Care, care work and the struggle for a careful world from the perspective of the sociology of masculinities

Abstract

Feminist research often links the issues of care and care work to women, both theoretically and empirically. In this article we discuss the fact that, in contrast to such feminist approaches, theories of masculinity barely theorize care and care work. Fatherhood for instance is not included in Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity. Here, we investigate the ways in which men and the construction of masculinities are affected by ongoing restructuring processes that mark the move from Fordism to post-Fordism. Within the politics of masculinity in Europe, Caring Masculinities denote a key route towards the development of non-dominant masculinities. We discuss to what extent this can be a useful theoretical concept for research in this area.