Suicide rates in the U.S. continue to rise, and men are more likely than women to die by suicide. The field of suicide research is overwhelmingly quantitative and lacks in-depth qualitative exploration of suicide as a social psychological phenomenon. Using in-depth interviews with 39 self-identified men in the United States, I ask: How does hegemonic masculinity help us understand suicidality (thinking about and/or attempting suicide) in men? What role do masculinities—across race and class—play in both self-harm and harm against others? How and why does men’s distress translate into violence against the self and others? Using men’s experiences of thinking about and attempting suicide, I demonstrate that—following threats to their masculinities—suicidality serves as an opportunity for men, across race and class, to assert their masculinities through blame and violence. Using Chandler’s concept of “thwarted privilege,” I argue that suicide is a crucial case for 1) observing the negative social and psychological consequences of hegemonic masculinity for men and others, and 2) studying the antecedents of self- and other-directed violence. Such an investigation will offer critical implications for addressing social ills like domestic violence, mass shootings, and other forms of gendered violence.

Katie Billings is a PhD Candidate in the Sociology Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a mixed methods sociologist who studies the creation and perpetuation of inequalities in health and the law. Her scholarship is published in Social Science & Medicine, Law & Society Review, Sociological Perspectives, and the Utah Law Review. Billings’ research is funded by the National Science Foundation, the American Sociological Association Culture Section, the UMass Graduate School, and the UMass Sociology Department. Additionally, she is an active member of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Massachusetts Chapter where she serves as a Field Advocate on the Advocacy Team and a member of the Education Programming Team.