This paper aims to present partial results of the multicentered research "Masculinities and Health Practices". This research explored the meanings of health and illness among the male population in Florianopolis and the healthcare adopted by them. The research methodology was based on seven focal groups with male patients of the local health services, interviews with the professionals who take part of the sexual health and reproductive team of the Santa Catarina University Hospital, as well as 260 interviews with males. It also explored gender discursive practices of the medical team (doctors, nurses, psychologists, social assistants, and health professionals in general) regarding healthcare and the availability of the services for the male population. Judith Butler's philosophical and methodological proposals regarding intelligible gender, performances and its consequences for the constitution of the subjects was the theoretical vector of analyses of the empirical material. The paper also considers the biopolitical project that encapsulated these ideas, in particular the Unified Health System (SUS) and its principles of universality, integral care and equity. The concept of gender is a key element of the health risk pattern among the males and how they perceive, act and take care of their bodies, both as possibility of values transformations or reiteration of current values.
males; health; masculinities