Abstract
Prostate cancer is a major health problem—one that inevitably challenges men's notions about themselves and their expressions of masculinity. As part of a larger study investigating linkages between masculinity and prostate cancer, this article focuses on the narratives of three men with prostate cancer—all of whom shed light on contemporary forms of hegemonic masculinity. Multiple interviews were conducted with study participants, capturing experiencesboth prior to and following cancer diagnosis. Analysis of individual narratives showed how social factors such as work and family influenced (and were influenced by) men's experiences with illness. All three men were forced to renegotiate their performances of masculinity—with this renegotiation mostly occurring within the parameters of performance consistent with hegemonic masculinity. However, there was also some evidence of shifts into new socialterritory and new expressions of masculinity. In contrast to more traditional, trait-based approaches to studying men's experiences, a narrative approach allows social scientists to do justice to the temporal realities and contextual complexities of men's lives. Men will be better understood as more attention is paid to the actual shape of individual lives.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Annandale, E. & Hunt, K. (1990). Masculinity, femininity and sex: An exploration of their relative contribution to explaining gender differences in health. Sociology of Health and Illness, 12, 24–46.
Antonucci, T. C. & Akiyama, H. (1987). An examination of sex differences in social support among older men and women. Sex Roles, 17, 737–749.
Bell, S. E. (1999). Narratives and lives: Women's health politics and the diagnosis of cancer for DES daughters. Narrative Inquiry, 9, 347–389.
Blumenthal, D. (1999). Representing the divided self. Qualitative Inquiry, 5, 377–392.
Bohan, J. S. (1993). Regarding gender: Essentialism, constructionism and feminist psychology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 17, 5–21.
Brooks, P. (1984). Reading for the plot: Design and intention in narrative. New York: A.A. Knopf.
Bury, M. (1982). Chronic illness as biographical disruption. Sociology of Health and Illness, 4, 167–182.
Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble. London: Routledge.
Cameron, E. & Bernardes, J. (1998). Gender and disadvantage in health: men's health for a change. Sociology of Health and Illness, 20(5), 673–693.
Charmaz, K. (1995). Identity dilemmas of chronically ill men. In D. Sabo & D. F. Gordon (Eds.), Men's health and illness: Gender, power and the body. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Cheng, C. (1999). Marginalized masculinities and hegemonic masculinity: An introduction. Journal of Men's Studies, 7(3), 295–315.
Clandinin, D. J. & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Connell, R. W. (1987). Gender and power. Cambridge: Polity.
Connell, R. W. (1993). The big picture: Masculinities in recent world history. Theory & Society, 22, 576–623.
Connell, R. W. (1995). Masculinities. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Courtenay, W. H. (2000). Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men's well-being: A theory of gender and health. Social Science & Medicine, 50, 1385–1401.
Crabtree, B. & Miller, M. (1991). A qualitative approach to primary care research: The long interview. Family Medicine, 23, 145–151.
Doyle, J. A. (1995). The male experience. (3rd ed.) Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Ezzy, D. (1998). Lived experience and interpretation in narrative theory: Experiences of living with HIV/AIDS. Qualitative Sociology, 21, 169–180.
Ezzy, D. (2000). Illness narratives: Time, hope and HIV. Social Science & Medicine, 50, 605–617.
Frank, B. W. (1991). Everyday/everynight masculinities: The social construction of masculinity among young men. SIECCAN Journal, 6, 27–37.
Frank, A. W. (1995). The wounded storyteller: Body, illness, and ethics. Chicago.
Good, B. J. & DelVecchio Good, M.-J. (1994). In the subjunctive mode: Epilepsy narratives in Turkey. Social Science & Medicine, 38, 835–842.
Gray, R. E., Fitch, M., Davis, C., & Phillips, C. (1996). Breast cancer and prostate cancer self-help groups: Reflections on differences. Psycho-Oncology, 5, 137–142.
Gray, R. E., Fitch, M., Phillips, C., Labrecque, M., & Fergus, K. (2000). Managing the impact of illness: The experiences of men with prostate cancer and their spouses. Journal of Health Psychology, 5, 525–542.
Gray, R. E., Fitch, M., Phillips, C., Labrecque, M., Fergus, K., & Klotz, L. (2002). Prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction: Men's experiences. International Journal of Men's Health, (1), 15–29.
