The Incomplete Revolution

Abstract

In a 1985 article, Judith Stacey and Barrie Thorne argued that the tendency to treat "gender" as an unproblematized dichotomous variable functioned to contain feminist influence in sociology. Although there has clearly been a revolution in gender studies since that time, there are still whole areas of sociological investigation where this revolution is at best incomplete. One such area involves the literature on the care that adult children provide to aging parents. Using arguments relating to gender-as-performance and hegemonic masculinity, the authors investigate conceptualizations of gender and masculinity in a sample of fifty-eight adult sons who provide care to an aging parent. What emerges from the interviews with these male caregivers is a vision of masculinity that is in some ways quite different from the hegemonic ideal. And yet, like earlier investigators who have studied hegemonic masculinity, the authors also find that the existence of a nonhegemonic vision of masculinity does not threaten the hegemonic ideal.In a well-known article written two decades ago, Judith Stacy and Barrie Thorne (1985) talked of "the missing feminist revolution in sociology." By this, they did not mean that feminism had had no influence on sociology. On the contrary, they took note of the fact that sociologists were paying more attention to women's experiences, that feminists had helped to correct androcentric bias in many areas of sociological investigation, and that sociologists were now more sensitive to the different experiences of men and women in society. Even so, they argued, sociology was missing out on a feminist revolution that had already reshaped basic conceptual frameworks in

Structural impact on gendered expectations and exemptions for family caregivers in hospice palliative home care

“…Concurring with other non-palliative studies (Anjos, Ward-Griffin, & Leipart, 2012;Hequembourg & Brallier, 2005), men may have more control in defining their caregiver roles than women because of gendered expectations and exemptions. Taking on a caregiver role while maintaining masculine traits of control is consistent with gender theory of hegemonic masculinity, in which men, by accounting for gender, aspire to masculine ideals to sustain a public/private division and thus patriarchal control (Campbell & Carroll, 2007;Connell & Pearse, 2015). However, high expectations for men to be protectors also caused strain for men in our study.…”

“…While few studies have examined male care-giving during end of life (Fromme et al, 2005;Ussher et al, 2013), many have examined male caregivers' experiences in dementia care. Men have tended to limit their care work (Hequembourg & Brallier, 2005) and provide care when no other family members are available (Campbell & Carroll, 2007;McDonnell & Ryan, 2013), suggesting that men may use their gender status to be excused from care and possibly add the care work of women. In examining the use of supports, male caregivers have reported unsatisfactory healthcare interactions and a scarcity of information (Neufeld & Kushner, 2009).…”

“…Perhaps healthcare providers do not expect men to provide care because of their gender. Additionally, while men have been engaged in care work, they also have preserved their masculinity by acting as managers (Ussher & Sandoval, 2008) and concealing emotions (Campbell & Carroll, 2007) and the body care they provide (Russell, 2007). To better understand these potentially inequitable gender relations, more contextual analysis is needed that explicates how gender shapes caregivers' experiences during end of life.…”

Roles and Coping Strategies of Sons Caring for a Parent With Dementia

“…For example, men-and sons in particularmay be more likely than women (e.g., wives or daughters) to perform IADLs and to delegate housekeeping and ADLs to other caregivers (Corcoran, 1992;Kramer & Thompson, 2002;Robinson et al, 2014). Men may also believe that they are less able than women to perform emotional and social types of caregiving (Campbell & Carroll, 2007;Kramer & Thompson, 2002).…”

Young Caregivers in the End-of-Life Setting: A Population-Based Profile of an Emerging Group

“…Men are participating more in many caring activities including raising children, teaching, and nursing. As caregiving takes on new positive meaning for men 31,32 it is possible that we will see greater numbers of male caregivers across the whole age spectrum.…”