The macho ideal has always dictated that manly men don't need directions, therapy or advice from women, but now researchers are finding that the philosophy might extend to medical care, causing more men to get sick but not seek treatment until it becomes dire.
Kristen W. Springer, study author and assistant professor of sociology at Rutgers, and her colleagues found that men who subscribed to more old-school notions of masculinity were half as likely to seek preventative health care, such as regular checkups and vaccinations.
Springer said that even more educated men; a factor that usually contributes to longer life and better access to health care, were less likely to visit a doctor regularly if they believed in the traditional view of a real man.
“It’s ironic that the belief in the John Wayne, Sylvester Stallone archetype of masculinity — and the idea that real men don’t get sick and don’t need to see the doctor, and that real men aren’t vulnerable — is actually causing men to get sick,” Dr. Springer said. “These stereotypes and ideas are actually a reason why men do get sick.”
The New York Times pointed out that, surprisingly, men of the old school who held male-dominated, blue-collar jobs -- such as truck drivers or construction workers -- were more likely to seek care. Springer said that this can be attributed to the threat of not being able to work being more emasculating than seeking medical treatment.
Women still outlive men by an average of five years, but Springer believes that the study might help explain the longevity gap.
"We could help men's health if we could dismantle this idea that manhood and masculinity is about being invulnerable, not needing help and not showing pain," said Springer.
