1st Edition
Prostate Health, Ageing and Society in Japan A Gaze of Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality, and the Male Body
This ethnographic investigation of prostate health in the super-aged, Japanese society analyses prostate cancer and benign prostate hyperplasia. Castro-Vázquez examines how biomedical perspectives link prostate health to ethnicity and lifestyle choices, where a clinical issue renders a social matter, and early detection and prevention become an individual responsibility.
Grounded in symbolic interactionism, the book presents the viewpoints of Japanese urologists, and men who navigate prostate conditions from an eclectic and multidimensional perspective. It explores the impact of ‘Westernised’ eating habits, ethnicity, gender and sexuality on prostate health, while critically analysing health economics, through medical, pharmaceutical, and insurance industries that commodify men’s health. The research introduces the concept of ‘prostate-self’ to fathom how Japanese men journey prostate health, highlighting how their embodied experiences connect. It contributes significant insights to global debates on benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer prevention, detection, and treatment.
An essential resource for scholars, researchers and students in medical sociology, gender and sexuality studies, medical anthropology, Japanese studies as well as those interested in gender, sexuality, sociology of health, and the body and society.
List of Figures and Tables
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Incontinence or after-dribble
1 Contexts and prostate health
2 Investigating prostate health
3 Cultural scripts and prostate health
4 Urologists and prostate health
5 The embodied self and prostate health
6 Lifestyle and prostate health
7 Prostate health and economics
Conclusion: Why prostate health?
Index
Biography
Genaro Castro-Vázquez is Professor of Sociology in the Asian Studies Programme at Kansai Gaidai University, Japan, where he teaches courses related to sociology of health, sociology of education, gender and society, and sexuality and society. His area of study is Japan, and his interests of research involve health, medicine, sexuality, gender, ethnicity and education, as well as issues faced by Latin Americans living in Japan. Recent publications include Masculinity and Body Weight in Japan: Grappling with Metabolic Syndrome (Routledge, 2020) and Intimacy and Reproduction in Contemporary Japan (Routledge, 2016).
“A pioneering study of ageing, masculinity, and health, Prostate Health, Ageing and Society in Japan offers a richly layered analysis of how ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and the male body intersect in everyday life. Castro-Vázquez illuminates the cultural scripts, interpersonal dynamics, and intimate self-negotiations that shape Japanese men’s experiences of benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer. A vital contribution to the sociology of health and illness, this book reframes prostate health as a deeply social, cultural, and embodied matter.”
Professor Alex Broom, The University of Sydney, Australia
“This work provides an excellent exploration of men and prostate health within the context of Japanese society. It skilfully weaves empirical research and conceptual work together to give a nuanced sociological examination of the intersections between gender, culture, embodiment and health. A book that will generate interest across several disciplines.”
Professor Steve Robertson, The University of Sheffield, UK
“Prostate Health, Ageing and Society in Japan shows how prostate health is culturally and historically situated. This book interrogates the gendered and racialized aspects of prostate health, as well as the lived realities of aging and incontinence.”
Professor Meika Loe, Colgate University, USA; author of Aging Our Way and The Rise of Viagra
"This timely book offers an important socio-cultural analysis of male incontinence and prostate-related health issues within contemporary Japan. Drawing on original data from clinician, patient and media sources, a nuanced portrait of ageing masculinities is provided, informed by pressing concerns such as stigma, discrimination and Westernization. Highly recommended."
Professor Brendan Gough, Leeds Beckett University, UK
