Suicidal Masculinities

by Jonathan Scourfield
Cardiff University
Volume 10, Issue 2, 300!200"
Sociological Research Online, Volume 10, Issue 2,
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Received: 26/3/2004 ccepted: 23/2/200! "ublished: 30/6/200!
+bstract
cross the #est$ suicide rates in young men have been rising for some time. This trend has attracted
considerable media attention and is often cited %ithin media discourse as evidence of a &crisis of
masculinity&. The field of suicide research 'or suicidology( is dominated by )uantitative methodology$ and
although there has been research attention to the gendered character of suicidal behaviour$ studies tend to
compare &men& as a group %ith &%omen& as a group. There is also relatively little consideration %ithin this
literature of po%er relations and the social*political dimension of masculinities. This paper argues the case
for a )ualitative sociological approach to the study of gendered suicide and begins to outline a frame%or+
for understanding the diversity of suicidal masculinities. ,onnell&s theoretical %or+ on masculinities is
used to analyse evidence from the suicidology literature. The frame%or+ includes consideration of %hen
hegemonic masculinity fails- the subordinated masculinities of gay se.uality and mental illness- and
control in intimate relationships.
,ey&ords% Suicide, Masculinity, Men, -ender, Crisis, .e(emonic, Subordinated, Mental
.ealth, +uto$sy, /ualitative
Introduction
1'1 /t is often argued that many men are not coping %ith the conse)uences of changes in the gender order$
such as shifting patterns of %or+ and relationships. The &social facts& 'to use 0ur+heim&s phrase 110"22(
that are arguably most crucial to these claims that %e have a &crisis of masculinity& in the #est are the
changing suicide rates. 3et%een 45!0 and 4556$ suicide rates in 7ngland and #ales doubled in males
under 4!$ %hilst rates for older men and %omen of all ages declined '-unnell et al', 2003(. #hen the
4
7nglish 0epartment of 8ealth published its suicide prevention strategy in 2002$ it declared that suicide
had become the most common cause of death in men under 3! in 7ngland '1e$artment of .ealth, 2002(.
/n fact the most recent figures sho% suicide rates in young men to be decreasing since 4556$ although the
gender gap in suicide rates is still largest in the 20*25 age group '2IM.3, 200"(. There is considerable
ongoing media interest in this gendered pattern in suicide rates$ most li+ely because they are generally
interpreted %ithin the mainstream media as supporting the dominant narrative of gender crisis 'Coyle and
Mor(an4Sy)es, 1005(.
1'2 classic account of this idea of masculinity in crisis can be found in 9usan :aludi&s boo+ 9tiffed: The
3etrayal of the ;odern ;an '1000(. The idea here is that %or+ing class men in particular are unsure ho%
to respond to a changing %orld. They are confused by a mismatch bet%een e.pectations of masculine
privilege on one hand and a changing economy and social gains for %omen on the other. :aludi
emphasises the effects on %or+ing class men in the <nited 9tates of the demise in manual %or+. s
Robinson '2000( has observed$ the crisis of masculinity discourse is in fact specific to %hite men$ though
this is rarely made e.plicit. 9he notes that %hite men have historically represented unmar+ed normativity$
but have more recently become &mar+ed& as a class$ in the %a+e of liberation movements and identity
politics since the 4560s and subse)uent scholarly and popular accounts %hich have proclaimed
masculinity to be in crisis.
1'3 /t should be noted that the idea of masculinity being in crisis is a controversial one. =immel '1056( has
observed$ %ith reference to historical research$ that an.iety over the roles of men is not necessarily a ne%
phenomenon. ;any commentators have argued that this tal+ of a crisis of masculinity mas+s the
retrenchment of some traditional aspects of hegemonic masculinity and overstates the e.tent of social
change. The very focus on suicide rates mas+s the fact that suicidal thoughts$ deliberate self*harm and
suicide attempts are all higher in %omen than men ',er)hof, 2000-Schaffer et al', 2000(. These
contrasting trends have been called the &gender parado. in suicide& 'Canetto and Sa)inofs)y, 1005(. /t is
possible to argue that the gendered suicide rates reveal more about gendered methods for self*harm 'e.g.
familiarity %ith %eapons is a ma>or issue in some countries( than about actual levels of distress in men
and %omen.
