Enhancing Family Values ​​and Promoting Men's Health: The Relationship Between Family and Men's Health

Enhance family values ​​and promote men's health

Liu Ying, researcher at the Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Since the National Population and Family Planning Commission designated October 28th as "Men's Health Day" in 2000, men's health issues have attracted widespread social attention. The National Population and Family Planning Commission, along with local and grassroots family planning commissions, have actively sought ways to integrate men's health promotion and services with local characteristics, the realities of population and family planning work, and the needs of the public, making reproductive health services for men an important aspect of improving the quality of the newborn population and family life. By targeting men as a key audience for education and outreach, the initiative and sense of responsibility of men in participating in family planning have been awakened, men's reproductive health rights have been protected, and men's health has been promoted. Men's health promotion and service activities have stimulated a rapid increase in men's demand for health services, requiring us to provide more targeted services. Currently, there is a contradiction between the increasing demand for men's health promotion and services and the insufficient provision of services by society. Men's health services are multifaceted. The World Health Organization defines reproductive health as "a state of complete physical, psychological, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or dysfunction, encompassing all aspects of the reproductive system, its functions, and its processes at all stages of life." This indicates that attention to men's reproductive health should be given comprehensive consideration from a holistic perspective, addressing physiological, psychological, and social adaptability aspects of overall health. Theoretical research should be conducted from multiple disciplines, including medicine, physiology, psychology, education, and sociology. From a sociological perspective, promoting men's health is closely related to improving the quality of family life. Firstly, establishing a comprehensive understanding of men's health is inseparable from the family. Currently, societal understanding of men's health remains at the physiological and medical levels, with less attention paid to concepts, psychology, and men's social and family roles, resulting in lagging personalized services. Sustainable development centers on people, and a people-centered approach, along with improving humanistic care, has become a societal consensus. The National Population and Family Planning Commission regards family planning guidance as an important tool for deepening men's health education. Starting from the diverse needs of men, it combines men's reproductive health with family civilization, men's reproductive health with improving the quality of family life, and men's participation in family planning and family responsibility. In carrying out men's health publicity and education activities, psychological adjustment, social adaptability, and family responsibility should be integrated to meet the different levels of needs of men. This is a very important entry point. Someone once suggested, "You must cherish men." How to cherish men? Promoting men's health and establishing a "Men's Health Day" is a way of cherishing men. Secondly, the World Health Organization also points out that "people have the right to know about reproduction, sex, and health throughout their entire life cycle; people have the capacity to reproduce and regulate their reproduction; and people practice and enjoy safe and healthy reproductive regulation and sexual activity without fear of unintended pregnancy or disease." The concept of health is highly dynamic. Maintaining reproductive health and having the basic freedom to enjoy the life one cherishes throughout life requires continuous learning and cultivation. my country is currently in a period of social transformation, a transformation accompanied by cultural globalization alongside economic globalization. China has become part of the global market system, which creates consumer desires and a culture of enjoyment. Especially in Chinese society, where traditional patriarchal culture dominates, the "men work outside the home, women work inside the home" family model, the "men are the main breadwinners, women are secondary" work model, and the "men are proactive, women are passive" gender dynamic remains the mainstream. Therefore, in order to maintain their "masculine identity" and "masculinity," men, especially those striving for success in their careers and lives, and trying to conform to mainstream social norms, currently face considerable psychological and social pressures. Furthermore, some men with low levels of education and a lack of responsibility fall into misconceptions about male life. Therefore, very few people truly possess the basic ability to enjoy the life they cherish, and their health is a cause for concern. Due to my country's vast territory, large population, and uneven economic development, men's reproductive health is caught in the crossfire of vastly different needs and perspectives between developed and underdeveloped regions, and is subject to the interplay of diverse cultures. The Shanghai Municipal Family Planning Commission, in summarizing the needs for men's health services, pointed out: "Men in Shanghai are constantly influenced by the culture and lifestyles of developed regions worldwide. Those living in international communities demand top-notch informational services. On the other hand, migrant workers from underdeveloped areas are still at an 'enlightenment' level regarding sexual concepts, knowledge, and their needs for men's health and quality of life. There is a huge gap in their needs." Only the family, where everyone lives, is the base of socialization and a classroom for disseminating culture and knowledge. These circumstances make us realize that the family is a crucial platform for promoting men's health and providing men's health services. How can we leverage this important platform to closely integrate the promotion of men's health with improving the quality of family life? First, we need to raise awareness of the family, especially among men. During my country's social transformation period, families face multifaceted impacts from society, the economy, and culture, leading to numerous misconceptions about family. Some view family as a burden, marriage as a "walled city," and prefer to be "men who never go home." In reality, many men currently neglect their families and drift through society, and these men face problems with both their physical and mental health. Therefore, a correct understanding of family and improving the quality of family life are crucial aspects of promoting men's health.

The family is a basic social unit based on marriage and bound by blood ties, sharing a common economic life. To date, the family remains the most prevalent social system worldwide. This means that although social systems and family types vary across countries, the family is universally present. Engels pointed out that humanity has two types of production: material production and the reproduction of population... the propagation of the species. Initially, the family bore the heavy responsibility of both types of production. With the continuous improvement of social productivity and the development of science, technology, and economic life, many family functions have become socialized, but the family's reproductive, consumption, and educational functions still exist. The family not only gives birth to people but also raises them, creating conditions for human socialization and bearing the heavy responsibility of cultural transmission. As a basic social unit, the family also bears the responsibility of protecting the elderly, children, the sick, and the disabled, ensuring the health of family members, and upholding the law. The family plays a stable, enduring, and continuous role for both individuals and society. The family is a human group connected by marriage and blood ties, where people form close, face-to-face bonds of cooperation. The family is both an emotional group and a group of responsibilities. Home is not only a shelter from the elements, but also the birthplace of human life and culture, the base for growth, and a place where people entrust their spirit and cultivate their emotions. Everyone is born and lives in a family, placing high hopes on their family and wishing for a warm and happy home. Therefore, family and men's health are closely related. Men's health is multifaceted; I would like to discuss the relationship between family and men's health from three basic aspects: men's physical health, men's mental health, and men's sexual health.