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Circles in the surf: Australianmasculinity, mortality and griefJ.P. Rosenberg aa School of Nursing and Midwifery , The University of Queensland ,Milton, AustraliaPublished online: 18 Nov 2010.

To cite this article: J.P. Rosenberg (2009) Circles in the surf: Australian masculinity, mortality andgrief, Critical Public Health, 19:3-4, 417-426, DOI: 10.1080/09581590902906203

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09581590902906203

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Critical Public HealthVol. 19, Nos. 3–4, September–December 2009, 417–426

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Circles in the surf: Australian masculinity, mortality and grief

J.P. Rosenberg*

School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Queensland, Milton, Australia

(Received 7 August 2008; final version received 17 March 2009)

This article examines the constructs of masculinity that are predominantin contemporary Australian society and their influence upon men’sperception of their health and well-being. It questions the currencyof ‘male stoicism’ at a time when changed perceptions of masculinity areemerging. In particular, it considers how these constructs are evidencedin men’s embracing of human mortality and their public expressionsof grief. The nature of men’s health promotion is discussed and a platformfor promoting healthy approaches to masculinity, mortality and grief ispresented.

Keywords: masculinity; gender identity; mortality; grief; secular rituals;death; health public policy; gender

Introduction

Australian men are in trouble, it seems. Like their counterparts elsewhere in thedeveloped world, men have lower life expectancy and significantly higher ratesof preventable causes of death than women, and a decreased likelihood to reportsickness (Broom 2004, Baum 2008). Men are more likely than women to engagein over 30 behaviours that increase the risk of disease, injury and death (Courtenay2002). These traits, it has been widely suggested, are attributable in part to thesocialisation of men in developed countries into constructs of masculine genderthat are ‘tough, unemotional, aggressive and independent’ (Broom 2004, p. 75).Such traits are able to be detected even in primary school age children (DeSpelderand Strickland 2002).

If this is so, it is surely also problematic for Australian men to embrace their ownmortality and express their grief at the deaths of others? When these characteristicsare considered in light of contemporary discourse on the nature of Australian males’views of mortality and their public expressions of grief, it becomes evident thatAustralian men are constructing secular grief rituals that appear to both embodya sense of masculinity and facilitate their mourning. Shifting perceptions regardingthe expression of emotion by men and a number of incidents of mass death ofAustralians suggest that despite their risk-taking behaviour, Australian men arereconstructing their masculinity in the face of human mortality and grief.

*Email: j.rosenberg@uq.edu.au

ISSN 0958–1596 print/ISSN 1469–3682 online

� 2009 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/09581590902906203

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Being an Australian man

It has been suggested that Australia’s colonial history paints a picture of a bleakand threatening masculinity, creating a society described as secular, populist, racistand masculine (Patience 1990). Based upon the view that the ‘dominant culturalvalues of Australian middle-class society tended to mimic those of English society’(Kellehear 2000, p. 8), the stoicism of the ‘stiff upper lip’, the resolute ‘soldiering on’in the presence of illness and suspicion of demonstrative behaviours suggestiveof feminine traits describe acceptable masculine behaviour in Australia as recentlyas a decade ago (Taylor et al. 1998). Interestingly, it has been proposed that‘masculinity requires compulsive practice, because it can be contested and under-mined at any moment’ (Courtenay 2000, p. 1393). That is to say, it is the daily‘gendering’ of behaviours that are constructed as masculine are both habitual anddefensive in order to protect men from being judged as less than masculine.

While dichotomised constructions of gender remain pervasive in developedcountries including Australia, contemporary constructionist views of masculinityacknowledge gender as a ‘. . . dynamic, social structure . . .[that] resides . . . in socialtransactions defined as gendered’ (Courtenay 2000, p. 1387). Notions of masculinity– like notions of femininity – are not static; rather, constructs of gender areconstantly changing, with men and women not only subject to these changes butagents in effecting them. Indeed, men have been described as the antithesis of thehelpless, passive subjects of socially prescribed roles, rather behaving as ‘. . . activeagents in constructing and reconstructing dominant norms of masculinity’(Courtenay 2000, p. 1388).

Being a healthy man

Men’s understanding of health and illness are inextricably linked to other aspectsof masculine identities, including the very notion of what it means to be a man (McVittieand Willock 2006, p. 789).

