‘You’re not raised to think that someone is supposed to take care of you’: Negotiating masculinities and chronic illness

Keywords: Gender, Masculinities, Chronic Illness, Disability, Age
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 71

Abstract

In this research, I examine the ways in which men living with chronic physical illness (Multiple Sclerosis; Fibromyalgia) do gender within and across the places that constitute their everyday lives. The research uses a qualitative, arts-informed approach. We draw on data from multiple face-to-face interviews with participants, coupled with a visual arts activity in which participants created and discussed pieces reflecting their ideas about gender and what it means to ‘be a man’. While each of the participants identified as a man, they were diverse in terms of age, race, class, and living situations. While many had previously aspired to normative ideas of masculinity, they now confront changing bodily capacities, material circumstances, and social relationships that constrain their efforts to approximate prevailing gender norms. This has led them to explore other ways of doing masculinity in relation to chronic illness that necessitate a reworking or, in some instances, a rejection of prevailing gender norms. The specific impacts of chronic illness, coupled with age and material circumstances, shape each participant’s experience.