Patriarchy, masculinities and health inequalities.

I want to draw attention to a central —and remediable— cause of social and material inequalities in health which, despite this status, is an )elephant in the room*: an issue that almost all are aware of but which is never addressed directly by those involved with health inequality and public policy. While it is commonplace to discuss the impact of gender inequality on women and girls and while it is also becoming commoner to discuss its impact on men and boys, something which is never discussed is its general impact on all public policy. However, there is a strong case to be made that one particular, patriarchal, form of masculinity is almost globally dominant, and that this dominance is reflected in unhealthy and antisocial patterns of socialisation which affect most if not all children and adults in Europe and in most societies worldwide. Furthermore, this socialisation has major and unacknowledged impacts on public policy-impacts which contribute importantly to much of the inequality and suffering experienced by humankind.