Men’s perceptions of their health and well-being are inseparable from their senseof their own masculinity. Perceptions of masculinity that embody the stark, solitarycharacteristics described above emphasise the perceived connection betweenstrength and wellness (Broom 2004). That is to say that to be well is to be strong(i.e. masculine), and to be ill is to be weak (i.e. less than masculine). In light ofCourtenay’s (2000) assertion of the compulsive practice of masculinity, it is hardlysurprising then that men have been described as resistant to seeking health services(Broom 2004) even after the identification of symptoms (McVittie and Willock 2006,Jarrett et al. 2007). This resistance to health-seeking behaviours is constructed ‘as aquality to be admired’ and neglect of the body viewed as an act of masculine strength(Broom 2004, p. 74). Such ‘machismo’ – the display of masculine power – has beenlong identified as a problem for men’s health-seeking behaviour (Taylor et al. 1998).

A clear example is found in an Australian study into perceptions of masculinityof men with prostate cancer (Broom 2004). In this study, respondents reportedthat their resistance to seeking treatment for their prostatic disease was attributedto explicitly masculine issues – a diseased male reproductive organ, impacting upontheir potency and urinary continence, requiring transrectal access for clinicalprocedures such as digital examination. The acknowledgement of their illness bythese men elicited in them a sense of vulnerability and exposure, with humiliation

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and degradation reported by many during clinical procedures. In particular,

transrectal access to the prostate confronted the respondents’ sense of their

masculinity, as others have suggested that a penetrative act of this nature confronts

dominant forms of heterosexual masculinity (Broom 2004). Ironically, where

gendered expectations of masculine attitudes and behaviours are not found in

some men who are regarded as more feminine than masculine, risk of death from

cardiac disease has been found to decrease (Hunt et al. 2007).However, despite any resistance demonstrated in seeking health support,

men have already been reported as being highly anxious about their health and

the consequences of illness and its treatment (Hale et al. 2007). There is emerging

evidence that Australian men are not caught immovably in the stereotypical ways

of masculinity described. In a recent study, Rosenberg (2008) examined descriptions

by Australian men of their health and well-being following their participation in

personal development programmes offered by the Men’s Health and Well-Being

Association of Queensland [MWHAQ]. Respondents described their understandings

of health and well-being in holistic terms of the balance of the elements of self:

I am healthiest when I maintain balance between my physical, mental, emotional andspiritual health.

Specifically, these men identified their personal attributes of vitality and energy,

resilience and integrity, as integral components of their well-being as men. The

impact of these changed – but masculine – perceptions was reported by some

respondents to have impacted upon their health status and health-promoting

behaviours:

I have considerably stopped doing harmful behaviours . . . all because I feel like I belongand value myself and others more.

These examples illustrate a changing understanding of healthy masculinity that

challenges the very behaviours so predominant in Australian male culture. This

respondent illustrates this succinctly in saying:

Men can talk about more than football or sexual conquests. What an eye-opener!

These qualitative findings, while drawn from a small sample of men who had under-

taken male-focussed personal development programmes, demonstrate that contem-

porary constructions of Australian masculinity are indeed dynamic and evolving.

Further research into larger populations could clarify whether the phenomena

described by these men are changing their perceptions of what it means to be male and

healthy; do the health promotion strategies targeting them reflect this?

Men’s health promotion

As men’s greatest health risks are preventable (Courtenay 2002), it seems logical that

health promotion strategies would present an effective response. However, returning

to the proposition that masculine perceptions of health are predominantly connected

to stoicism and resistance to health-seeking behaviours, health promotion itself may

present a conceptual hurdle. Have health promotion strategies to date actually

presented approaches to improving men’s health that represents a threat to their

perceptions of masculinity?

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A man’s success in adopting (socially feminised) health-promoting behaviours, like hisfailure to engage in (socially masculinised) physically risky behaviour, can underminehis ranking among men and relegate him to a subordinated status (Courtenay 2000,p. 1390).

If this is so, it behoves planners of men’s health promotion to address at the mostfoundational level the masculine nature of the men they would seek to supportin order to effectively improve men’s health and well-being.

In Australia, community awareness among men of issues affecting male healthand well-being appears to be increasing. Innovative approaches in Australia havebeen used in recent times that appear to at least attempt to address masculine identityin their strategies. Interestingly, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia[PCFA] have recently implemented a health promotion strategy that specificallytargets masculinity in its attempts to increase men’s screening rates for prostatediscuss (see Figure 1). The entreaty to ‘be a man’ explicitly links masculinity tohealth-seeking behaviours; in this case, talking to their general medical practitionerabout prostate disease (Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia 2008). Healthpromotion material has been posted in men’s public toilets encouraging men to,for example, seek help for depression (Beyond Blue 2008), underscored by themedia attention given to number of high-profile men who have either announcedtheir diagnosis of depression or, sadly, committed suicide as a consequence of it.The national Australian body undertaking this form of health promotion states anexplicit aim to move ‘the focus of depression away from a mental health serviceissue to one which is acknowledged and addressed by the wider community’ (BeyondBlue 2008). These strategies appear to directly address the perceived link betweenill health and compromised masculinity, where ‘being a man’ equates with seekinginformation about or support for matters that were once subject to men’s resistance.

