Blog Post #16- Emma Snyder

 Annotated Bibliography

Boysen, Guy A. “Exploring the Relation between Masculinity and Mental Illness Stigma Using the Stereotype Content Model and BIAS Map.” Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 157, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 98–113. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00224545.2016.1181600.

In this article, Guy Boysen, from the Department of Psychology at McKendree University, discusses the stigmas and stereotypes associated with men openly discussing their mental health problems. It details a study in which participants take a survey asking them how they thought Americans would perceive mental illnesses. For one section of the study, participants were asked to rate a variety of mental illnesses on a scale of extremely masculine to extremely feminine. The results of this study will be very helpful because it will tell us how specific mental illnesses are perceived by the general public and can be used to establish the biases associated with different disorders. The results show that, “Consistent with past research, the current studies showed that emotional reactions and behavioral intentions are more negative toward stereotypically masculine disorders than stereotypically feminine or neutral disorders,” and also uses their new study to show how negativity towards stereotypically masculince disorders has only grown. This shows that the source is consistent with other studies, and is still very recent, as it was conducted in 2017. 

Campbell, Leah. “How Mental Health Stigma Affects Men.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 30 June 2019, www.healthline.com/health-news/how-can-we-reduce-mens-mental-health-stigma. 

In this article, Leah Campbell, author and editor from Alaska, discusses the stigmas surrounding men’s mental health and how dangerous it is. She offers statistics from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and evidence from trusted doctors and physicians in order to show how mental health is often considerd a sign of weakness in men, which makes it more difficult for them to ask for help. Campbell also cites a physician in order to suggest a solution to the current problem. They say that the first step is to educate people more about mental illness in order to reduce the typical stigma that mental health is a sign of weakness- it is just as real and serious as a physical illness. Campbell doesn’t elaborate much further than this but the idea can be used to find other sources that do go into more depth on the subject which will help in providing a solution to the issue. 

Cohut, Maria. “Men's Mental Health: What Affects It, and How to Improve Support.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 21 June 2020, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/mens-mental-health-man-up-is-not-the-answer. 

In this article, Maria Cohut, from the University of Warwick in the UK discusses why men are more at risk for suicide. She cites reliable sources such as the World Health Organization as well as the National Institute of Mental Health. Even though the statistics show men are the ones that need it most, they’re much less likely to ask for help and this article helps us to further understand why. She uses advice from other studies and researchers to conclude that educating people on mental illness which is also consistent with my research as well. 

McKenzie, Sarah K, et al. “Masculinity, Social Connectedness, and Mental Health: Men's Diverse Patterns of Practice.” American Journal of Men's Health, SAGE Publications, Sept. 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6142169. 

In this article, authors Sarah McKenzie, Sunny Collings, and Gabrielle Jenkin, from the University of Otago in Wellington, New Zealand, and Jo River from the University of Sydney, Australia conduct an experiment to analyze links between men’s social practices, mental health, and masculinity. Their study interviewed a total of 15 men in the 20-40 age group and found that men typically see their other male friends as people to participate in shared activities with, like hunting or working out, but relied more on women in their lives to talk to about their emotional well being. In one case, a man would hang out with his guy friends and then come home to his wife to get emotional support. This was bad for both of them because it places strain on his wife because she was one of his only venues for emotional support. This evidence specifically is unique in the fact that it talks not only about the impact on men’s health but also on how it affects the women around them. In another case, a man experienced a scenario in which the male friends showed a lack of concern for his emotional well-being, while his female coworkers were glad to talk about their personal lives and were more reassuring. One of the subjects even acted as though this behaviour of men putting emotional issues to the side when he said it was just, “boys being boys,” which further feeds into the stereotype that men are not willing to talk or listen. We see from this experiment that this is not true, and actually dangerous because it prevents men from reaching out for fear of being turned away, when really many men are willing just as willing to have deeper conversations as women. This could leave a man with only male friends socially isolated with no one to confide in, which could be detrimental to one’s mental health. This source does the research to show that men have the capability to be open about things like mental health, it’s just hard for them to come forward with it because of the stereotype of men being dismissive as well as the stereotype that men have to be strong and can’t show weakness. This study also cites multiple other researchers and experiments that are consistent with the results they got here which shows that these results have more validity to them with other experiments backing them up. 

TEDtalksDirector, and Justin Baldoni. “Why I'm Done Trying to Be ‘Man Enough’ | Justin Baldoni.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 Jan. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cetg4gu0oQQ. 

In this video, actor Justin Baldoni dives into the stereotypes that are associated with being a “real man.” He attempts to show how conforming to gender norms is bad for everyone around you and uses his own personal experiences to show what he means. For example, when he posted more about work outs and more traditionally manly things, more men started following him, however when he posted things about loving his wife or his children, he got hated on for it by these men that were supporting him when he was doing things that were considered “manly.” It demonstrated that by showing vulnerability as a man, you would typically be met with hate from other men because stereotypically men are supposed to be tough and strong, but in this video Baldoni debunks this by challenging men to redefine these stereotypes by saying, “are you brave enough to be vulnerable? Strong enough to be sensitive? Confident enough to listen?” This source not only helps to define gender norms, but also tells us why it can be so difficult for men to reach out for help.