Charles, Nickie and Walters, Vivienne. (2008) 'Men are leavers alone and women are worriers': Gender differences in discourses of health. Health, Risk & Society, Vol.10 (No.2). pp. 117-132. ISSN 1369-8575

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Abstract

This paper explores gender differences in health talk, how such talk is informed by discourses at a societal level and the extent to which talking about health is a way of 'doing gender.' It draws on in-depth interviews with 48 women and men in their twenties and thirties showing that gender influences both the way people talk about health and their willingness to engage in health talk. It explores the way cultural constructions of gender influence the propensity to take risks with particular reference to HIV/AIDs and recreational drug use and the extent to which discourses of risk inform health talk. We discuss how changes in the occupational structure and the associated influx of men into 'women's' work are associated with more 'feminized' masculinities and a recognition among some men of the male body's vulnerability. They are also associated with men's health talk becoming more like women's. We conclude that cultural constructions of gender not only have an impact on health talk but also on the regulatory power of discourses of risk and risk management.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Communication in medicine -- Sex differences, Health attitudes -- Sex differences, Health behavior -- Sex differences, Masculinity
Journal or Publication Title:	Health, Risk & Society
Publisher:	Routledge
ISSN:	1369-8575
Date:	2008
Volume:	Vol.10
Number:	No.2
Number of Pages:	16
Page Range:	pp. 117-132
Identification Number:	10.1080/13698570802160954
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
Funder:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
Grant number:	R000222810 (ESRC)
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/29809

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