Monday, March 19, 2007
Maybe It's OK To Be a Real Man
A commenter, rightwingprof, left a link at DrHelen regarding an article that claims Man-Of-Steel Mentality Helps Guys Heal Faster.
In this largely positive article about masculinity, the female author seems ot have let her bias show through. For example, "a brawny boy might think, “Yeah there are tough challenges, but nothing will stop me from reaching my goal," (My emphasis) Brawny boy? I was a very skinny boy (5' 11" and 128 lbs. at the beginning of the 8th grade) and quite determined to reach my goal of being a good basketball player. A goal I reached along with many others over the course of my life.
Today I worked out with my 13 year old son who wants to be a great football player and is well on his way. Being 200 lbs at 6' tall, he isn't skinny. He expressed much the same attitude I did at that age. He wants to prove he can do it and prove any naysayers wrong. He carries this same attitude into academics and his musical interests also. He seems to especially enjoy proving that he's smarter, stronger, better, etc. than others think he is or can be.
Being brawny or not doesn't make you more or less of a man or more or less determined. "Thin-lipped determination" is an old masculine tradition.
Another interesting bit of potential bias, the phrase career achievement links to an article titled "Study: Office Bullies Create Workplace 'Warzone'" Huh? How does "career achievement" equate to workplace bullies?
Oh well, it's just nice to know that someone recognizes at least a few of the upsides of being masculine.
The stereotypical “tough guy” or “real man” rarely asks for help or shows signs of weakness, because then he wouldn’t be a guy, right?And, after I've been told so many times that being masculine is bad, bad, bad.
While many scientists have considered these masculine tendencies to be barriers to health and recovery, a small study of about 50 men suggests the opposite. The man-of-steel mentality, often associated with military men and those in other high-risk occupations, can boost and speed up a guy’s recovery from a serious and/or traumatic injury possibly.
“It has long been assumed that men are not as concerned and don't take as good of care of their health,” said lead study author Glenn Good of the University of Missouri, Columbia, “but what we're seeing here is that the same ideas that led to their injuries may actually encourage their recovery.”
Perhaps, the scientists report, an inner narrative is the engine behind the boost in health. For example, a brawny boy might think, “Yeah there are tough challenges, but nothing will stop me from reaching my goal,” the scientists state in a report of this study published in a recent issue of the journal Psychology of Men and Masculinity.
In this largely positive article about masculinity, the female author seems ot have let her bias show through. For example, "a brawny boy might think, “Yeah there are tough challenges, but nothing will stop me from reaching my goal," (My emphasis) Brawny boy? I was a very skinny boy (5' 11" and 128 lbs. at the beginning of the 8th grade) and quite determined to reach my goal of being a good basketball player. A goal I reached along with many others over the course of my life.
Today I worked out with my 13 year old son who wants to be a great football player and is well on his way. Being 200 lbs at 6' tall, he isn't skinny. He expressed much the same attitude I did at that age. He wants to prove he can do it and prove any naysayers wrong. He carries this same attitude into academics and his musical interests also. He seems to especially enjoy proving that he's smarter, stronger, better, etc. than others think he is or can be.
Being brawny or not doesn't make you more or less of a man or more or less determined. "Thin-lipped determination" is an old masculine tradition.
Another interesting bit of potential bias, the phrase career achievement links to an article titled "Study: Office Bullies Create Workplace 'Warzone'" Huh? How does "career achievement" equate to workplace bullies?
Oh well, it's just nice to know that someone recognizes at least a few of the upsides of being masculine.
Comments:
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statistically speaking, 50 people isnt a representative sample.
i know i heal abnormally fast, but then so does my mum, and brother, i scare my doctor, i am fat, i should have bad blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes 2. and so on.. but i am normal, i am so normal they thought the machines were broke.
reading the article, its white middle aged rural men. could it be another factor like middle aged men heal faster, or because they are rural, or white, or a combination, and there is a mental attitude as well. look at the affects of the placebo.
50 people isnt a true sample, 5,000 would be, 500 would be as well, but 50..of course it also depends on the people asking the questions, if its a young woman, men would have a tendency to be more macho, or modern young men more in "touch" with their feelings.
it all depends how the questions are asked and who by.
i know i heal abnormally fast, but then so does my mum, and brother, i scare my doctor, i am fat, i should have bad blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes 2. and so on.. but i am normal, i am so normal they thought the machines were broke.
reading the article, its white middle aged rural men. could it be another factor like middle aged men heal faster, or because they are rural, or white, or a combination, and there is a mental attitude as well. look at the affects of the placebo.
50 people isnt a true sample, 5,000 would be, 500 would be as well, but 50..of course it also depends on the people asking the questions, if its a young woman, men would have a tendency to be more macho, or modern young men more in "touch" with their feelings.
it all depends how the questions are asked and who by.
Correct about the sample size, but it's a starting place. For years, doctors and scientists have said mental attitude makes a difference in health and healing. Maybe, this is part of it.
Speaking of broken machines, my cholesterol is so low, 128 last check, that some machines can't measure it. And, I'm on the heavy side by about 30 lbs.
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Speaking of broken machines, my cholesterol is so low, 128 last check, that some machines can't measure it. And, I'm on the heavy side by about 30 lbs.
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