focusing on the male shame experience. It analyses this as part of a dynamic interaction of the participants: the white feather giver, the receiver, and the witness(es). The narratives of the men involved illustrate the varied ways they regained their sense of manhood in the face of humiliation: through reframing and counter-shaming.

Secret Shame—Male Infertility and Donor Conception in the Wake of Retrospective Legislative Change

Historically, sperm donation was shrouded in secrecy to protect the normative family and the perceived vulnerability of infertile men. However, openness about donor conception is increasingly encouraged, in acknowledging that donor-conceived people may benefit from having access to information about their biogenetic origins. Since 2017 in the state of Victoria, Australia, donor-conceived people have been able to access previously anonymous donor records. Drawing on interviews with 17 donor-conceived adults who have come to know their donor through the new laws, this article explores the impact of finding out about the donor on relationships with mothers and fathers, and points to the persistent effects of stigma and shame about donor conception within families. Most of the donor-conceived participants were told about their donor conception in early adulthood. The age range for time of disclosure was mid-teens to early 40s. Most reported that their fathers did not want them to know. In some cases, mothers had disclosed, but sworn them to secrecy. Sensitivity to fathers’ feelings fostered a desire among participants to maintain secrecy about his infertility, especially in relation to wider family and friendship networks. Our findings revealed that secrecy about men’s infertility is heavily reliant on women’s emotional labor to protect ageing infertile fathers’ sense of manhood. Coupled with fathers’ overt resistance to openness, intergenerational secret keeping is perpetuated in families. Laws supporting openness potentially exacerbate the historical stigma associated with male factor infertility in a culture that continues to conflate virility, fertility, and masculinity.

From Military Masculinity toward Hybrid Masculinities: Constructing a New Sense of Manhood among Veterans Treated for PTSS

This study examines how Israeli men who are army veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress and consequently participated in therapy engage “new masculinities” ideologies. Drawing from interview data with these veterans, we find changes in the men’s perceptions of masculinity and sense of themselves as men. They expressed this shift through criticisms of military masculinity and disassociating from the idea of man-as-fighter, disputing the sociocultural category of hegemonic masculinity, and performing practices identified as feminine. The men portrayed this movement, away from endorsing hegemonic military masculinity toward affirming “new masculinity” ideology rooted in therapeutic discourse, which emphasizes sensitivity, emotional disclosure, self-care, and seeking help, as intertwined with their mental recovery—and they attributed both to therapy. These findings suggest that new masculinity ideology embedded in therapeutic discourse, can offer men suffering from post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) a template to reaffirm their status as men—although men of a different kind—and indicate the possibilities for therapy in this endeavor. However, while the men adopted new masculinity ideologies, they also conformed to hegemonic masculinity, constructing hybrid masculinities. The study joins growing evidence that hybrid masculinities may have positive effects in enabling men to overcome the limitations of hegemonic masculinity, while also conforming to its expectations more broadly and maintaining men’s power.

Инспиративная концепция научного управления: ценности и идеалы

The article discusses the philosophical problems of the technocratic, bureaucratic nature of modern scientific management, indifferent to the moral sense of man. The purpose of the article is to consider the foundations of the humanistic concept of scientific management as an incentive moral communication that inspires a person. The author introduces the concepts of ‘metaphysics of management’ and ‘inspirational management’. He also determines the main properties of inspirational scientific management: the moral nature of values and ideals, synergy, thought-sensory rationality, the unity of explicit and implicit, scientific and non-scientific knowledge. Inspirational management is carried out in the process of popularizing scientific knowledge, system integration. The process of scientific management based on system integration presupposes, firstly, orientation of scientists towards moral meanings and feelings, professional self-improvement and civic activity. Secondly, it implies a team of like-minded people united by a common dream, values and ideals. Thirdly, it is based on the development of applied scientific theories, social technologies, which have a symbolic character of incentive communication. Fourthly, in the process of extensive discussions, the popularization of scientific knowledge is taking place. Knowledge and scientific management acquire the mental-sensory character of persuasion. Systematic scientific thinking, the pathos of moral feeling induces a person to believe in his own strength, to achieve the set goal, to become better. It is noted that inspirational management has the properties of science and art. The author considers the main incentive symbols of the inspirational concept of management: system thinking, the meaning of life at work, scientific knowledge, an educated person - a professional and a citizen, progress, globalization of mankind, a social idealized project. The basic principles of the inspirational concept of management are based on the methods of dialectics and synergetics. The author comes to the conclusion that metaphysics of management presupposes the disclosure and realization of the essential moral human qualities and meanings. It is substantiated that the metasystem for the development of inspirational management is a social idealized project that includes elements of scientific, philosophical knowledge, dreams, utopia, ideology, moral, including religious values and ideals.