Gray, R. E., Klotz, L., Iscoe, N., Fitch, M., Fransenn, E., Johnson, B. J., & Labrecque, M. (1997). Results of a survey of Canadian men with prostate cancer. Canadian Journal of Urology, 4, 359–365.
Helgeson, V. S. & Lepore, S. J. (1997). Men's adjustment to prostate cancer: The role of agency and unmitigated agency. Sex Roles, 37, 251–267.
Hyden, L.-C. (1997). Illness and narrative. Sociology of Health and Illness, 19, 48–69.
Labov, W. (1982). Speech actions and reactions in personal narratives. In D. Tannen (Ed.), Analyzing discourse: Text and talk (pp. 219–247). Washington, DC.: Georgetown University Press.
Longino, C. F. & Lipman, A. (1982). The married, formely married and the never married: Support system differentials of older women in retirement communities. International Journal of Aging Development, 15, 285–294.
Lyons, R. R., Coyne, J., Duck, S., Fitch, M., Gunter, A., Hood, C., Jackson, Z., Miller, D., Ritvo, P., & Thomsen, P. (1996). Social intergration and disability: Clarification of relationship issues in work, family and community. Halifax: Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada.
MacIntyre, A. (1981). After virtue. Nortre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Maines, D. (1993). Narrative's moment and sociology's phenomena. Sociological Quarterly, 34, 17–38.
Mandelson, M. T., Wagner, E. H., & Thompson, R. S. (1995). PSA screening: A public health dilemma. Annual Review of Public Health, 16, 283–306.
McDade, T. (1996). Prostates and profits: The social construction of benign prostatic hyperplasia in American men. Medical Antropology, 17, 1–22.
Morse, J. M. & Field, P. A. (1995). Qualitative research methods for health professionals. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Murray, M. (1999). The storied nature of health and illness. In M. Murray & K. Chamberlain (Eds.) Qualitative health psychology: Theory and methods (pp. 47–63). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Murray, M. & McMillan, C. (1988). Working class women's view of cancer. Belfast: Ulster Cancer Foundation.
Naifeh, S. & Smith, G. (1984). Why can't men open up? Overcoming men's fear of intimacy. New York: Clarkson N. Potter.
National Cancer Institute of Canada (1999). Canadian cancer statistics, 1999. Toronto: The Institute.
Notarius, C. & Johnson, J. (1982). Emotional expression in husbands and wives. Journal of Marriage and Family, 44, 483–489.
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Pelias, R. J. (1999). Writing performance: Poeticizing the researcher's body. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
Ricoeur, P. (1987). Life: A story in search of a narrator. In M. J. Valdes (Ed) A Ricoeur reader: Reflection and imagination (pp. 425–437). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Riessman, C. K. (1993). Narrative analysis. Qualitative Research Methods Series. (Vols. 30) Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Sabo, D. & Gordon, D. R. (1994). Rethinking men's health and illness. In D. Sabo & D.R. Gordon (Eds.) Men's health and illness. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sarbin, T. (1986). Narrative psychology. New York: Praeger.
Sharp, J. W., Blum, D., & Aviv, L. (1993). Elderly men with cancer: Social work interventions in prostate cancer. Social Work Health Care, 19, 91–107.
Stanford, J. L., Feng, Z., Hamilton, A. S., Gilliland, F. D., Stephenson, R. A., Eley, J. W., Albertsen, P. C., Harlan, L. C., & Potosky, A. L. (2000). Urinary and sexual function after radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer: The prostate cancer outcomes study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 283, 354–360.
Watson, J. M. (1993). Male body image and health beliefs: A qualitative study and implications for health promotion practice. Health Education Journal, 52, 246–252.
Watson, J. M. (2000). Male bodies: Health, culture and identity. Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Williams, G. (1984). The genesis of chronic illness: Narrative re-construction. In P. Brown (Ed.), Perspectives in Medical Sociology (pp. 267–289). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gray, R.E., Fitch, M.I., Fergus, K.D. et al. Hegemonic Masculinity and the Experience of Prostate Cancer: A Narrative Approach. Journal of Aging and Identity 7, 43–62 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014310532734
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014310532734