UNIQUE CONSIDERATIONS
This section presents an array of unique considerations for men’s health within diverse circumstances and settings. It makes a fitting conclusion to the book because topics are prevalent in the United States, yet seldom presented as intersectional men’s health issues.
Body Issues is the first chapter of the section and introduces the audience to body issues that males may face at each developmental stage of life and the ways that male body issues differ by race/ethnicity.
HIV looks at the disproportionate rates of HIV among men by sexual orientation and education level. This intersectional focus is important for thinking through barriers and solutions to persistent societal stigma that continues to burden men with and at risk for HIV.
The Effects of Discrimination on Suicide tackles the subject of discrimination as a key driver in racial inequities regarding rates of suicide. Further, this chapter shines a light on Asian and Hispanic immigrant populations, which are often othered or ignored in conversations about mental health and chronic stressors.
Non-Western Wellness Practices informs a global perspective on how men’s engagement in wellness practices are undergirded by cultural beliefs and notions of manliness at large. Specific wellness and mindfulness practices that originate from Western countries are explained in relation to their ability to prevent or manage stress.
Incarceration addresses the health impacts of America’s carceral system for men across race and age. This chapter is important to the books’ intersectional focus because men in jails/prisons are often not considered in mainstream public health conversations. The COVID-19 pandemic has showed us otherwise. Specifically, this chapter talks about physical and mental health challenges among this population.
The book concludes with a chapter on Gun Violence. Regardless of stances on gun rights, the endemic of violence in our nation is a public health crisis. Focusing on race and poverty brings a unique lens to this brief discussion of gun violence that is not over.