Exploring ageing and time as resources in men's mental health experiences

AbstractWhile research on men's mental health is increasing, it has not typically focused on the intersections between ageing, masculinity and mental health in a rural context. Given the significant increase not only in our global ageing population, but also our growing awareness of mental health problems in the general population, understanding men as they grow older in relation to mental health is a notable gap in research. In this paper, the authors explore the ageing experiences of male participants over 50 with self-identified mental health problems in rural Manitoba. We draw on semi-structured qualitative interviews from a larger project which focused on the diversity of rural men's perceptions, experiences and expressions of mental health and wellness. Specifically, we explore how these men reflect on their mental health and wellness. Participants in the study described their experiences as a cumulative process of making meaning, developing strategies, resources and a more positive sense of self – but sometimes also simply for survival. Men's sense of time over time – looking back and reflecting on the present and the future – appears to be a critical resource and a positive coping strategy for these men associated with ageing. The main themes include sustaining relationships; work, retirement and volunteering; and reflections on physical and emotional health. Our paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for new research on ageing men's mental health in a rural context.

The effect of masculinity threat on transprejudice: Influence of different aspects of masculinity contingent self-worth

ABSTRACT This experimental study examined the moderating role of masculinity contingent self-worth (CSW) in the effects of masculinity threat on transprejudice. One hundred and eighty-six male undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions. In the first condition, participants received feedback that challenged their sense of manhood (masculinity threat group). In the second condition, participants received feedback that affirmed their masculinity (masculinity affirming group), whereas the third group of participants served as a control group. The masculinity threat group demonstrated stronger transprejudice than the other two groups, whereas no differences were found between the affirming and control groups. The effect of masculinity threat on transprejudice was particularly strong for participants whose self-worth is readily threatened by a lack of masculinity (i.e., the threat aspect of masculinity CSW). However, individual differences in the boost aspect of masculinity CSW (i.e. the extent to which a person’s self-worth is boosted by confirmations of masculinity) did not moderate the influence of masculinity threat on transprejudice. This study replicates previous evidence that masculinity threat is a cause of transprejudice, whereas it highlights the distinction between the threat and boost dimensions of masculinity CSW by showing that the effects of masculinity threat were only moderated by the threat dimension.

As "Men of Sense": Godwin, Baroja, Bateson and Hume's "Of National Characters"

Men of sense, Hume says, condemn the extreme undistinguishing judgments concerning national characters; yet, he adds, they also allow that each nation has a national character or a peculiar set of resembling manners. Hume's "Of national characters" was published at the end of 1748 in unclear circumstances, but it is still the object of several discussions for different reasons. William Godwin, Julio Caro Baroja and Gregory Bateson seem to refer to it, even though only the first two acknowledge it. Godwin uses it as a weapon to attack the climatic theory in the service of tyranny; Baroja as a sceptical solvent to destroy all mythical national character and real national prejudice; Bateson as a model to delineate an abstract frame for the research on national differences. Since, as Hume warns us, we run with avidity to give our evidence to what flatters our national prejudices and, as Mary Wollstonecraft denounces, we are eager to give a national character to every people, "Of National Characters" still provides us with acute and instructive remarks: to speak of national characters does not necessarily means that we are speaking in favour of nationalism and against the individuals.

Providing to belong: masculinities, hustling and economic uncertainty in Nairobi ‘ghettos’

AbstractHustling as a concept has travelled through the global soundscapes of impoverished, neglected, racialized and otherwise marginalized urban settings. The widespread rearticulation of the term ‘hustling’ in a broad range of urban languages reveals that its use in particular forms of Black Atlantic music cultures speaks to shared experiences worldwide. Simultaneously, it shows the flexibility of this term to acquire new and unfolding meanings. This article focuses on the modes in which poor young men in Nairobi (re)deploy, translate and practise hustling to fit immediate circumstances and imagine possible futures, and on the meanings these men produce in the process. I argue that interrogating hustling as a practice provides insights into gendered experiences of urban life worlds in the underserved and highly policed areas of Nairobi, which may tentatively resonate with young men in comparable positions worldwide. I specifically examine how positions of (junior) manhood are configured by localized hustling practices to elucidate how navigating fear and hope, while facing extreme uncertainty, simultaneously defines and undermines their sense of manhood.