Under the Skin, Above the Pavement: Urban Ecology, Embodied Masculinity, and the Science of Risk Paperback – January 15, 2026

Under the Skin, Above the Pavement is a groundbreaking exploration of how the environments that shape men, particularly Black, brown, and marginalized men in urban settings become embodied across systems of biology, behavior and identity. This book uses an intersectional framework to examine how masculinity, race, class, sexuality, and place converge to shape health outcomes, revealing the deep connections between systemic inequality and the biology of survival. Drawing from public health research, lived experiences, cultural analysis, and interdisciplinary studies, this book explores how chronic stress, environmental degradation, housing instability, food insecurity, and hyper-surveillance impact men biologically. These experiences translate into tangible physiological outcomes, from heightened inflammation and disrupted hormone regulation to changes in gene expression and suppressed immunity. Masculinity is framed not as a singular identity but as a complex risk factor that interacts with these systems and compounds their effects on health.This book also delves into how men inherit not just genetic material, but cultural legacies of caregiving, trauma, and resilience. By exploring male caregiving, fatherhood, and intergenerational impacts, it shows how these roles are shaped by both biological and social pressures. Each chapter delves into a distinct facet of embodied risk: the physiological toll of chronic stress and racism on the endocrine system, the environmental factors like heat and housing that disrupt hormonal balance, the intergenerational effects of trauma through epigenetic changes, and the biological costs of fatherhood, caregiving, and queer invisibility. At its core, Under the Skin, Above the Pavement asks: what happens to the body when masculinity becomes both an armor and a target?This book is written for young men navigating survival, identity, and silence, as well as scholars, public health practitioners, and educators who seek to understand how systems of inequality are embodied. Blending narrative storytelling, cultural analysis, and scientific inquiry, it speaks to both those who live at the intersections and those who study these complex dynamics. There are many books about men, health, masculinity, and race. But this one brings them together with urgency and depth, providing a holistic view of how identity, environment, and biology intersect to shape the risks men face every day. Read more