‘Fair Game!’: Talk, Jokes and Legitimacy in Men’s Journeys of Hereditary Hair Loss

Abstract

This paper discusses men’s interactions with others about hereditary hair loss, a process that can be associated with emotional turbulence, but which is often trivialised. It does so in the context of longstanding emphasis on the challenges men can have talking about wellbeing struggles and, separately, on the prominent role of humour and teasing in some men’s interactions. While, in recent years, shifts towards more open forms of communication among men have been debated, research suggests such changes are patchy and context-dependent. Informed by in-depth interviews with men based in the UK, our discussion highlights a prevalence of humorous comments in men’s baldness interactions and shows how more serious forms of talk were limited and difficult to navigate. Male hereditary hair loss, we suggest, provides a context in which men often find themselves negotiating a complex terrain where humour can become compulsory while emotional talk is seen as illegitimate.