Critical Public Health
Volume 19, Issue 3-4, 2009, Pages 383-397

Connecting masculinities and physical activity among senior South Asian Canadian immigrant men (Article)

Oliffe J.L. , Grewal S. , Bottorff J.L. , Hislop T.G. , Phillips M.J. , Dhesi J. , Kang H.B.K.
  • a School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
  • b School of Nursing, Langara College, Vancouver, Canada
  • c Faculty of Health and Social Development, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, Canada
  • d British Columbia Cancer Research Centre in Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • e School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
  • f School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
  • g School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Abstract

Senior South Asian (SA) men experience many health challenges which may be exacerbated by immigration. However, little is known about the health practices of this subgroup of men, including how they conceptualize connections between exercise, health and illness. An ethnographic qualitative study including fieldwork and participant observations at South Asian men's groups (SAMGs) based in British Columbia (BC), Canada and individual interviews with 36 attendees (group leaders and non-leader group members) were conducted to better understand how masculinity (as it intersects with culture, social class and age) informs and influences men's physical activity. The findings indicated that few men linked exercise with specific illnesses; however, age-induced musculoskeletal impairment and a cold, wet Canadian climate were the main restrictors of men's physical activity. Traditional SA cultures and in some cases economic hardship influenced men's preference for walking to socially connect with other men, while strenuous activity was detailed in nostalgic ways as a previously used tool for securing paid labor. The results indicate varying masculine identities, roles and relations in how men conceptualized and embodied physical activity, some of which were incongruent with Western ideals about men and exercise. Collectivism was a prevailing SA cultural norm for participants, which should be thoughtfully considered in the design and distribution of exercise-based health promotion programs targeted to senior SA Canadian immigrant men. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.

Author Keywords

masculinities Men's health promotion Immigrant men and exercise

Index Keywords

cultural value physical activity immigrant health promotion exercise human aging controlled study Aged social interaction men's health gender identity masculinity musculoskeletal disease male Canada cold climate Article walking adult social class

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-75349114033&doi=10.1080%2f09581590902951605&partnerID=40&md5=2542c74f2b1713fae648dc31d3847ff3

DOI: 10.1080/09581590902951605
ISSN: 09581596
Cited by: 12
Original Language: English