Concepts of gender, masculinity and healthcare: A study of primary healthcare professionals

Abstract

This paper analyzes concepts of gender and masculinity among Primary Healthcare professionals in four Brazilian States (Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, São Paulo). It is based on two perspectives: the meanings associated with being a man and the relations between masculinity and healthcare. This qualitative study is part of a multicentric investigation, which used triangulation methods as a benchmark. 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 daily routine, this notion is translated as reinforcing the idea that the male body is not a locus of this care, as opposed 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 healthcare. The existence of a stereotyped gender model (re)produces disparities between men and women in healthcare and compromises the visibility of other meanings and expressions of gender identities.