Shedding old ways with men’s sheds
John Oliffe, a professor at the University of B. C.’ s school of nursing and an expert in men’s health, happens to be Australian.
He also happens to be aware of the stereotype of the Australian male, which, other than differing tastes in beer and sports, resembles the stereotype of the Canadian male. You know, emotionally stunted but able to name NHL plus/ minus leaders.
It was in Australia that Oliffe first came across men’s sheds.
These were not men’s sheds as we know them here, where males store their lawn mowers and mouldering copies of Playboy.
In Australia, they were rudimentary clubhouses where guys could go and do guy things together — work on engines, bang nails and saw lumber, make pots of chili or whatever it is Australian males cook. The sheds were therapy centres, not storage units.
“Being from Oz,” Oliffe said, “I was exposed to these men’s sheds where guys, going through transitions in their lives, attend with other guys. The difference in Australia, though, was they had big government money behind them. So there’s thousands of sheds across Australia where these guys would show up on a volunteer basis, with no pressure, and they would connect with other guys to do activities together. They might have a woodworking shop, for instance, and get together to do a project.”
The Australian model was targeted to older men undergoing major life changes such as retirement, widowhood or sickness. They were men feeling isolated by those changes.
The Australian government chose the shed model because it fit into the image of the male identity, and helped men cope with issues — unemployment, retirement, loneliness. They could make connections with each other within the sometimes restrictive emotional boundaries of “guy- ness.”
The program expanded to New Zealand, Ireland, the U. K., Portugal, Croatia, Finland, even Uganda. Canada’s first men’s shed started in 2011 in Winnipeg. It now has about 50 members.
“The sheds yield the benefits of health without really calling it ‘ health,’” Oliffe said. “It’s pretty basic stuff. It’s just guys connecting, and there’s no pressure to talk about personal issues.”
Oliffe hopes to spread the concept across Canada. With the help of a Movember grant, he and colleagues are developing an online “tool box” that interested groups can use to start up their own sheds — or as Oliffe put it, get out of the solitary confinement of the man cave and into the company of men.