1'7 This paper is concerned %ith understanding gendered suicide. /t does not primarily rely on original
empirical research 'although brief references are made to an ongoing pilot study( but rather is based in a
critical revie% of the e.isting literature. The aims of this revie% are to identify gaps in +no%ledge and
suggest some possible %ays for%ard for developing a more sophisticated sociological perspective on
men&s suicides that ta+es into account both the diversity of masculinities and social relations of po%er. The
intention is to set out an agenda for future research. The paper is largely about suicide in the #est. #hen
the global picture is considered$ there is significant spatial and cultural variation in suicide rates and
understandings of suicide 'see$ for e.ample$Chen( and 8ee, 2000(. 0etailed consideration of these is
beyond the scope of the paper.
1'" There is an impressive body of e.isting )uantitative research on the social conte.t of gendered suicide
%ithin the field of &suicidology&. 9ome of this research is done %ithin sociology departments$ but more
often it is carried out %ithin schools of epidemiology$ psychiatry or psychology. Typically$ these papers are
methodologically sophisticated$ dealing %ith large data sets and analysing associations bet%een suicide
rates and social factors such as rates of divorce$ social fragmentation and relative poverty 'see$ for
e.ample$Cra&ford and 9rince, 1000-:hitley et al', 1000-;arber, 2001--unnell et al', 2003(. These
2
studies tend to compare &men& %ith &%omen& as se. groups$ perhaps alongside a consideration of social
class$ rather than further brea+ing do%n these categories. ,ompared %ith )ualitative research on suicide$
these +inds of statistical studies are easier to conduct in terms of access to data and are also ethically more
straightfor%ard because they are less intrusive. 9tac+ '2000( provides a useful summary of sociological
research on differences bet%een the se.es that have implications for the differential suicide rates 'see table
1(.
<able 1 . 9ummary of sociological research on gendered behaviour %ith implications for suicide rates
;ore men than %omen abuse alcohol
The religiosity level of %omen is significantly higher than that of men
#omen have stronger negative attitudes to%ards the acceptability of completed suicide but more
positive attitudes to%ards suicide attempts.
#omen have more fle.ible coping s+ills than men. This has been e.plained in terms of %omen
having a greater number of role changes than men in the life course.
#omen are apt to recognise and less apt to deny the %arning signs of suicide such as depression
than are men.
#omen are more li+ely to see+ professional help.
#omen have more e.tensive social support systems to dra% on %hen in crises than men.
9ome aspects of the dominant model of masculinity increase ris+ of lethal suicidality$ including
competitiveness$ impulsiveness*decisiveness$ and being &strong&.
8istorically$ %omen have had less access to lethal technology such as firearms.
:ailure in the primary adult male role 'economic success( is more visible and obvious than failure
in the primary female role 'success in relationships(. ;en are more apt to feel li+e failures in their
primary role and$ hence$ more li+ely to +ill themselves.
This is a tabular summary of the overview in Stack '2000(.
1'! 9tac+&s summary does not refer heavily to economic factors. The research by 8a%ton et al. '2001(
goes beyond ra% suicide rates to consider the ecological conte.t of individuals %ho have +illed
themselves. They found a significant association bet%een area*based deprivation and suicide in men
'though not in %omen(. T%o studies ';arber, 2001-=ern>uist, 2003( have also found associations
bet%een perceived ine)uality and suicide in men.
1'6 lthough there is an impressive body of research here$ there are also gaps in terms of )uantitative
studies relating to men and suicide. :or e.ample$ very little is +no%n about the impact of health promotion
initiatives on men specifically '.arden et al' 2002(. gap that is bigger still is the relative dearth of
)ualitative research on gender and suicide. /t is not the case that no*one is using a )ualitative approach to
the study of gendered suicide. The psychologist 9ylvia 9ara ,anetto 'for e.ample$Canetto, 100"- Canetto
and Sa)inofs)y, 1005( uses both )ualitative and )uantitative evidence to focus on gendered cultural
scripts in relation to suicide. ,anetto tends to focus on commonality %ithin se. groups$ ho%ever$ rather
than on diversity$ by again contrasting men as a group %ith %omen as a group. Recently$ ,utcliffe '2003(
has argued the case for hermeneutic$ phenomenological investigations %ith people %ho have attempted
suicide. /n the 45?0s$ one of the most po%erful criti)ues of positivist 0ur+heimian approaches to suicide
%as the )ualitative research by t+inson '1065($ %hich provided an insight into the common sense
>udgements made by coroners: >udgements on %hich the official suicide rates used by 0ur+heim depend.
