[Health behaviour of men. Health and illness in private letters, 1800-1900].

Abstract

Current research shows that men generally have a lower awareness of health and health prevention than women. However, differences in illness behaviour can be observed in terms of how to deal with diseases, in the awareness of complaints and in the use of physicians. In this chapter, private correspondences of men from different social classes (aristocrats, scientists, artisans and journeymen) are presented for the period between 1800 and 1950. The questions addressed are the following: What expectations do men have from medicine and how do they experience treatment given by doctors? What actions do they perceive as dangerous for their health and how do they handle them? The health strategies of men are closely linked to the respective concepts of masculinity in different historical epochs. The point in this investigation is to reveal that the experiences of illness and of health are composed of individual as well as of social components: both reflect the history, situation and way of living of one specific person.