A new study in "Psychology of Men and Masculinity," which is an academic journal that I assume has something to do with the psychology of men and masculinity, has made the astonishing discovery that there’s a correlation between being an old school kind of man and recovering faster from traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. I quote from the Washington Times article about the study that tries to turn this into something interesting:
Score one for the old-fashioned he-man: The more masculine a man, the faster he heals.
"For years, experts have said that the strong, silent male is not one to ask for help when he’s hurt, and therefore at a disadvantage when it comes to getting better. But new research says this might not be completely accurate," according to a new study released yesterday by University of Missouri psychologists.
"This masculine identity often associated with men in the armed forces and other high-risk occupations may actually encourage and quicken a man’s recovery from serious injuries," the study stated.
It is the first research to draw correlations between masculinity and recovery from injury, challenging previous studies indicating that stalwart manliness could encourage dangerous activities — and discourage men from seeking help.
Last year, for example, psychiatrists at the University of California at Davis found that men who described themselves as "old school" or the "John Wayne type" were difficult to diagnose for depression because it was "in conflict with their own view of themselves as men."
Manly behavior has been rediscovered. The Missouri study cited the "tenets of traditional masculinity" — including the "ability to withstand hardship, ‘stick-to-it-iveness’ and the willingness to see something through to the end," as positive health factors.
"It has long been assumed that men are not as concerned and don’t take as good of care of their health," said lead author Glenn E. Good, an associate professor of psychology at the campus. "But what we’re seeing here is that the same ideas that led to their injuries may actually encourage their recovery."
Mr. Good investigated both the "help-seeking" activities and outcomes of men with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. His findings confirmed that while nine of 17 "masculinity-related indicators" did not prompt the men to seek psychological help, the "desire for status and success" positively influenced their functional independence, from initial hospitalization through one-year follow-up.
I’m annoyed that I have to explain this to the Washington Times, and apparently to the editors of "Psychology of Men and Masculinity," but there’s absolutely nothing interesting or surprising here. Manly men are pretty good at rehabilitating themselves from "traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries" becuase they see their injury and their vulnerability as a threat to their manhood, which they tend to define in terms of physical and mental resilience and competence, and so they fuckin’ man up when it comes to getting better and stronger. This is entirely in line with everything that anyone, including even sissified menminists like, has ever concluded about the conseqeunces of being a tough guy.
At the same time, and entirely non-paradoxically, manly men don’t like to seek help for depression because epression is perceived a failure of will and because it’s not conquerable through the exercise of will. Seeking help — admitting to the depression — is perceived as an admission of weakness. So manly men don’t like to do it.
Where’s the story? Could it be, perhaps, that someone (and I’m lookin’ at you, Glenn E. Good, associate professor of psychology at the University of Missouri), though he could get some press for his study by flattering the media’s conservative impulse to glorify the manly man and diminish, by implication, the less than manly man?