3
;y focus is different from t+inson&s classic study$ ho%ever. t+inson concludes 'pp.4?3ff.( that any
research other than ethnomethodological deconstruction of official disposals is pretty %orthless. 8e may
have an epistemological case$ up to a point$ but to my mind this is sociological self*indulgence. 0espite
the enormous methodological challenges of researching dead people$ / %ould argue that %e have to
attempt to get as close as %e can to the stories of those %ho have +illed themselves$ in order to understand
them and to inform prevention strategies.
1'5 The main arguments in this paper about the limitations of e.isting published research are t%ofold. The
first is that the dominant approach is to compare men %ith %omen$ as though these t%o population groups
%ere homogenous$ and there is little consideration of the diversity of masculinities and femininities. <p to
a point$ different social categories %ithin the se. group of &men& can be disaggregated %ithin )uantitative
analysis. #e already +no%$ for e.ample$ that suicide is increasing at a greater rate in younger men
'-unnell et al, 2003( and that levels of suicidal thoughts are higher in gay and bise.ual men '=er(usson
et al' 1000(. There is$ ho%ever$ in addition to research on suicide rates and suicidal ideation$ a need for
sociological research on individual suicides and in particular )ualitative research that can e.plore data on
individual biographies and the narratives of surviving relatives and friends. The second limitation of
e.isting research on suicide in men is that there is little consideration in most of the )uantitative research
of the social*political dimension of masculinities and po%er. This paper aims to begin the process of
understanding the diversity of suicidal masculinities %ithin the conte.t of some contemporary sociological
theories of gender.
1'0 There are further limitations of current debates. There is a tendency across policy debates about men
and social problems for a political polarisation %here men are either regarded purely as victims or purely
as perpetrators 'to use a criminal >ustice metaphor(. ;en&s suicide tends to be discussed in the policy arena
only in terms of men as social victims$ although in fact a minority of men +ill themselves to punish others
* very often %omen partners. There are also assumptions in some of the medical and psychological
research that the gender gap in suicide is all about natural differences bet%een men and %omen. #e need
to understand these masculinities %ithin the conte.t of a social gender order that has historically been
structured to maintain men&s dominance$ but that can also have negative conse)uences for men&s mental
health. #hat follo%s is a tentative and initial attempt to devise some +ind of theoretical schema for
understanding the diversity of suicidal masculinities. The discussion dra%s on some of the e.isting
)uantitative studies of suicide and ,onnell&s '100"$ 2000( theoretical frame%or+ for understanding
masculinities. n in*depth discussion of the strengths and %ea+nesses of ,onnell&s arguments %ould
%arrant a paper in its o%n right. 9ome specific ideas of ,onnell&s are summarised in the sub*sections
belo%$ but at this point the aim is simply to introduce ,onnell&s ideas and some recent criticisms of his
%or+.
Connell on Masculinities
2'1 :e% %ould dispute that ,onnell is currently the most influential sociologist researching and publishing
on masculinity. 8is ideas$ and particularly the concept of hegemonic masculinity$ are very heavily cited.
s #hitehead '2002: 65( notes$ the influence of this concept &on the sociology of masculinity$ and critical
gender research generally$ cannot be overstated&. s %ith many prominent theorists$ there is$ ho%ever$ a
tendency for other authors to pic+ up from his %or+ a some%hat selective and limited range of ideas.
4
2'2 ,onnell does not shy a%ay from careful use of the concept of patriarchy. 8e is clear that even men
%ho oppose patriarchal beliefs and practices can gain certain social privileges simply by virtue of being
men. This is the &patriarchal dividend&. 8is is not a crude$ monolithic version of patriarchy. 8e insists on
the post*structuralist plurality of the term &masculinities&. 9o there are multiple possible %ays of being a
man$ and men&s practices vary according to culture$ class$ ethnicity$ se.uality and other mediating factors.
3ecoming a man is not a passive process of socialisation$ but an active construction of an identity.
/dentities and practices are not freely ac)uired$ ho%ever$ but there are social structural constraints$ and
po%er relations are crucial. @endered discursive practices configure into a hierarchy. 9o$ for e.ample$
compulsory heterose.uality is an important aspect of &hegemonic masculinity& and gay men therefore
represent a form of &subordinated masculinity&. #hat distinguishes ,onnell&s from other sophisticated
sociologies of gender is that he also appreciates the importance of a psychic dimension. 8e incorporates
an understanding of sub>ectivity by including e.istential psychoanalysis in his frame%or+ for
understanding gender relations.
