Ageing, masculinity and Parkinson's disease: embodied perspectives

Parkinson's disease (PD) presents as an illness which predominantly affects older men. However older men's lived experiences of PD, including how they are influenced by age and gender relations has seen little empirical study. Drawing on Watson's male body schema, this paper explores...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology of health & illness 2017-05, Vol.39 (4), p.532-546
Main Authors: Gibson, Grant, Kierans, Ciara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
ageing
Aging
Aging - psychology
Chronic illnesses
Disease
Embodiment
Emotions
Gender relations
Human body
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Interviews as Topic
Life course
Male
Masculinity
Meaning
Men
Men's Health
Middle Aged
Narration
Occupations
Older men
Older people
Parkinson Disease - psychology
Parkinson's disease
Psychological Theory
Sociology
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Summary:Parkinson's disease (PD) presents as an illness which predominantly affects older men. However older men's lived experiences of PD, including how they are influenced by age and gender relations has seen little empirical study. Drawing on Watson's male body schema, this paper explores how men engage with masculinities and ageing in order to make sense and meaning from PD. Data is presented from 30 narrative and semi structured interviews with 15 men of various ages who were living with PD. Findings suggest that PD threatens a visceral embodiment located in the body's basic movements and intimate functions; a pragmatic embodiment expressed through men's everyday occupations and an experiential embodiment concerned with emotions and sensations felt within and through the body. In addition, each dimension of men's embodiment also intersected with the ageing process, a process also shaped in turn by broader social and cultural concerns regarding the positions and possibilities of men's lives as they move through the life course. This paper concludes by discussing the implications of gender and ageing in understanding men's experiences of PD
ISSN:0141-9889
1467-9566
DOI:10.1111/1467-9566.12508