This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by SMITH, C. D. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

"Men Don't Do This Sort of Thing"

A Case Study of the Social Isolation of Househusbands

University of Queensland

Prior research has found that househusbands suffer alienation and ostracism from a variety of sources. Based on in-depth interviews with eleven househusbands, this article builds on such research by outlining and analyzing some of the mechanisms of this alienation and some of the adaptations these men made to deal with these experiences. Of particular interest are the problems the men report having with being seen by others as legitimately involved in child care and (to a lesser extent) housework. These data strongly support the idea that the men's sex category overrides other positionings that may be relevant, such as "competent housekeeper" or "full-time househusband and child carer." Put differently, hegemonic conceptions of who ought to be minding the children and the house subvert or thwart these men's attempts to validate themselves and these practices. The consequences are a feeling of illegitimacy on one hand and social isolation on the other.

Key Words: fatherhood • househusbands • masculinity • motherhood • domestic work • housework • child rearing • children • gender

Men and Masculinities, Vol. 1, No. 2, 138-172 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/1097184X98001002002


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Vuori Men's Choices and Masculine Duties: Fathers in Expert Discussions Men and Masculinities, October 1, 2009; 12(1): 45 - 72. [Abstract] [PDF]

				B. Tagg `Imagine, a Man Playing Netball!': Masculinities and Sport in New Zealand International Review for the Sociology of Sport, December 1, 2008; 43(4): 409 - 430. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. Lee and R. G. Owens Issues for a Psychology of Men's Health J Health Psychol, May 1, 2002; 7(3): 209 - 217. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. Lorber Using Gender to Undo Gender: A Feminist Degendering Movement Feminist Theory, April 1, 2000; 1(1): 79 - 95. [Abstract] [PDF]