A paradox exists within male health: despite historically holding privileged positions in power structures and decision-making, including in medicine, men have a lower life expectancy than women. A series of articles published this Thursday in The Lancet reveals that the years of healthy life lost due to disease or premature death are 16% higher for men than for women. The researchers argue that this disparity is not solely the result of biology or individual toxic behaviors, but stems from deep structural, social, and commercial determinants where patriarchy and acquired gender roles perpetuate unhealthy conduct.
The authors contend that male health has been neglected in public policy, creating a vacuum that the 'manosphere'—a network of anti-feminist activists—is exploiting to shape men's wellness according to its own commercial and ideological interests. While some experts dispute the claim of neglect, noting that modern medicine was historically built on the male model while invisibilizing women's health, the Lancet authors insist that social privilege does not automatically translate to better health outcomes. They highlight that factors such as racism, marginalization, and poverty create structural disadvantages for many men, particularly those who do not fit hegemonic masculinity ideals.
Sally Theobald, a researcher at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and author of the series, emphasizes that toxic or hegemonic masculinities harm men, women, and people of other genders alike. These social norms make behaviors like smoking and alcohol consumption more acceptable for men and encourage them to downplay or ignore symptoms of illness. The most vulnerable groups within the male population include poor, migrant, racialized, unemployed, and incarcerated men, as well as those experiencing homelessness. Key contributors to shorter life expectancy identified in the study include cardiovascular diseases, cancer, infections such as tuberculosis and COVID-19, drug use, suicide, and injuries from traffic accidents or interpersonal violence.
The research details how commercial interests have historically manipulated gender norms to promote harmful habits. For instance, tobacco advertising has long framed smoking as a sign of virility, while recent campaigns have similarly linked meat consumption to masculinity. Theobald notes that alcohol-related deaths affect men three times more than women, and two-thirds of drug-related fatalities involve men. These disparities arise because gender norms integrate risk-taking, substance use, and dangerous work into the definition of being a man. Furthermore, men are less likely to visit general practitioners between the ages of 16 and 60, often due to cultural values prioritizing stoicism, self-sufficiency, and economic provision over seeking medical care.
The authors warn that the 'manosphere' is gaining influence through social media algorithms, promoting a zero-sum logic where men's suffering is framed as a consequence of women's progress. This movement amplifies a neoliberal view of health focused on personal optimization while ignoring structural marginalization, and it promotes harmful norms like emotional repression and extreme invulnerability. In response to the series, the Working Group on Gender, Affective-Sexual Diversity, and Health of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology expressed disagreement, arguing that the claim men are 'forgotten' is inaccurate given that medicine has long studied the male body as the norm. They caution that focusing solely on mortality ignores that women often live longer but with more chronic diseases, pain, disability, and mental health issues linked to caregiving and violence.
Despite these disagreements, experts agree that applying a gender perspective to research benefits both men and women by identifying social factors associated with poor health outcomes. Gemma Parramon, a psychiatrist at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron Hospital, warns against redirecting focus exclusively to male health, noting that women's health policies often remain limited to maternal and infant care. Ultimately, the consensus among epidemiologists is that gender equality is a health policy for men as well; questioning gender patterns liberates men from burdens that make them sick, though more evidence is needed on which specific interventions are effective.
Sources: El País Sociedad.