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The Best of the Best Discourse on Health: Poetic Insights on How Professional Sport Socializes a Family of Men Into Hegemonic Masculinity and Physical Inactivity

Faculty of Education, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, lmadill{at}uvic.ca

Timothy F. Hopper

Faculty of Education, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

This study examines how 4 men from the same family, representing different generations, construct health from their perceptions of professional athletes. Many men are socialized and participate in sport discourses that promote certain truths about being a man that often have detrimental effects to their health. The capacity of research to inform men’s construction of health is limited. In an attempt to engage male participants within the research process and cause a form of catalytic validity, transcripts from interviews with the men were analyzed, and thematic findings were represented in a poetic form and shared with the participants for discussion and refinement. The findings revealed how the male participants reiterated messages that the media promotes, such as the importance of physical and mental strength for a man. More significantly, the men became aware that they assumed a narrow definition of health portrayed by professional athletics that perpetuated a hegemonic masculinity. Reflections on changes in the men’s lifestyle choices after engaging in the research process are offered in the conclusion.

Key Words: men • health • poetic representations • professional sport • masculinity

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