Article

Objectives:To systematically review qualitative research that explores
the impact of spinal cord injury (SCI) on the gendered experience of men with
SCI.Methods:A systematic search of databases and hand search of relevant journals
to provide a thematic narrative review of articles, providing sufficient depth of
information, relevant participant quotes and phenomenological insight into the
gendered experience of men with SCI. Identified studies are summarised and common
themes extracted and discussed in relation to relevant literature on masculinity,
disability and health.Results:Eight papers, representing four separate studies
met the review criteria for relevance and rigour. Three broad, overlapping themes
describing the gendered experience of men with SCI were identified: 'lost
masculinity', outlining the impact of SCI on traditional masculine identity,
'fighting back', describing the battle to regain and reclaim masculinity and
integrate disability into a revised identity and 'beyond hegemony', referring to
possibilities beyond adherence to traditional masculine scripts.Conclusion:This
review demonstrates a lack of explicit focus on men as gendered beings within the
available qualitative literature. The findings are consistent with the limited
quantitative data, which indicates that grappling with altered gendered identity
is a central feature of life for men with SCI. Masculine identity emerges in this
review as vulnerable to the impact of SCI, and given the strong links identified
between masculinity, rehabilitation and health, as an aspect of experience that
warrants more attention than it has received.

Langue : ANGLAIS