Depression and the Performance of Masculinity in a Military Retirement Community

Bibliographic Data

ID2388198
AuthorsKate De Medeiros (0000-0002-3995-3170, Miami University, corresponding author), Robert L Rubinstein (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA)
Year2016
Volume19
Issue2
Pages148-166
Publication date2016-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMen and Masculinities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1097-184X • E-ISSN: 1552-6828
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1097184x15606932
OpenAlexW2341442652
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited37

Depression can be viewed as a psychiatric illness and, as a folk ideology, part of the conceptual world of everyday life for many people. In public culture, ideas about depression are often associated with culturally feminine traits (e.g., expressed sadness, uncontrollable crying, and other forms of emotionality) and in contrast to a sense of rationality publicly ascribed (however incorrectly) to men. Such gendered traits can consequently pose challenges to constructions of masculinity in older men who experience forms of stress related to loss and finitude. This article draws upon interviews from a unique sample-eight older men who reside in a military-sponsored retirement community-to explore how masculinity is performed and defended in light of age- and person-based threats such as depression. Findings point to the importance of the lifelong identity as a military serviceman as an important site through which to negotiate, process, or deny change with age

Anger · Ideology · Masculinity · Political science · Politics · Sadness · Sociology · Aging and Gerontology Research · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics