At the intersection of the feminist ethic of care and critical studies of men and masculinities, this article develops alternative interpretations of men's practices of and attitudes about care in order to contribute to the loosening of gender dualisms in the perceptions and constructions of care. Empirical evidence collected in 23 individual interviews with men carers reveals that men in specific caring situations (intensive primary care) and in non-hegemonic social locations (according to class, age, ability and sexual orientation) resist dominant norms of masculinity to some extent and, in accordance with the feminist ethic of care, establish care as genderneutral, complex, politically relevant and socially integrative disposition and activity.
COBISS.SI-ID: 46413827
Based on individual interviews, this article aims to develop a nuanced view of the structural and identity factors that deter men from professional hands-on care work in childcare, eldercare and care for the disabled. It reveals that the relatively good working conditions along with the accentuation of the hegemonic aspects of masculinity attract more men to the area of care for the disabled than to other areas of care. The share of men in eldercare remains extremely small as they are deterred by both the poor working conditions and the gender connotations of intimate care and household work. In childcare, the connotations of femininity through motherhood appear to be so strong that, despite the good working conditions, this area of care still has the smallest share of men.
COBISS.SI-ID: 36574045
The article critically evaluates the notion of caring masculinity that hypothesises a link between men's involvement in care work and a corresponding change in identity from which emancipatory effects are expected to follow. First, we confront the caring masculinity hypothesis with the theory of social reproduction and then check for evidence of the hypothesised link in empirical data on gender segregation in care work and in a case study of two nursing homes. While in our case study we find evidence of values associated with caring masculinities, their political effects seem more repressive than emancipatory.
COBISS.SI-ID: 36572765
This article points to ambivalent discourses about contemporary fatherhood where the feminist and gender equality discourse stands for equality in parenting, while fathers' rights groups call for an essentialist understanding of gender roles. Despite the gender-neutral legislation in Slovenia, the institutions follow an essentialist discourse when granting fathers child custody. An analysis of 12 interviews with fathers who are the primary child carer reveals the specific situations marginalised (unemployed, poor) masculinities encounter in their relationship with the complicit masculinity (middle class) (Connell, 2005), while also drawing attention to the structural inequalities the interviewed men experience while pursuing their parental rights. In institutions, policies and everyday practices, men are perceived and treated as the secondary parent.
COBISS.SI-ID: 36575837
The article highlights the care provided by men for their partners or parents with dementia and the main challenges they face in the process. Using Van Gennep's rites of passage model, which distinguishes three stages of the individual's transition to a new social role (separation, liminality, reconnection), the author analyses six interviews with informal carers that shed light on their experiences and changes, while looking for those experiences brought by care responsibilities into the informal carers' everyday lives and how they adapt to the needs of people with dementia. In analysing how men cope with feminised care practices, the findings show the potential to alter both the traditional ascription of care to women and certain needs of caring men like gender-specific support from public services, better communication with healthcare professionals and emotional support.
COBISS.SI-ID: 36576093