Masculinity is important but it is not the reason boys and men of color or sexual minority males live shorter, sicker lives than their peers, said Vanderbilt professor during a congressional briefing in Washington about health disparities among men and boys.
鈥淧oor men, men of color, and gay men tend to be invisible when it comes to health policy yet hyper-visible when determining risk and blame for poor health,鈥� said Griffith, director of the at Vanderbilt University.
鈥淸rquote]We tend to want to blame masculinity for the poor health of vulnerable boys and men, but race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other factors create unique stressors that these groups of boys and men experience.鈥漑/rquote]
The event, titled 鈥淓liminating Health Disparities Among Men and Boys,鈥� was sponsored by the American Psychological Association鈥檚 Working Group on Health Disparities in Boys and Men and the Congressional Men鈥檚 Health Caucus. The co-chairs of the caucus 鈥� U.S. Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr., D-N.J., and U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., attended.
The other speakers at the briefing were Arthur W. Blume, professor of psychology at Washington State University; Wizdom Powell, associate professor of health behavior at UNC Gillings School of Public Global Health; and Roland J. Thorpe, Jr., associate professor of health, behavior and society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
鈥淭here is no single or simple explanation for the poor health of vulnerable boys and men,鈥� Griffith said. 鈥淲e have to look at the complex sources of depression, suicide, violence and trauma among males. It鈥檚 not enough to just attack their masculinity.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important that we try to understand the unique factors that shape the health of vulnerable males and consider them in policies to improve their health.鈥�
