Friendship and care: gendered practices within personal communities in Portugal

Thoughts on Friendship

“…A third lens through which to view friendship is a sociological lens that explored practices of care within friendships. Policarpo (2019), a qualitative researcher, explored three dimensions of care related to friends: care for self; care for others; and being cared for. This qualitative research was conducted in Portugal with 30 in-depth interviews focusing on the practices of care within friendships.…”

“…It is a species of activity that includes everything we do to maintain, contain, and repair our world so that we can live in it as well as possible” (p. 58). The author also posited that we choose friends “on the basis of affinities, affection, and enjoyment” (Policarpo, 2019, p. 58) and that friendship is based on the ideal of freedom.…”

“…In caring for oneself , people in the study who experienced major life changes found bonding with nonkinship persons constituted “a major source of identity and belonging during a time of crisis. Friends appear as co-adjuvants of self-care and the process of identity construction it supports, mainly as legitimators and facilitators of self-caring attitudes and practices” (Policarpo, 2019, p. 63). For example, one of the participants, after caring for a daughter diagnosed with cancer who was cured, proceeded to seek out different types of self-help activities to help herself heal from the trauma.…”

“…In investigating friends caring for others , Policarpo (2019) found that friends were seen as a source of emotional support. If the person was involved in solo living—friends also cared in the form of instrumental help if a person was disabled or had a long-term illness (Policarpo, 2019).…”

“…In investigating friends caring for others , Policarpo (2019) found that friends were seen as a source of emotional support. If the person was involved in solo living—friends also cared in the form of instrumental help if a person was disabled or had a long-term illness (Policarpo, 2019). In one example given of caring for others , a participant described that when her father had a stroke (his house was being refurbished) a friend invited her and her father to move into her home.…”