 Gender difference in the health risk perception of radiation from Fukushima in Japan: The role of hegemonic masculinityRika Morioka Social Science & Medicine, 2014, vol. 107, issue C, 105-112 Abstract: This paper presents the preliminary findings of gender difference in the perception of radiation risk in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. In-depth interviews were conducted with the residents of Fukushima and other parts of Japan in November 2011 and July 2012. Compared to mothers, fathers in general expressed less concern for radiation. Fathers prioritized their responsibilities as the breadwinner for their families and saw radiation risk as a threat to economic stability and masculine identity. As a result, mothers' health concerns were dismissed, and they were prevented from taking preventive actions. The social norms in the dominant institutions such as corporations and the government influenced men's perception of radiation risk. The findings illustrate the importance of sociocultural context in which meanings of health risk are constructed. Keywords: Japan; Nuclear disaster; Risk perception; Gender identity; Masculinity; Work; Culture; Health activism (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:107:y:2014:i:c:p:105-112 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.02.014 Access Statistics for this article Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier |
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