Browsing by Author "Cech, Erin A"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Reproduction of Hegemonic Masculinity: The Case of Men’s Cross Sexual Orientation Friendships
    (2015-10-28) Rothwell, William R; Cech, Erin A; Chavez, Sergio; Denney, Justin T
    This study examines how hegemonic masculinity is upheld in the formation and maintenance of cross-sexual orientation friendships between college aged men. Broadly defined, hegemonic masculinity prizes that which is masculine, and subordinate that which is considered feminine, including non-heterosexual identities for men. The practices of hegemonic masculinity establish a hierarchy that perpetuates the dominant social position of heterosexual men, and the subordinated position of women and those men with non-heterosexual identities. Drawing on 40 interviews with 20 self-identified queer and 20 straight men at a large public university in the south, this study finds that while the masculine hierarchy is central to both the formation (or non-formation) and maintenance of cross-sexual orientation friendships, the hierarchy is of greater importance to the queer men in these associations. Regarding the formation of these friendships, queer men expressed anxiety regarding entering into these associations, commonly citing past experiences of homophobia, fear of coming out, and the lack of desire for friendship on the part of the straight male as the chief reasons for their apprehension for entering into these associations. Juxtaposed with other studies, the present study found that straight men reported little anxiety about entering into these associations: most reported that these friendships would likely offer them greater disclosure than their other friendships. Once formed, queer men in these friendships often policed themselves so as to not make their sexual identity salient, queer men put more work into maintaining these friendships, and interactions between straight and queer male friends were found to differ when in public and private spaces. These results point to cross-sexual orientation friendships between men as an avenue through which the masculine hierarchy is not diminished, but rather mutually upheld by queer and straight men alike.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Who Cares? The Mental Health of Older Adults Serving as Caregivers
    (2015-04-06) Fahey, Lynn; Gorman, Bridget K; Denney, Justin T; Cech, Erin A
    Drawing on data from the 2010-2011 wave of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), this study explores caregiving and mental health among older adults using stress process as a theoretical framework. I began with descriptive analyses in order to document the characteristics of older caregivers, including differences by gender. Following, I used regression models to investigate how mental strain relates to caregiving characteristics (e.g., frequency of caregiving, reason that care is provided) among older adult caregivers, and additionally, whether these relationships vary by gender. Descriptive results show that in general, older caregivers tend to be women, retired, relatively well networked, and they care for someone other than a spouse, parent, or child/grandchild. Additionally, the descriptive analyses revealed that women report more mental strain and provide more hours of care per week, while men are more educated and make up a significantly larger percentage of caregivers who are married or cohabiting. Multivariate regression results indicated that among caregivers, a number of aspects of the caregiver relationship (i.e., hours of care provided, the relationship to the person being cared for) are related to emotional strain, and that a greater number of aspects of the caregiving relationship predicted emotional strain among men as compared to women. The implications of these findings for both gender and caregiving among older populations are discussed.