Self-care and masculinities in university men

Abstract

Introduction: The construction of hegemonic masculinity is considered a risk factor because it limits men's ability to perceive themselves as vulnerable and/or fragile in situations of evident danger. Objective: to argue from a gender perspective how the category of masculinity, as a concept socially configured by patriarchal culture, hinders self-care and determines risk behaviors in men in the local and national context. Methods: Qualitative design, from the structural perspective of Social Representations. The participants are 17 male students of the Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. The selection was made with the strategy of purposive sampling oriented to find certain variations in some characteristics of the informants. Results: The first and most frequent elements to be evoked in the social representation: hygiene, health, personal care and protecting oneself.  Regarding the first periphery, there are elements that present high frequency and low importance: exercise, responsibility and healthy eating. In the prototypical one we also find those that present low frequency and high importance. This quadrant can be expressed as a subtype of representation: condom, safety, discipline, self-esteem, well-being, autonomy, not smoking, appearance and nursing. Conclusions: There are two general ideas that emerge with respect to what has been argued. The first is a clear absence of an ethic of care in men, an aspect associated with reflecting on themselves as sentient subjects -connecting with the body not only physically but also emotionally-. The second is that there is a risk-based approach, but not a health-based approach.