"We all don't fit inside the same box": When Men Have a 'Women's Disease' [poster]

Poster Presentation

Kelly Moes
Gender Research Network Showcase, Curtin University, 2025

Cite

APA Click to copy
Moes, K. (2025). "We all don't fit inside the same box": When Men Have a 'Women's Disease' [poster].

Chicago/Turabian Click to copy
Moes, Kelly. “&Quot;We All Don't Fit inside the Same Box&Quot;: When Men Have a 'Women's Disease' [Poster]” (2025).

MLA Click to copy
Moes, Kelly. &Quot;We All Don't Fit inside the Same Box&Quot;: When Men Have a 'Women's Disease' [Poster]. Gender Research Network Showcase, 2025.

BibTeX Click to copy

@article{kelly2025a,
  title = {"We all don't fit inside the same box": When Men Have a 'Women's Disease' [poster]},
  year = {2025},
  institution = {Curtin University},
  publisher = {Gender Research Network Showcase},
  author = {Moes, Kelly}
}

Abstract:

While increasing attention addresses healthcare inequalities facing women, this poster considers a critical but overlooked question in gendered healthcare experiences: how do men navigate chronic illnesses typically associated with female patients?

Drawing from participant narratives in a broader study of experiential expertise in Intracranial Hypertension (IH), where there is one male for every eight females, I consider the participant observation that "men do health differently".

Research suggests men often receive faster IH diagnoses despite later help-seeking, presenting with more severe symptoms, while women's earlier presentation may lead to dismissal and delayed diagnosis. This prompts important questions about gendered stereotypes and bias in healthcare, including the potential for mis- and missed-diagnosis, and inadequate support mechanisms for males in female-dominated chronic illness spaces, contributing to discussions about inclusive healthcare and support that acknowledges gender complexities.