What’s masculinity got to do with it? The COVID-19 pandemic, men and care

Abstract

Early data from several countries regarding the gendered implications of COVID-19 suggest that men are more likely to die as an effect of infection. This has been explained by biological factors but also by behavioral and life-style issues characteristic mostly for men. What has not been widely discussed, however, is the analysis of the relationships between men's responses to the crisis, their (lack of) care activities, and certain models of masculinity that persist in many societies. In this paper, I use a three dimensional model of care – a) self-care, b) care for others, and c) care for one's society – in order to analyze how certain masculine behaviors, rooted in socially constructed gender performances, resonate with the COVID-19 pandemic. The data used in this paper are of secondary character and will serve to analyze the most common responses of men within the three dimensions of care mentioned above. The theoretical framework utilizes the notion of caring masculinity supported by an emerging theory of protective masculinity.

How Cumulative Statistics Can Mislead: The Temporal Dynamism of Sex Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality in New York State

“…Many gender-related social and demographic factors could produce such variation in sex parity [ 9 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. Notably, as of September 2021, New York City (NYC) accounted for 80.7% of COVID-19 male excess deaths in NYS, while only accounting for 53.1% of all deaths in the state [ 22 ].…”

Caring Ecologies of the New Right and Left: Populist Performances of Care During the Pandemic

“…5-6). Politicians' duty of taking care of the people is not straightforward but requires establishing the social, political, and institutional infrastructures that enable us to care for each other (Wojnicka, 2022). Tronto (2013) makes a distinction between three categories of care.…”

Gender Role Discrepancy Stress and COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors Among Men in the United States

“…8,9 Studies in the U.S. demonstrate adherence to traditional masculine norms is generally associated with less healthcare utilization, such as lower health literacy, less HIV or sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and less psychological help seeking behavior. [10][11][12] Several studies report conforming to traditional masculine norms associates with lower adherence to CDC-recommended COVID-19 prevention behaviors, [13][14][15][16][17] but the research in this area is still limited.…”