Structural Advantage and White Men's Health and Well-Being.

Abstract

Policies and programs aimed at reducing structural inequality can improve the health of both majoritized and minoritized populations. The United States was founded by men racialized as White, and this group holds substantial political, economic, and social advantages. Thus, it is paradoxical that non-Hispanic White American men do not collectively experience better health outcomes than minoritized racialized and gendered groups. Why do structural advantages fail to reliably and equally translate into health advantages for all men racialized as White? In our analytic essay, we theorize why and how the intersections of structural and psychosocial factors can disparately influence the health and well-being of the population at the top of racial and gender hierarchies. We argue that understanding White men's health and well-being through the intersection of structural whiteness and hegemonic masculinity may enhance our ability to improve US population health. We illustrate why health researchers should continue applying an intersectional lens to understand and ameliorate the complex ways structural inequality produces health outcomes that vary by race, gender, class, and other social identities. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2026;116(8):1156-1164. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308430).