Other health promotion programmes not modelled solely on biomedicalparadigms include, as mentioned previously, the work of MHWAQ and Men’sSheds Australia [MSA]. First, MHWAQ is a not-for-profit association with the aimof promoting the holistic health and well-being of men; in their statement of purpose,MHWAQ link this state of wellness to men’s refamiliarisation with their ‘essentiallymasculine nature’ (Men’s Health and Well-Being Association of Queensland 2008).Similarly, MSA have identified the social problems associated with men’s well-being,stating that:

The growing problems with men’s health, isolation, loneliness and depression arenow looming as major health issues in Australia. Men’s Sheds can play a significantand practical role in addressing these and other men’s issues and at the same time actas a catalyst in stimulating their community’s economic activities (Men’s ShedsAustralia 2008).

Figure 1. Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia – health promotion logo (Prostate CancerFoundation of Australia 2008. Used with permission).

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Through creating places for men to gather and work (‘sheds’), MSA seeks to addressthe issues of men’s health (defined by them as physical, emotional and social well-being) in the community. Its vision statement and health-focussed aims aresummarised in Figure 2. Interestingly, this health promotion organisation links thesolutions to these problems for men to the social and economic value of the men’scontribution, highlighting a link between masculine characteristics of productivityand ‘doing for’ with health-seeking behaviours.

The discussion to this point implicates men in the reconstruction of masculinebehaviours relating to their health and well-being. This begs the question, are menalso changing their perceptions of human mortality and masculine expressionsof grief?

Masculine mortality awareness and expressions of grief

The reported unwillingness of Australian men to discuss issues that expose theirvulnerability, such as ill health, is highlighted in the most pervasive of humanvulnerabilities – the inevitability of death. In post-colonial, Australian masculineculture, ‘reserve and stoicism in matters of high emotion and the avoidance ofundesirable subjects of conversation such as . . . death were normal’ (Walter 1997, inKellehear 2000, p. 8). Moreover, the demonstrative expression of grieving wasviewed as the business of women, not men (Kellehear 2000); indeed, grieving hasbeen viewed as overwhelmingly private, particularly in the English-speaking world,until relatively recent years (Thompson 1997), as public exposure to disastrous orinvestigated deaths increases (Howarth 2001).

A notable exception to private grieving remains in the publicly sanctionedmemorialisation of ‘fallen’ Australian soldiers from the World Wars and otherconflicts, where ritualised mourning by men (and others, of course) is nationallymarked on government-gazetted days such as ANZAC Day (April 25th) andRemembrance Day (November 11th). On these occasions, the public expression of

• To engage the elderly, differently-abled, youth, veterans and other groups of men of the

communities in both rural Australia and urban Australia, and to specifically address any issues

of isolation, loneliness and depression;

• To support the social interaction of men in transitional periods (e.g.: redundancy,

bereavement, retirement, ill health, relocation, respite care);

• To engage the elderly, differently-abled, youth, veterans and other groups of men of the

communities in both rural Australia and urban Australia, and to specifically address any issues

of isolation, loneliness and depression;

• To support the social interaction of men in transitional periods (e.g. redundancy, bereavement,

retirement, ill health, relocation, respite care);

• To facilitate links between men and health-related agencies, family organisations and

specialist health professionals within the community.

(Men's Sheds Australia, 2007, 2008)

Figure 2. Men’s Sheds Australia-health and wellbeing-focused vision/aims.

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grief demonstrates a mixture of both stoic forbearance and, in some, high emotion,both of which are considered acceptable.

Memorialisation is not new (Howarth 2007), but its expression is constantlychanging and these events in particular demonstrate a change to the publicexpression of grief. As Eyre (2001) noted, informal popular rituals such the layingof flowers at the site of vehicular accidents or other public places are increasinglypopular and could be viewed as emerging death rituals that are increasinglyreplacing more established religious memorial rites, although arguably thisrepresents a return to formerly communal participation in pre-funeral rituals(Gore 2001). In recent years, a number of tragedies have occurred where loss of lifeamong non-military Australian men was particularly high or notable; these includethe events of 11 September 2001, the deaths of 88 Australians in the Bali bombings,the loss of 13 young Australian canyoners in a flash flood at Interlaken in Austriaand those killed in the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. Where multiple membersof sporting clubs or surfing fraternities have died, public grief rituals indeedembodied ‘ritual power’ noted by Hockey (2001) and others. Borrowing from surfingculture (see Figure 3), a number of Australian men were memorialised by their peerswho formed circles in the surf on surfboards, first joining hands then throwingflowers into the centre of the circle, and slapping the water with the palms of theirhands creating a spray of water. In another example, a permanent memorial tosix team mates of the same rugby club killed in Bali has been erected on NorthCoogee beach (Figure 4) – a modern, non-religious structure quite unlike the warmemorials located throughout the country. In a further example, following thedisaster at Interlaken, the use of the wattle bloom – indigenous Australian flora andone of the symbols on the Australian Coat of Arms – became a prevalent symbol ofpublic grief and has been used many times since (Duffy 2002). These public actsof grief and memorialisation suggest the emergence of secular grief rituals asmechanisms for the expression of men’s grief and denote awareness among menof their mortality.

