Dominant discourses on youth sexual health construct young people as at-risk subjects who engage in risky behaviours due to ignorance or poor decision-making. This dissertation challenges the prevailing assumption embedded in these discourses that young people’s sexual behaviours are based on individual rational choices. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice and R. W. Connell’s notion of hegemonic masculinity, this dissertation uses an interpretive approach to analyze the narratives and resonant texts of 24 young men in Toronto. It explores how young men construct and perform their masculine identities in the context of their socio-spatial environment; it also examines the strategies that young men use to compete for cultural capital and dominant positions in the homosocial and (hetero)erotic fields. The analysis yields a number of findings. First, it shows that gender identity is a state of being-doing-becoming. Guided by their gender-class-race habituses, young men engage in an unceasing process of defining, affirming, declaring, and validating not only their sense of who they are (self-identity) and where they belong (collective identity), but also the boundary that differentiates the ‘Self’ from the ‘Other’. Second, there is a dialectical relationship between the young men’s masculine habituses and their sexual practices. While all the young men engaged in hegemonic masculine practices to gain ‘respect’ from their peers, their practices varied according to their classes and ethnoracial backgrounds. At the same time, their (hetero)erotic practices are intricately intertwined with their homosocial practices, whereby the intra-group masculine expectations coupled with the broad hegemonic masculine discourses assert significant influences on their interactions with both young women and other young men. Finally, hetero-guy-talk constitutes an important everyday social interaction in which young men actively engage in the (re)production and/or resistance of hegemonic masculine discourses and practices. These results suggest that effective sexual health promotion (SHP) must go beyond the focus on individual sexual behaviours to address the historical, cultural, economic, and political contexts that shape the collective sexual health practices of young men. Furthermore, it may be useful to explore ‘hetero-guy-talk’ as an important ‘third’ space where young men are invited to interrogate and resist misogynist, masculinist, and homophobic practices and be supported to engage in humanizing sexual practices.

This study examined the influence of maturation on the oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) in healthy male subjects. The variables comprising the OUES are known to be affected by metabolism which in turn is influenced by maturation. The subjects performed a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer to determine the OUES and VO2max. Subjects were divided into groups based on maturation status: early-pubertal (EP, n = 15), mid-pubertal (MP, n = 20), late-pubertal (LP, n = 17), and young-adult (YA, n = 19) males. Cardiorespiratory fitness (measured as VO2max mL·min-1·kg-1) was not significantly different between groups. OUES values in absolute terms were higher in groups LP and YA versus MP and EP. Scaling OUES relative to body mass failed to eliminate between group differences whereby LP and YA had lower mass relative OUES values compared to LP and YA. Scaling OUES relative to fat free mass also failed to eliminate between group differences with EP group values being higher versus LP and YA, but only MP values being higher than YA. Differences in OUES values between male across maturation status remained after accounting for differences in body size, suggesting an affect of maturation on this measurement. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

“Understanding young Christian religious men’s constructions of masculine identity” This study aims to address the question of whether and how religious belief, affiliation and identity impacts on young men’s construction of masculine identity. Looking at how young men construct a socially acceptable masculinity, it explores how they position themselves in relation to this socially normative hegemonic masculinity. Alongside this, the study looks at whether and how young men construct alternative versions of masculinity and how a religious identity impacts on the young men’s masculine identities. Participants in the study (N=5) were all young men ranging in age from 18 to 25 years old, and all held a strong religious affiliation. Through a series of in-depth interviews, the participants gave their accounts of what it means to be a man in their lives, giving examples of how they both accepted and rejected the social norms of masculinity, as well as describing how their religious affiliation impacted on their lives. A common version of hegemonic masculinity was identified by the participants, characterised by male authority, emotional stoicism and symbolised through physical strength and material possessions. But alongside this the participants identified alternate versions of masculinity that tended to oppose hegemonic ideals. There was a strong focus from the participants on the impact of their religious affiliation on their masculine identity, with religious values taking precedence when in conflict with a hegemonic identity. It was found that the participants tended to perform a hybrid version of masculinity, with a hegemonic and religious identity existing in parallel. This new version of masculinity is argued to be an alternative version of a hegemonic masculinity that has emerged in response to their religious identity, and is consistent with other gendered developments in the South African context. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-80).

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Dianne Speake, Florida State University, School of Nursing. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 28, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-119).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2006. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education" ETD. Includes bibliographical references (p. 178-204) and appendices.

<p>This is a study about gym training young men (age 18-20) and their attitude against anabolic androgenic steroids, AAS. In our study we examine if the muscular ideal in our society have any effect on young men and the young men’s attitude against their body and their training. We want to find out what attitude gym training young men have against AAS, and also what has had the influence to this attitude.</p><p>         The study contains six qualitative performed interviews with young men who are training at the gym, which are based on relevant information about their training habits, nutritional supplement, influence, the muscular ideal, the gym culture and medias effect on young men when it comes to body ideals.  </p><p>         The young men’s attitudes is connected and compared to prior research about gym-training young men and what affects them to have a certain attitude against AAS, body and training. In our study we also use a theory by Giddens about social interaction and the late modern society we live in. </p><p>         The conclusions of the result and analysis is that young men who trains at the gym for the purpose of getting bigger and in relation to the training takes nutritional supplements, have a more liberal attitude against AAS compared to those young men who doesn’t. Media, friends, equals at the gym and the gym culture are all factors that affect young men in their positive attitude in opposition to AAS.</p>

I ett samhälle där unga mäns välbefinnande utges vara utsatt för risk av deras engagemang i en virtuell värld önskar den här studien lyfta fram hur unga män själva upplever välbefinnande ur ett socialpsykologiskt perspektiv. Fem spelare fick i kvalitativa intervjuer framföra sina egna upplevelser ifrån sina erfarenheter av att spela MMORPG-spel. Med detaljrika teorier om subjektivt välbefinnande, socialt välbefinnande och teori angående gemenskap har studien en teoretisk grund som tillämpades i en transcendental analysmetod. Resultatet klargjorde att socialt välbefinnande och gemenskap existerar i spelet och kan uppnås av de unga manliga spelarna.  Essensen  kretsade  kring  socialt  samspel  mellan  de  andra  spelarna  i MMORPG-världen och upptäcktes genom de tre teman grupp, kommunikation och framgång/utveckling. Slutsatsen var att unga män kan uppnå socialt välbefinnande inom MMORPG-spel och att det här har allt att göra med det sociala samspelet mellan alla spelarna i spelet. / In a society where young men’s well-being is proclaimed to be at risk due to their involvement in a virtual world this study wants to shed light upon how young men themselves experience well-being from a social psychological perspective. Five players partook  in  qualitative  interviews  to  express  their  own  experiences  from  their  time playing MMORPGs. With detailed theories of subjective well-being, social well-being and theory of fellowship, the study has a theoretical foundation applied in a transcendental analysis. The result made it clear that social well-being and fellowship exist in the MMORPGs and can be achieved by the young male players. The essence revolved around social interaction between the other players in the MMORPG world and was discovered through three themes related to their group, communication and success/development. The conclusion was that young men can achieve social well-being in MMORPGs and this was due to the social interaction between all the players within the game itself.