“Dad, Wash Your Hands”: Gender, Care Work, and Attitudes toward Risk during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Recent analyses of responses to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have posited that men’s dismissive attitudes toward the risks of the virus reflect their attempts to conform to masculine norms that valorize bravery and strength. In this article, the authors develop an alternative account of the gender differences in attitudes toward COVID-19. Drawing on three waves of in-depth interviews with college students and members of their households ( n = 45) over a period of 16 weeks (for a total of 120 interviews), the authors find that men and women in comparable circumstances perceive similar risks of COVID-19, but they diverge in their attitudes toward, and responses to, these risks. Connecting scholarship on gender and care work with research on risk, the authors argue that gender differences in attitudes toward risk are influenced by the unique and strenuous care work responsibilities generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which are borne primarily by women—and from which men are exempt.

“I’m Not Gonna Put That On My Kids”: Gendered Opposition to New Public Health Initiatives

“…Sobo and colleagues (2016), these findings highlight the consequences of our consumeristic, individualistic medical system, and they help to clarify and quantify the gendered impact of that system on women and mothers. As family health managers, mothers actively work to control their children's exposure to health risks (Burton-Jeangros 2011; Estep and Greenberg 2020;Mackendrick 2014;Reich 2014Reich , 2016bReich , 2016aReich , 2020bReich , 2020aSobo et al 2016;Umamaheswar and Tan 2020;Waggoner 2017). In the context of politicized misinformation about COVID-19 (Loomba et al 2001), some mothers perceive themselves as more able to control their children's risks of severe complications from the virus than their children's perceived risks of side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine.…”

“…Under an individualistic and consumeristic medical model, people are expected to take responsibility for their health and avoid health risks (Clarke et al 2003;Estep and Greenberg 2020;Reich 2020a;Timmermans and Oh 2010). In this system, mothers and women who may become mothers face particularly strong pressures to control risks to their families' health (Burton-Jeangros 2011;Elliott and Bowen 2018;Gage-Bouchard 2017b;Mackendrick 2014;Ranji and Salganicoff 2014;Reich 2014Reich , 2020aUmamaheswar and Janani 2020;Waggoner 2017). As a result, women generally report greater concerns about risks than men (Borghans et al 2009;Rosen, Tsai, and Downs 2003) and are also more likely than men to follow expert medical recommendations (Courtenay 2000;Courtenay, Mccreary, and Merighi 2002;Denton and Walters 1999;Read and Gorman 2010;Umamaheswar and Janani 2020).…”

“…Background Risk, Control, and Gendered Opposition to Public Health Initiatives Mothers are often the primary health managers for their families (Gage-Bouchard 2017b, 2017aLareau 2011;Mackendrick 2014;Ranji and Salganicoff 2014). In this role, mothers and people who may become mothers are expected to identify and avoid risks to the health of their current and future children (Burton-Jeangros 2011;Elliott andBowen 2018, 2018;Mackendrick 2014;Reich 2014Reich , 2020bReich , 2020aUmamaheswar and Janani 2020;Waggoner 2017). As Reich (2014) explains, "women are responsible for navigating meanings of health, necessity, risk, and state intervention for their children" (680).…”

“…These pressures often lead women to be more concerned than men about risks (Borghans et al 2009;Rosen et al 2003). They also lead women to, in most cases, be more compliant than men in responding to expert medical recommendations (Courtenay 2000;Courtenay et al 2002;Denton and Walters 1999;Read and Gorman 2010;Umamaheswar and Janani 2020).…”

Masculinity and COVID-19: Symposium Introduction

“…This too has to do with the social and cultural constructions of gender. For instance, Janani Umamaheswar and Catherine Tan’s (2020) longitudinal study with college students in the United States found that men in their sample were more likely than women to downplay the risks associated with COVID-19. Yet they also found that men with significant caregiving responsibilities expressed similar levels of fear and concern to women in their sample.…”