Gendered spaces of commoditised care

Placing care in times of austerity

“…This contribution to the literature began in part as a response to the ways in which women were arguably confronted with a social and moral duty or obligation to provide care, referred to as 'compulsory altruism' (Land & Rose, 1985;Kittay, 1999;Schwiter et al, this issue). This assumed altruism often led women to become involved in different 'caring cycles' for young children (Busch, 2013;Schwiter, 2013), disabled or sick relatives, and elderly parents (Cox, 2013;England & Henry, 2013) at various stages of the life course.…”

“…As such, for Atkinson et al (2011), 'care' is about more than care, as it 'affords geographers a richness of possibilities through which to engage critically with a range of politically charged discourses' (p. 563), raising questions of choice, rights and responsibilities, relations and ethics. Cox's (2013) special issue examined how care is understood and how it is valued within the context of a rapid expansion of paid-for care, an increasing role of private sector providers, and cuts to welfare state provision. She argues that these factors have made care a commodity, changing the ways in which it is given and received, and also where it takes place.…”

“…There has been an expansion of the boundaries of the study of care in geography, from the examination of formal sites and delivery of health and social care, to the relations and emotions, and ethics and politics of care and caring, in formal and informal spaces, at a range of scales, from the individual to the global (Atkinson et al, 2011;Cox, 2013). Feminist geographers have played a key role in this expansion, shifting the discourse of care beyond service provision and dependency, to the care relationship and the broader 'acts of caring' which occur in everyday spaces (Hall & McGarrol, 2013;Lawson, 2007).…”

“…Drawing on a range of new theoretical insights, and driven by questions of who and where in the provision of care, geographers have critically examined the spaces, relations, emotions and politics of caring in contemporary society (Bowlby, 2012;Cox, 2013;Giesbrecht, Williams, Duggleby, Ploeg, & Markle-Reid, 2016;Juhila, Hall, & Raitakari, 2016;Lawson, 2007;Milligan & Wiles, 2010). The evolution of this body of work has shown how the landscape of care is being continually transformed.…”

“…In doing so, it highlights some of the important theoretical, methodological and policy contributions that geographical scholarship can make to an understanding of care provision across different countries that have either explicitly or implicitly chartered policies of austerity. It builds on arguments developed in previous stand-alone papers and special issues that engage with care, both within Social & Cultural Geography and other journals (Atkinson, Lawson, & Wiles, 2011;Conradson, 2003a;Cox, 2013;Hall & McGarrol, 2013;Lawson, 2007;McEwan & Goodman, 2010;Milligan, 2000Milligan, , 2003Milligan & Wiles, 2010;Parr, 2003;Staeheli & Brown, 2003). This special issue derives from a session at the Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference 2013, which examined the reconfiguration of care within an era of austerity, in a range of contexts that included Switzerland, Sweden, England and Scotland. This editorial frames the selection of papers, mapping the transforming geographies and relations of care in the context of welfare reform and ongoing austerity in the public sector.…”