Public policies for healthy grieving for men

The need for public policies promoting men’s health has long been identified inAustralia (Huggins 1998) and is increasingly being addressed in the more recent

Figure 3. Surf memorial ritual.

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strategies described above. However, with the exception of MAS, no formalconsideration of the particular needs of Australian men regarding issues of mortalityhas been evident in public health policy in the recent past (Smith 2000). Even thecontemporary health promotion strategies described in this article mention issuesof mortality and grief by association, such as depression leading to suicide, or risk-taking behaviour leading to serious injury or death. The notable exception to this isMSA that explicitly acknowledge bereavement as a time of great risk to men’s healthand well-being (Men’s Sheds Australia 2007).

Some suggestions for addressing the improvement of men’s health and well-beingin a systematic way may warrant consideration. For example, given the evidenceof men’s risk-taking behaviour, it has been suggested that policies addressingworkplace health and safety require consideration of perceptions of masculinity toeffectively reach men at risk (Jarrett et al. 2007). Furthermore, it has been suggestedthat in health services, an increasing number of male healthcare professionals mightassist men in health-seeking behaviours (Jarrett et al. 2007); however, this strategycan also be seen as a barrier to men’s participation in health services for their healthproblems, should men feel vulnerable to expose themselves to other men – evenhealthcare professionals – particularly in relation to explicitly male health problemssuch as impotence related to prostatic disease (Hale et al. 2007). Whether this samesense of vulnerability or its converse sense of trust applies to bereaved men isunknown, although Rosenberg’s (2008) study suggests that for some men, solace canbe found with other men in grieving. What appears to be lacking in the Australiancontext is a systemic policy framework that explicitly addresses the health promotionneeds of men relating to issues of mortality and grief.

Figure 4. North Coogee Beach Bali Bombing Memorial.

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A systemic policy response to masculinity, mortality and grief

A framework for public health policy and end–of-life care has been proposed thatmay offer a systemic policy response to masculinity, mortality and grief. Withina broader policy vision, the aim of Compassionate Cities is to provide a platform for

‘incremental, progressive reforms to our current public health vision that allow us tobuild upon current initiatives and to take this forward in matter to do with death andloss’ (Kellehear 2005, p. 59). When applied to this discussion, elements of Kellehear’splatform may provide important foundational concepts for men’s health in relation

to issues of mortality and grief. This may include:

. Health initiatives at community level, which recognise compassion as anethical imperative through education and health promotion strategies thatinclude discussion of masculinity, death and loss.

. A policy and education commitment to social and cultural differences

including those of men, and men from differing ethnic and cultural groups;the participation of suitable men in the development and implementationof these initiatives is imperative.

. The provision of targeted information for men and the sharing ofexperiences by men; this includes the involvement of media in accuratelyportraying men’s experiences of mortality and grief, such as the death of

a spouse.. Facilitation of public memorialisation of the loss of men from communities,

whether through war, accident or other means.. Preservation of communities’ evolving masculinity through collective

gatherings and recording of elder men’s stories.

While these elements have application to health promotion planning and imple-

mentation within public health programmes, the imperative for services to engagewhole communities in these processes is clear.

Conclusion

The issues men confront in relation to their mortality and grief are complex but not

insurmountable. This article has suggested that contemporary Australian masculin-ity is undergoing dynamic change, wherein men are increasingly attempting tointegrate their masculinity with changed understandings of health and well-being.This extends to men’s views of human mortality and their public expressions of grief,

where this changed understanding is most evident in public grief rituals such ascircles in the surf. Whether health promotion strategies are sufficient to improvemen’s health and well-being through integrating emerging constructs of masculinityremains to be seen.

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the support of MHWAQ (www.mhwaq.org.au) for their permissionto conduct the study cited in this article and reproduce some of the findings here; the ProstateCancer Foundation of Australia for the use of their health promotion logo shown in Figure 1.Photographs reproduced here have been located in the public domain in the World Wide Weband their sources are acknowledged in text.

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