Making sense of humour among men in a weight-loss program: a dialogical narrative approach

Budden, Timothy A., Dimmock, James A., Smith, Brett, Rosenberg, Michael, Beauchamp, Mark R., and Jackson, Ben (2022) Making sense of humour among men in a weight-loss program: a dialogical narrative approach. Qualitative Research In Sport Exercise And Health, 14 (7). pp. 1098-1112.

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Abstract

Humour appears to be an important aspect of health-promoting efforts for some men. A better understanding of the role humour plays in men’s health contexts may provide insight into the optimal design of health interventions for men. In this study, we explored the role banter, humour that blurs the line between playfulness and aggression, plays for men in a men’s weight loss context. We applied dialogical narrative analysis to thirty interviews conducted with men involved in a men’s weight-loss program that leverages competition to drive weight loss. Banter served several functions for men in the program, including allowing them to determine their social position during early group formation, feel good, develop camaraderie, experience respite, provide male inter-personal support in a counter-intuitive way, and ‘be themselves’. Men could use banter as a tool to develop resilience for themselves, but could also adapt their approach to use banter as a means of providing support for others. Banter could also cause trouble, through conflict and misunderstandings, primarily understood through a lens of narratives of progressiveness, inclusiveness, and a ‘changing culture’. Banter could do harm, by positioning oneself against certain characteristics, and as a tool to get under people’s skin. However, an approach-orientation to one’s problems may allow misunderstandings that arise due to banter to lead to enhanced group cohesion. Intervention developers ought to explicitly address the potential for banter (and humour more broadly) to have positive and negative effects in men’s health contexts.

Item ID: 70596
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 2159-6778
Keywords: banter, health, Humour, masculinities, men, sport
Copyright Information: © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Date Deposited: 24 Nov 2021 00:10
FoR Codes: 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5203 Clinical and health psychology > 520304 Health psychology @ 40%
52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5205 Social and personality psychology > 520502 Gender psychology @ 30%
52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5205 Social and personality psychology > 520505 Social psychology @ 30%
SEO Codes: 20 HEALTH > 2002 Evaluation of health and support services > 200203 Health education and promotion @ 50%
20 HEALTH > 2005 Specific population health (excl. Indigenous health) > 200504 Men's health @ 50%
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