2'3 lthough his %or+ is undoubtedly influential$ it has also not gone unchallenged. There have been
several criti)ues of ,onnell in the last decade. T%o recent e.amples are those of Aefferson '2002( and
#hitehead '2002(. These criti)ues are perhaps particularly relevant to the inevitably psycho*social topic
of suicide$ as both dispute ,onnell&s theorising of men&s sub>ectivities.
2'7 mongst other things$ Aefferson argues that ,onnell underestimates the e.tent of crisis in
contemporary masculinity and that a more psychologically comple. theory of masculinity is needed- one
%hich incorporates an appreciation of fantasy as %ell as the social. s he argues in a response to Aefferson$
,onnell '2002( has a different reading of the evidence on contemporary masculinities and puts more
emphasis on men&s continued social dominance on a global level than Aefferson does. /n fact$ as / go on to
argue in this paper$ ,onnell&s %or+ can be seen to be relevant to an understanding of individual and
collective masculine crises. 8e does accept that &crisis tendencies& can be seen in #estern masculinities
'Connell, 100"( but admittedly puts less emphasis on these than does Aefferson. Bne important reason for
this difference in emphasis is the role of corporate masculinity in economic and cultural globalisation
'Connell, 2000(. ,onnell has in fact al%ays asserted the need for a psychological dimension. /n his 455!
te.t Masculinities he ma+es reference to e.istential psychoanalysis as an essential element of a rounded
social scientific theory of men. /t is admittedly the case that psychoanalytical ideas are not as %ell
developed in his %or+ as sociological ideas are. This emphasis appears to reflect his disciplinary
bac+ground.
2'" #hitehead '2002( sees hegemony as a slippery concept that claims to bridge the structure*agency
dichotomy but lac+s an ade)uate analysis of the sub>ect. 8e argues that although hegemonic masculinity
offers a more nuanced interpretation of male dominance than patriarchy$ the concept &ultimately suffers
from the same deficits& 'p.52( and is &as reductionist a term as patriarchy& 'p53(. ccording to #hitehead$
the &primary underpinning& of the idea of hegemonic masculinity is &the notion of a fi.ed 'male( structure&
'p.54(. 3ut ,onnell '2002( in fact sees hegemony not as fi.ed but as historically concrete and he insists
that &li+e class relations$ gender relations change historically$ and the pattern and depth of hegemony
changes also& 'p.65(. &8egemony in gender relations can be contested and may brea+ do%n& 'Connell,
2002: 65(.
2'! #hitehead also argues that >ust %hat hegemonic masculinity is$ &%hen only a minority of men e.press
!
it or perform to its pattern..... is never illuminated& '53(. ,onnell is clear that hegemonic masculinity refers
to &the circulation of models of admired masculine conduct& 'Connell, 2002: 50(. These &e.emplary
masculinities& do not &correspond closely to the lives of the ma>ority of men& but they e.press &ideals$
fantasies and desires$ provide models of relations %ith %omen and solutions to gender problems& 'p.50(. /
mention some aspects of hegemonic masculinity that are relevant to suicide in the ne.t sub*section of the
paper.
2'6 Recognising that ,onnell does not have the last %ord on masculinity$ and that there is a need to build
on his %or+ psychologically$ as Aefferson attempts to do$ / maintain that ,onnell&s theoretical frame%or+ is
e.tremely useful. /t ac+no%ledges both structural relations of po%er and the multiplicity of gendered
identities and gendered practices$ and also recognises the importance of a psychic dimension. s ,onnell
'2002: 50( has argued in defence of the concept of hegemonic masculinity$ although it has at times been
misunderstood or employed inappropriately$ &the fact that the concept has been %idely used suggests that it
meets a need&.
:hen .e(emonic Masculinity =ails
3'1 Ce% has recently argued that &the very practices %hich construct men&s capacity to oppress %omen and
interest in doing so$ %or+ by systematically harming men& '2e&, 2001: ?30(. #hether or not they
systematically harm men 'a more controversial claim($ the discursive practices that ,onnell groups under
the heading of &hegemonic masculinity& are associated %ith some suicide in men. s ,onnell '2000$ p.464(
puts it$ &some masculiniDing practices damage bodies&. 8egemonic masculinity is constituted by the
configuration of discursive practices that are culturally authoritative in a given conte.t and men&s
relationship to hegemonic masculinity is &often fraught$ the enactment partial$ contested and capable of
shifting into violence& 'Connell, 2002: 54(. / %ill mention some aspects of hegemonic masculinity in the
#est that have e.planatory potential in relation to suicide.
