Male Breast Cancer and Representations of Gender

Abstract

In the article, I am concerned with evaluating and researching gender implications of a relatively new phenomenon of male breast cancer (MBC) in American culture. Keeping in mind, that MBC presents an apparently similar pathology to female breast cancer, diagnosis and treatment rely on experiences that have been developed in women. The primary visual representations considered - the male part of the SCAR Project and the Camp Lejeune Story – caused me to question the strict boundaries between gender and identity in breast cancer milieu, dictated by the politics and power of the new media (Donovan and Flynn 2007). I argue that these representations of men with breast cancer form a specific case study for analyzing a model not yet treated in gender studies. The frame of the research demonstrates the unique positioning of MBC in relation to global gender systems where men’s health and gender-tailored solutions have surprisingly been overlooked.

Keywords: male breast cancer, gender, masculinity, representation.