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Jones, Kerry and Robb, Martin eds. (2025). Men and Loss: New Perspectives on Bereavement, Grief and Masculinity. Routledge Key Themes in Health and Society. Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003333999
Abstract
Bereavement and loss are unavoidable events in life and can be challenging experiences for anyone, regardless of gender. However, in contemporary western cultures, men’s experience of bereavement continues to be framed by socially constructed ideas surrounding masculinity, which dictate that men must be stoic following a loss, with grief manifesting in either anger or silence. Men who do not grieve in accepted ‘masculine’ ways can feel judged, alienated or disenfranchised. Men also tend to have fewer informal support networks than women, while formal bereavement support, in its focus on talking therapies and support groups, often fails to engage men or meet their needs. In addition, gendered social expectations may hinder men from expressing their feelings openly and from seeking help.
Due in part to the persistence of these gendered expectations, there are very few texts that explore men’s experience of bereavement in depth or discuss men’s specific needs for support following loss. This book answers the need for a collection which increases understanding of men’s experience of loss, drawing on recent research and cutting-edge ideas about bereavement on the one hand and men and masculinities on the other, and at the same time explores men’s diverse and changing experiences of loss. The collection responds to a definite gap in both the academic and professional literatures on bereavement, at the same time making a significant contribution to the literature on men, masculinities, and wellbeing. This interdisciplinary and interprofessional text brings together authors from a wide range of backgrounds in research, teaching and professional practice, many with personal experiences of loss that have informed their thinking and practice. The book’s contributors are drawn predominantly from the United Kingdom, with additional contributions from North America, but the themes explored are of global relevance.
The chapters in the collection are diverse in both focus and format, including theoretical analysis, reports of research findings, reviews of support and interventions, and a wealth of personal accounts, with many chapters interweaving the person with the academic or professional. The kinds of loss discussed include partner loss, childhood bereavement, perinatal death, and bereavement through suicide, as well as bereavement at all stages of the life course. The collection is loosely structured, beginning with theoretical and research-based chapters, followed by personal accounts, and ending with chapters that reflect on practice and consider the implications for supporting bereaved men. However, the considerable overlap between these different categories makes a strict division between discrete sections impossible. Although the primary focus is on the ways in which the experience of loss is framed by gender identity, a diversity of experience in terms of social class, age, ethnicity, culture, and religion is also represented in the book.
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