Guys and Docs
Why are men so shy of medical care?  

Pam Harrison

Most women know guys (and I know one in particular) who avoid doctors like the plague. Despite a recent prostate cancer scare and an aneurysm, this active Toronto retiree, soon to be 66, has convinced himself that as long as he cycles hard, swims a lot and walks everywhere, he will outlive the average Canadian male. “I feel good,” he says, “so why should I sit around a waiting room when there’s nothing wrong with me?”

Sounds like a lot of guys, confirms Dr. John Oliffe, an assistant nursing professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “If a guy is working out and feeling well, this is usually proof enough that everything is OK.” What, me need a physical?

Part of the reason men stubbornly balk at medical care may lie in their evolutionary origins. According to Dr. Jerome H. Barkow, an anthropologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, ancestral males competed much more intensely—often violently—for mates than did females, and a reputation for winning in competition with other men was crucial to their reproductive success. “So we would expect men to be very careful about any behaviour that might damage this reputation,” he says. “Complaining about health is certainly not the mark of a winner.”

Dr. Charles Mather, an anthropologist at the University of Calgary, agrees: “Some animal species, including humans, participate in risky behaviours because it makes them more attractive to potential mates.” Females tend to perceive risk-taking males as superior and choose them over “weaker” males, so in this context a cavalier attitude toward health is another form of risk taking.

In today’s culture, Oliffe suggests, any man who goes to the doctor is at odds with expectations of masculinity because the interaction involves admitting weakness, being submissive and explicitly seeking help.

Evolution and machismo culture aside, what can you do to get the man in your life to up the doctor ante in his? Check out these four strategies.

Photo: Digital Vision Ltd. / SuperStock

Play to his altruistic sense. “Try making his health issues those of the whole family,” advises Oliffe. He wants to remain in good health for the sake of the kids, his mate and his future grandchildren, right? Point out that Canadian women tend to live an average of 6.5 years longer than men, and part of this longevity edge may be due to their seeking regular medical attention. Persuade him that his body deserves a regular inspection and tune-up just as much as his car. And if he needs still more incentive, tell him that keeping healthy will make him more attractive to you and will improve and prolong his sexual function.