8oss of honour
3'2 / refer here to the loss of the status and regard associated %ith hegemonic masculinity. Bne domain
%here loss of honour occurs is in relation to %or+. The bread%inner ethic is still strong$ at least in the <=$
despite shifting ideas about fatherhood: there is still a strong association bet%een %or+ and masculinity.
Bccupational problems seem to be a ma>or factor in men&s suicides in the #est. s the systematic revie%
by "latt and 8a%ton '2000( reveals$ it is fairly clear that unemployment is lin+ed to suicide ris+ in men.
;ore generally$ there are indications from several studies that social comparison is an issue for men.
3arber&s '2001( analysis of mental health in seven countries sho%s that young men&s suicide does not
support a connection bet%een suicide and &absolute misery&. /ndeed$ higher rates of male suicide %ere
associated %ith higher levels of psychological ad>ustment amongst the general adolescent population.
3arber&s interpretation is that men tend to ma+e social comparisons %ith the situations of others by
perceiving themselves to be not as happy as their peers. 8e proposes a &relative misery& hypothesis %here
suicidality is related to up%ard social comparison %hich re)uires a level of psychological malad>ustment
and the perception that one is %orse off than one&s peers. This fits to some e.tent %ith ,ra%ford and
"rince&s '1000( research sho%ing that there is greater pressure placed on men %ho are still out of %or+
%hen general employment levels are improving.
6
3'3 These studies suggest perhaps the essentially competitive character of hegemonic masculinity. /t is not
only important to be successful in culturally approved %ays$ but also to see oneself as successful in
relation to others. There are indications from a pilot study / have recently underta+en that not
communicating to others the reality of &failure& in terms of e.pected masculine achievements$ and the
pressures of the accompanying deceit$ can lead to suicide. This pilot study is an analysis of 20 randomly*
selected case files on suicides and open verdicts from the early 2000s in a #elsh coroners& office. #ithin
this very small sample there have already been three cases %here problems such as a failed business and
failing at university have been +ept from family members$ sometimes for many years$ prior to suicide.
3'7 /n using the phrase &%hen hegemonic masculinity fails&$ / mean the failure of the &patriarchal dividend&
'Connell, 100"$ 2000( to deliver as promised. There are connections here %ith ,onnell&s concept of
marginalised masculinities. 8e defines these as:
gender forms produced in e.ploited or oppressed groups$ such as ethnic minorities$ %hich may share many
features %ith hegemonic masculinity but are socially de*authorised. 'Connell, 2000$ pp.30*34(
3'" 3ut the gap bet%een aspiration and reality in suicidal men becomes absolutely overt and recognised$
rather than submerged or socially embedded. #hat happens here$ to put it very crudely$ is that life is not
seen as %orth living %ithout masculine privileges. /n considering masculine honour$ it should be noted
that there is also a potential connection bet%een loss of honour and relationship brea+do%n. 8o%ever$ /
deal %ith relationships primarily under the heading &controlling others& belo%$ so %ill not do so here.
3motional illiteracy
3'! nother aspect of hegemonic masculinity %hich can be related to suicidal behaviour is emotional
illiteracy: the limited emotional repertoires that many men develop$ %hich can lead to a failure to cope
%ith a range of challenges$ such as$ for e.ample$ relationship brea+do%n. Bb>ective rationality$ unclouded
by a complicating emotional dimension$ has been associated %ith dominant ideas about masculinity since
the 7nlightenment 'Seidler, 1007( and limited emotional repertoires are learned because they facilitate
social dominance. 7motional distance enables men to stay focused on achievement in the public sphere. /t
allo%s competition to thrive. #hen %e consider mental and emotional %ell*being$ not only can having a
limited emotional repertoire cause problems in relationships %ith others 'and not >ust intimate others($ but
it also has the potential to cause profound tensions %hen situations arise that provo+e emotional reactions
that have not previously been encountered.
