“Centering the Margins”: Moving Equity to the Center of Men’s Health Research

Abstract

How might the science of men’s health progress if research on marginalized or subordinated men is moved from the margins of the literature to the center? This commentary seeks to answer this question, suggesting that if more attention is paid to men of color and other marginalized men, the field will be greatly enriched in its ability to understand determinants of men’s health. Reimagining men’s health by moving men’s health disparities to a primary focus of the field may yield critical new insights that would be essential to moving men’s health to the center of health equity research. Focusing on the dual goals of improving the health of marginalized men and examining the determinants of disparities among men and between men and women will yield insights into mechanisms, pathways, and strategies to improve men’s health and address health disparities. Current definitions of health disparities limit the nation’s ability to dedicate resources to populations that need attention—men of color and other marginalized men—that do not fit these definitions. Moving marginalized men to the center of research in men’s health will foster new ways of understanding determinants of men’s health that cannot be identified without focusing on populations of men whose health is as influenced by race, ethnicity, and other structures of marginalization as it is by gender and masculinities. Using Black men as a case example, the article illustrates how studying marginalized men can refine the study of men’s health and health equity.

Canadian Men’s Health Literacy: A Nationally Representative Study

“…Higher income levels were positively associated with four of the health literacy scales, and while this finding affirms previous work (Canadian Council on Learning, 2008; von Wagner et al, 2007; White, et al, 2008) the current study points to important inequities amongst men. Responding to Griffith’s (2018) call for a focus on men’s health inequities to examine how marginalized subgroups of men are relatively disadvantaged, the current study verified high household income (>$120,000) as a strong predictor of men’s higher health literacy. Moreover, that low income was negatively associated with men’s health literacy, within the Canadian public health care system and longstanding attention to social determinants of health, confirms the importance of addressing structural barriers beyond men’s behaviors and/or biology-based explanations (Griffith, 2018; Raphael, 2016).…”

Health Implications of Incarceration and Reentry on Returning Citizens: A Qualitative Examination of Black Men’s Experiences in a Northeastern City

“…And from the previously discussed historical framework this underscores the extent to which these practices are not new but rather they have been reinvented through other means. Consistent with Griffith (2018), participants note profound health and wellness implications in their collective narratives under this theme.…”

“…Further analysis and recognition of the racial and health disparities within the surveillance, policing, and prison sentencing of Black males should then be used to address policies, as well as, educate communities around the negative social engineering that places Black males in a deviant and less than moral position in society. Finally, research must build on Griffith's (2018) supposition that men at the margins may be prone to mental health abnormalities and find ways to adjust frameworks such that they may be applied to those cycling through systems of social control. As mentioned above, while it is crucial that scholars assess macro and quantitative contexts of mass imprisonment and its effects, health and wellness necessarily refocuses discourses toward the body itself, as a wealth of knowledge discursively awaits at the intersection of health and wellness and incarceration.…”

“…Research has also cautioned the need for further exploration into health and wellness particularly for those on the margins, like Black males, as issues of mental health may increasingly be a key challenge (Griffith, 2018). Thus, this article also seeks to examine issues around Black male wellness and mental health by focusing on the health challenges of men on the margins in society (Griffith, 2018). Therefore, the current inquiry endeavors to explore the interconnections between health and wellness, reentry, and Black males.…”

“…Because Black men are less likely to reach culturally ascribed characteristics of masculinity, Black men are more vulnerable to poor health and are exposed to more psychosocial stressors throughout their lives ( Rich, 2000 ; Watkins et al, 2010 ; Watkins & Neighbors, 2007 ). Research has also cautioned the need for further exploration into health and wellness particularly for those on the margins, like Black males, as issues of mental health may increasingly be a key challenge ( Griffith, 2018 ). Thus, this article also seeks to examine issues around Black male wellness and mental health by focusing on the health challenges of men on the margins in society ( Griffith, 2018 ).…”