Does it surprise you that those who are obsessed with looking like a "real man" are the most hesitant to wear mask and get vaccinated?
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Does it surprise you that those who are obsessed with looking like a "real man" are the most hesitant to wear mask and get vaccinated? - Results (73 votes)
While studies earlier in the pandemic pointed to the way unhealthy behaviors like resistance to masks and hand-washing were more common in men in general, this data makes an important distinction: The problem isnt men; its the men committed to a certain performance of masculinity.
Men are more skeptical than women about COVID-19 vaccines and wearing face masks but the real divide is between men who are trying to project masculinity and the men who arent, Fairleigh Dickinson researchers wrote. Men who assert a traditionally masculine gender identity are less likely to say that theyll get the COVID-19 vaccine, more likely to say that it has side effects, more resistant to wearing face masks for protection, and more likely to say they have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The survey also found that men who identify as completely masculine are nearly twice as likely to say wearing masks is dangerous to the health of the wearer and are predictably about three times more likely to report having been infected with the virus.
The men who identify as the most masculine were also more likely to have attended a gathering of more than 10 people or hosted visitors at their residence during the pandemic. Almost half (43 percent) of completely masculine men reported theyve had people over at their home recently; for other men, it was 36 percent (admittedly still not great but better). While we know Covid-19 is the major health threat here, it appears our defunct definition of masculinity is a dangerous precondition for Covid-19 that we should be talking about.