(Re)constructing Intersectional Masculinities Following Myocardial Infarction

This study builds on interview data with 24 Swedish men who have been diagnosed with and treated for myocardial infarction (MI). The aim is to explore how masculine subjectivities are constituted and dynamically negotiated through men's meaning-making of their illness experiences, with particular attention to how notions of masculinity intersect with and are shaped by social categories such as class and age. Across the data, various configurations of masculinity were generated: from stoic endurance and bodily control to emotional reflexivity and relational responsibility. These constructs of masculinity are not equally valued, however. Certain seemingly masculine ideals, such as autonomy and productivity, tend to remain culturally dominant, whereas other modes, such as care orientation, are more conditionally addressed. Furthermore, the results show how masculinity, in intersection with age and socioeconomic position, may function as both an impediment and an opportunity for dealing with the disruption that the MI might bring in terms of changes in lifestyle, health, work and family life. By doing so, the study contributes to theorising hegemonic masculinity, showing how it is continuously reconfigured rather than fixed and how it is negotiated through classed and aged subject positions in the context of illness.