@article {9557, title = {Cancer, Body, and Mastery at the Intersection of Gender and Race}, journal = {Society and Mental Health}, volume = {8}, year = {2018}, pages = {50-68}, abstract = {Using the 2006-2014 data from the Health and Retirement Study, the author compares changes in personal mastery after a new cancer diagnosis among white men, white women, black men, and black women. The author further examines the physical burden of cancer (incontinence, fatigue, pain, and decreased strength) as a mechanism mediating the effect of cancer on mastery in each group and finds that white men experience a substantially more pronounced decline in mastery after the onset of cancer than all women and black men, despite white men{\textquoteright}s advantaged material resources and favorable cancer-related symptoms. This steepest decline in mastery among white men is entirely due to a disproportionately adverse effect of physical symptoms on mastery. The author argues that the physical burden of cancer might pose a profound threat to white men{\textquoteright}s cultural privilege by undermining the masculine body{\textemdash}a critical and highly visible resource for {\textquotedblleft}doing{\textquotedblright} masculinity.}, keywords = {Cancer, Gender Differences, Gender Identity, Mastery, Racial/ethnic differences}, issn = {2156-8693}, doi = {10.1177/2156869317719484}, url = {http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2156869317719484}, author = {Tetyana Pudrovska} }