Author:

• Rosana Machin - Machin, R. - UNIFESP - Universidade Federal de São Paulo - <rmachin@usp.br>
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1306-4276

Thematic Area:

Não Categorizado

Abstract:

Conceptions of gender, masculinity and care: a study of primary health care professionals
This paper analyses conceptions of gender and masculinity among Primary Health Care professionals in four Brazilian States (PE, RJ, RN, SP). It is based on two perspectives: the meanings associated with being a man and the relations between masculinity and health care. This qualitative study is part of a multicentric investigation, which used convenience sampling and triangulation methods. Sixty nine in-depth interviews carried out among health professionals with higher education were analyzed. The discourses (re)produce the notion that health facilities are “feminized spaces”. Within the services’ daily routine, this notion is translated as a reiteration of the idea that the male body is not a locus of care, in opposition to the female body which is considered a locus of care. The presence of a hegemonic pattern of masculinity is prominent among professionals’ representations of men and seems to influence the latter, in their lack of commitment with health care. The existence of a stereotyped gender model (re)produces disparities between men and women in health care and compromises the visibility of other meanings and expressions of gender identities.
Key words:
Masculinity, gender, men’s health, masculinity and health, Primary Health Care

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