Men’s Caregiving Research Question: Much research has documented the fact that w
ID: 3495618 • Letter: M
Question
Men’s Caregiving
Research Question:
Much research has documented the fact that women do the majority of the housework and child care within families. Why? Many have explained it as the result of gender socialization—women learn early on to be nurturing and responsible for others, whereas men are less likely to do so. Yet, things are changing, and some men are more involved in the “care work” of family life. What explains whether men will be more engaged in family care work?
Research Method:
Sociologists Naomi Gerstel and Sally Gallagher studied a sample of 188 married people. They interviewed ninety-four husbands and ninety-four wives, married to each other; the sample was 86 percent White and 14 percent African American but was too small to examine similarities or differences by race.
Research Results:
You might expect that men who had attitudes expressing support for men’s family responsibilities would be more involved in family care (defined by Gerstel and Gallagher to include elder care, child care, and various household tasks). This is not what Gerstel and Gallagher found. Gender attitudes did not influence men’s involvement in caregiving.
Rather, the characteristics of the men’s families were the most influential determinant of their engagement in housework and child care. Men whose wives spent the most time helping kin and men who had daughters were more likely to help kin. Having sons had no influence. In addition, men with more sisters tended to spend less time helping with elder parents than men with fewer sisters. Furthermore, men’s employment (measured as hours employed, job flexibility, and job stability) did not affect their involvement in care work.
Conclusions and Implications:
It is the social structure of the family, not gender beliefs, that shapes men’s involvement in family work. As the researchers put it, “It is primarily the women in men’s lives who shape the amount and types of care men provide” (Gerstel and Gallagher 2001: 211). This study shows a most important sociological point: Social structure, not just individual attitudes, isthe most significant determinant of social behavior.
Questions to Consider
Who does the work in your family? Is it related to the social organization of your family, as Gerstel and Gallagher find in other families?
Do you think that men’s gender identity changes when they become more involved in care work? What hinders and/or facilitates men’s engagement in this kind of work?
Answer the Questions to consider section, based on the provided information in 200 words +
Answer the Questions to consider section, based on the provided information in 200 words +
Answer the Questions to consider section, based on the provided information in 200 words +
Explanation / Answer
[ I am going to answer 1st question asked by you. I hope it helps. Thanks ]
A number of sociologist like Gerstel and Gallagher have found out in research that the social structure of family depicts that woman will be primary caretaker of family and home while men are supposed to go out, work and earn for the livelihood of the family. Men who have daughters in their families and have less number of sisters are more inclined towards household work and vice-versa.
In my family, my mother does all the household work and take care of the family, while the father is responsible solely for income generation. This mainly occurs due to the social organisation of my family as Gerstel and Gallagher found in other families. Gender discrimination plays a major role in such situation.
The main implications of Gerstel and Gallagher is that it impacts the lifestyle of woman the most. Also, on how the men of house can involve in care work. Mostly a woman is involved in all the household works but can sometimes ask his husband for help.
The social structure has seen a tremendous change in current times, where woman avails equal opportunities to work with men. Also, nowadays, men are showing interest in household works. They are getting involved in care works. Gender beliefs are decreasing day by day due to modern lifestyles.