Subordinated Masculinities
7'1 ,onnell argues that it is crucial to consider po%er relations bet%een men as %ell as bet%een men and
%omen. 8egemonic masculinity has its Bther in subordinated masculinity. /n the conte.t of suicide$ / refer
here to t%o aspects of subordination in the gender order: gay masculinity and mental illness.
-ay and bise?ual men
7'2 /t is very difficult to +no% ho% many men %ho +ill themselves are gay or bise.ual$ because %e cannot
e.pect same*se. relationships necessarily to be made public. 8o%ever$ some epidemiologists have found
?
mar+edly higher levels of suicidal ideation in the gay and bise.ual population than the heterose.ual
population 'see$ for e.ample$@emafedi et al', 1005-=er(usson, 1000(. 8ar%ood and Rasmussen '2007(
have cautioned against the alarmist tone of some associations of gay se.uality and suicide$ arguing that
this debate de*emphasises the pleasure e.perienced by gay youth. #hilst there is indeed potential for the
insensitive handling of gay suicidality to become pathologising$ / %ould argue that this issue should be
ta+en seriously as a mental health problem$ and that the elevated ris+ for gay and bise.ual youth needs to
be understood in the conte.t of victimisation and psychological pressure in %hat is still arguably a conte.t
of compulsory heterose.uality for men.
Mentally ill men
7'3 /f %e ta+e :oucault&s '10!6( conceptualisation of mental illness as all about the regulation of
rationality$ and apply this more broadly to include &ne%er& disorders$ such as depression 'as does ;usfield
A100!B($ then diagnosed mental illness in men can be understood as subordinated masculinity$ %here
rationality is hegemonic 'Seidler, 1007(. large proportion of men&s suicides in fact come from the
psychiatric patient population. The 7nglish 0epartment of 8ealth&s National Confidential Inuiry into
Suicide and !omicide by "eo#le with Mental Illness '1e$artment of .ealth, 2001( reported that
appro.imately one )uarter of people %ho +illed themselves in the <= had been in contact %ith mental
health services in the year before death. The in)uiry found suicides to be clustered in the first year after
the onset of illness$ %hich serves to reinforce the association bet%een suicidal behaviour and mental
illness.
Controllin( Cthers
7'7 very small minority of men %ho +ill themselves do so after they have +illed others$ and there is also
the phenomenon of suicide being used to threaten and punish in the conte.t of relationship brea+do%n. To
consider first the issue of murder*suicide$ 3arraclough and 8arris '2002( suggest that less than around
0.04E of male suicides in 7ngland and #ales are preceded by murders. #hilst this might be thought to be
much too small a proportion to %arrant serious consideration$ these offences are culturally po%erful$ as
they tend to attract considerable media coverage$ especially %hen children are +illed. They also constitute
a much higher proportion of all homicides. s ,arcach and @rabos+y&s '1005( revie% sho%s$ the
proportions of murder*suicides found in studies in various countries have ranged enormously$ from >ust
4.6E of all homicides to >ust under a third. There is$ ho%ever$ a consensus that a large ma>ority of
offenders are men.
7'" 3arnes '2000( studied 466 murder*suicides in four states of ustralia spread over a period of 20 years$
and argues that the motivations of men and %omen %ho commit murder and then +ill themselves are
)ualitatively different. The most typical scenario is a man +illing a %oman partner and often also their
children. The number of victims of these offences is higher than for homicides in general. "ol+ '1007($
%ho found around 40E of homicides by men to be accompanied by suicide in his study in Fictoria$
characterises t%o main types. The first category is >ealousy +illings$ %hich are primarily homicides$ and
the second category is depression plus control$ %here suicide is the primary aim but a %oman partner is
ta+en along as the man&s possession.
7'! ;ilroy '100"( notes that the proportion of murder*suicides is higher in countries %ith a higher
6
homicide rate$ %hich are usually also countries %here the rate of homicides %ith firearms is high.
ustralian statistics 'Carcach and -rabos)y, 1005( indicate a higher degree of conscious control in these
incidents than in other homicides$ as murder*suicide perpetrators are significantly less li+ely to be under
the influence of alcohol than perpetrators of other homicides.
