Men’s social representations of the body across age groups

TL;DR

This study explores how men of different ages in Brazil perceive and represent their bodies, and how these views relate to health and well-being.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into age-related differences in men's social representations of the body and their implications for health behavior.

Findings

Men integrate cultural norms and personal experiences in distinct ways depending on their age group.

There are both adherence to and shifts in traditional views about the male body across age groups.

Body representations influence perceptions of health and well-being in men.

Abstract

This study looks at how men of different ages represent their bodies through verbal and visual modalities and explores their aspirations for their bodies in the future. Drawing on the perspective of social representations, it highlights how culture, tradition, and personal experience shape perceptions of the body. Understanding these representations is important, as they influence how people think about and relate to their bodies.

The study aims to map out everyday beliefs and social representations about the body produced by young and middle-aged men and observe their connections with health and well-being. The study also examines how men anticipate bodily changes over the life course, and which physical attributes are considered most ideal and valued.

Using a mixed-method approach, the study explores bodily representations through word associations, and drawing techniques. A total of 112 men from Brazil aged 18 to 50 participated in this study. Group 1 consists of 68 men aged 18 to 25 and Group 2 consists of 44 men aged 26 to 50. The software Evoc (2000) was used to analyse data from the word association, while content and image analysis techniques were applied to examine textual and visual data from the image-based tasks.

The results show patterns in body-representations as well as unique and diverse perspectives on body, well-being, and health. They also highlight both adherence to norms and conventions and ongoing shifts in traditional views about the male body.

Different age groups integrate cultural norms and personal life experiences in distinct ways. The study contributes to the literature on age-related differences in men’s body-representations and explores their possible implications for health related behaviour, and body maintenance protocols.

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