ABSTRACT
Men are thought to hazardous to their own health. The topic of men's health has given rise for concern. The Department of Health, scientific journals, popular magazines and awareness campaigns have commented on the ways in which men are ‘at risk' and yet they have been underrepresented both in terms of research in general and psychosocial cancer research in particular. Belief in innate differences between the sexes continues even though important research findings have shown striking similarities in terms of individual attributes and ways of ‘doing' health and illness. Sociobiologists turn to ‘social role' theory, the latter implying the existence of a single norm for each gender, against which variations from that norm are considered pathological. Targeted information was perceived as lacking especially when compared to women who were thought to be ‘overloaded with facts and figures' regarding breast and cervical cancer, including screening.