7'6 part from murder*suicides$ %hich are a very small proportion of suicides$ the other issue %here
control of others is central is the cases of men %ho +ill themselves primarily as a punishment for someone
else$ more often than not a %oman partner. There is evidence to suggest that violent men commonly use
suicide threats and attempts in the conte.t of divorce and custody battles 'Conner et al' 2002(. This %ould
tend to suggest that a proportion of all suicides might happen in a similar conte.t. /t seems$ ho%ever$ that
this issue of suicide as punishment is under*researched. There is general agreement from the )uantitative
research on suicide that men are more brittle to relationship brea+do%n than are %omen. The message of
feminist research on domestic violence is that this e.treme coercion has to be understood in the conte.t of
a broader culture of men e.pecting to control %omen in relationships '1obash et al', 2000(. /t may be that
some suicides follo%ing relationship brea+do%n should be understood in this conte.t. The suicidal act
may not be directly intended to itself have a controlling impact on an e.*partner$ but the loss of control
'and loss of honour( that comes %ith the end of the relationship may be too hard to bear for some men.
Some other +s$ects of -endered Suicide
"'1 /t should be noted that there are points of contact bet%een the discursive practices / have mentioned
and overlaps bet%een my categories in relation to suicidal behaviour. These are not neat social categories.
There are some other issues to note before concluding the paper: some distinctive +inds of suicidal conte.t
that %arrant further e.ploration and also some more general aspects of the gendered socio*cultural conte.t
to suicides in men.
"'2 /t is important to mention political murder*suicide$ %hich is again predominantly$ but not e.clusively$
carried out by men '%omen have been involved in "alestine in particular(. These are small numbers
globally$ but as %ith other +inds of murder*suicide they are culturally very po%erful because of media
attention. The suicide attac+ has become an important part of the global repertoire of /slamist terror$ and in
most cases these incidents need to be understood in terms of gender ideology as much as religious and
political ideology. There is not scope in this paper to e.plore this phenomenon in full$ but it is clearly an
important issue for sociological e.ploration. @erami '2003( has started to analyse the /slamist masculine
&prototype& of the martyr$ at least in an /ranian conte.t. To an e.tent$ some political suicides could perhaps
also be understood in terms of loss of honour. / am loath to ma+e any strong claims about political suicide$
ho%ever$ %ithout giving serious consideration to their cultural$ religious and historical conte.t 'and that
consideration is beyond the scope of this paper(.
"'3 nother issue for future e.ploration is the post*abuse suicide. small number of suicides seem to be
related to either conscience or at least to self*protection in the aftermath of violent crime or abuse. There
have been high profile cases of murderers +illing themselves * :red #est$ 8arold 9hipman * and on a more
mundane level$ cases of men sho%ing either conscience or the desire to end negative attention or
punishment follo%ing their involvement in child abuse or domestic violence 'as offenders(. "ritchard and
=ing '2007( found$ in their study of over 4000 coroners& files$ that suicide rates in perpetrators of intra*
and e.tra*familial se.ual abuse$ %ere 2! and ?6 times the general population suicide rate$ respectively.
5
The perpetrator cases could perhaps be understood in terms of the failure of hegemonic masculinity$
insofar as the conte.t that allo%ed the abuse of po%er changes in some %ay and the man is left
unprotected from punishment or from his o%n conscience. gain$ this is an under*researched issue for
further e.ploration.
"'7 There is a range of masculinised practices not hitherto discussed in this paper that are generally
relevant to suicide$ so need to be briefly raised here as they are all issues contributing to a research
agenda. There is the )uestion of method mentioned at the start of the paper$ %here men are more li+ely to
use more lethal methods. There is the issue highlighted by ,anetto and 9a+inofs+y '1005( of &cultural
scripts& relating to suicidal behaviour. These authors ma+e reference to data sho%ing that in most #estern
conte.ts$ suicide is considered a more acceptable end for men than for %omen$ %ith &unsuccessful& suicide
attempts being seen as emasculating or feminine and decisive &successful& suicide seen as masculine. The
same authors note that differing e.pectations of men&s and %omen&s suicidal behaviour can effect both
choice of suicide method and also the official processing of potential suicides by coroners and their staff.
There are certainly cultural associations of suicide as a noble death for men. There is a glamour attached
to popular cultural and/or celebrity suicides$ such as that of =urt ,obain$ although there have also been
moral panics %ith regard to some musicians that clearly over*state the ris+s to young people ':ri(ht,
2000(. /t is generally clear that men ta+e more ris+s %ith their bodies 'Connell, 2000( and there appears to
be an association bet%een certain masculinities 'perhaps especially marginalised masculinities( and bodily
ris+s such as substance misuse. The gendered character of alcohol and drug use is an important issue$
though both alcohol e.cess and recreational drug use are becoming much less straightfor%ardly
masculinised in the #est. Goung %omen are drin+ing heavily and using drugs more than ever and
overdose is also a popular choice for suicides in %omen.
