Fair Game

Talk, Jokes and Legitimacy in Men's Journeys of Hereditary Hair Loss

Bibliographic Data

ID4967853
AuthorsPhil Hodkinson (0000-0002-0900-8469, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK), Matthew Hall (0000-0001-5170-6124, Bath Spa University, Bath, UK)
Year2025
Publication date2025-10-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMen and Masculinities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1097-184X • E-ISSN: 1552-6828
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1097184x251384676
OpenAlexW4414784047
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited40

This paper discusses men's interactions with others about hereditary hair loss, a process that can be associated with emotional turbulence, but which is often trivialised. It does so in the context of longstanding emphasis on the challenges men can have talking about wellbeing struggles and, separately, on the prominent role of humour and teasing in some men's interactions. While, in recent years, shifts towards more open forms of communication among men have been debated, research suggests such changes are patchy and context-dependent. Informed by in-depth interviews with men based in the UK, our discussion highlights a prevalence of humorous comments in men's baldness interactions and shows how more serious forms of talk were limited and difficult to navigate. Male hereditary hair loss, we suggest, provides a context in which men often find themselves negotiating a complex terrain where humour can become compulsory while emotional talk is seen as illegitimate

Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Media, Gender, and Advertising

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