"'" nother issue of general relevance is the lac+ of empathy and regard for the feelings of those left
behind. #hilst people %ho +ill themselves are undoubtedly in e.treme distress$ they inevitably have to
decide that the need to +ill themselves overrides concern about the effect of their actions on significant
others. 8a%ton&s '2000( revie% notes that having a child is a protective factor against suicide for %omen
but not for men. /f a man is to succeed in hegemonic gender terms$ he not only needs to develop a limited
emotional range 'see above( but also a distance from the emotions of others. 7mpathy challenges aspects
of hegemonic masculinity.
"'! nd finally there is the phenomenon 'so beloved of media narratives( of men&s un%illingness to see+
help. This is an important factor that can be seen right across research on men&s health and as %ith many of
the factors that feed the elevated suicide ris+ in men$ it needs to be understood in the conte.t of the social
construction of the &stronger se.& 'Courtenay, 2000(. /t is another e.ample of ho% &masculinising practices
damage bodies& 'Connell, 2000(. ;en&s reluctance to see+ help is not universal$ ho%ever$ and it is
important to recognise the impact of the diversity of masculinities on help*see+ing behaviour '-reenland
et al', 2007(.
Conclusion
!'1 This paper has had t%o main aims$ each intended to contribute to setting a research agenda. The first
aim has been to revie% some of the e.isting research on suicide in men$ highlighting %here there has been
valuable %or+ done and %here there are gaps. second aim has been to s+etch out some initial ideas
40
to%ards a sociological account of suicide in men that encompasses both diversity of masculinities and also
the structural relations of po%er. There has been valuable %or+ done by social scientists on men&s health
that does consider both diversity and po%er relations 'Sabo and -ordon, 100"-Connell,
2000-Courtenay, 2000(. <nfortunately$ the approach of this %or+ has generally not found its %ay into the
suicidology field$ and there has not been dedicated research on suicide from %ithin this tradition of the
critical sociological study of men. The conclusion on the state of research on men&s suicides %ould have to
be that more )ualitative sociological research on individual suicides is needed. This method of in)uiry can
e)ually be applied to suicides in %omen of course. /ndeed$ the gendered character of suicidal and self*
harming behaviour can only be understood if both se.es are studied.
!'2 Researching actual suicides is fraught %ith ethical$ epistemological and practical challenges. #ithin
medical research in particular$ there is a tradition of %hat are called &psychological autopsy studies&
'.a&ton et al', 1005(. These are retrospective re*constructions of the life history of the person %ho has
+illed him or herself$ involving the e.amination of psychological and environmental details of their life in
order to cast some light on the possible reasons behind the suicide. These studies involve intervie%s %ith
friends$ family members and professionals %ho had contact %ith the deceased. There are of course ma>or
epistemological challenges in researching dead sub>ects. ,oroner&s files have to be understood as having a
specific legal purpose of providing only evidence on category of death rather than finding out %hy
someone has +illed themselves. /ntervie%s %ith surviving relatives and friends %ill provide as much$ if
not more$ insight into the survivors themselves and ho% they construct the suicides as into the people %ho
have +illed themselves. <nderstanding individual suicides has to involve rising to these challenges$
ho%ever$ rather than being put off by them. ll the e.amples of &psychological autopsy& studies that / have
encountered have sought to )uantify some factor or other 'usually something psychiatric($ even %ith a
very small sample of suicides. Bur understanding of gendered suicides could potentially be greatly
enhanced by a )ualitative sociological study of the gendered social conte.t of suicides in men and %omen
that employed this +ind of approach to follo%ing up significant others after death has occurred. /n general$
there is a mar+ed need for a sociological approach to individual men&s suicides that can ma+e sense of
both )uestions of diversity and of po%er in relation to masculinities.
+c)no&led(ements
The ideas in this paper %ere first presented at the <niversity of 9ydney in Aune 2003$ and / am very
grateful for the insights of seminar participants on that occasion$ some of %hich have found their %ay into
the paper. more developed version %as then presented to the 3ritish 9ociological ssociation&s 2004
annual conference at Gor+.
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4!