Masculinity and the Home: a critical review and conceptual framework

Gorman‐Murray, Andrew

doi:10.1080/00049180802270556

Cited by 109 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Our analysis supports those who have suggested that shifts are clearly taking place in terms of the relationship between masculinity and domesticity. According to Smith and Winchester (1998), breaking down rigid place and gender boundaries facilitates the negotiation of a wider range of masculinities than those which were previously available, also making visible the inter-relational and coconstitutive nature of gender, masculinity and domesticity (see also Cameron 1998 andGorman-Murray 2008). While domestic practices and gendered subjectivities are in a constant process of negotiation and transformation, there is little evidence in our research of a significant transformation in gender roles and relations amounting to the 'democratisation' of domesticity.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 41%

Crowded kitchens: the ‘democratisation’ of domesticity?

Meah

Jackson

2013

Gender, Place & Culture

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Building on previous work concerning the gendered nature of domestic space, this paper focuses on the kitchen as a key site in which gendered roles and responsibilities are experienced and contested. As men have begun to engage more frequently in cooking and other domestic practices (albeit selectively and often on their own terms), the paper argues that kitchens have become 'crowded' spaces for women. Drawing on evidence from focus groups, interviews and ethnographic observation of kitchen practices in South Yorkshire (UK), we suggest that men's entry into the kitchen has facilitated the expression of a more diverse range of masculine subjectivities, while also creating new anxieties for women.Specifically, our evidence suggests that family meals may be experienced as a site of domestic conflict as well as a celebration of family life; that convenience and shortcuts can be embraced by women without incurring feelings of guilt and imperfection; that cooking is being embraced as a lifestyle choice by increasing numbers of men who use it as an opportunity to demonstrate competence and skill, while women are more pragmatic; ; and that kitchens may be experienced as 'uncanny' spaces by women as men increasingly assert their presence in this domain. Our analysis confirms that while the relationship between domestic practices and gendered subjectivities is changing, this does not amount to a fundamental 'democratisation' of domesticity with significantly greater equality between men and women.

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 41%

Crowded kitchens: the ‘democratisation’ of domesticity?

Meah

Jackson

2013

Gender, Place & Culture

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“…Men's relationship to the home has been much less thoroughly explored than women's but work by Andrew Gorman-Murray (2008a, 2008b and see also Tosh 1999 andCook 2011) shows that the home is an important site for the construction of multiple masculinities and that men's domestic activities are worthy of further research.…”

Section: Masculinity and Caring At Homementioning

confidence: 99%

The complications of ‘hiring a hubby’: gender relations and the commoditisation of home maintenance in New Zealand

Cox

2013

Social & Cultural Geography

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“…Gorman-Murray's work on masculinity and the home (2008) conceptualises 'domestic masculinities' and 'masculine domesticities' with the former referring to 'the way both ideals of home and changing homemaking practices have (re)figured masculine identities' and the latter to 'how men's changing engagements with domesticity can refashion dominant discourses of home ' (Gorman-Murray, 2008, p. 369). The explicit recognition of the fluidity of both home and masculine identity in his work is key, as is the recognition of the challenges of the masculine ideal of breadwinner, men's roles as parents (in contexts of uneven domestic work) and the distinctive experiences of home for heterosexual men in partnerships (compared with bachelor or gay men) (Gorman-Murray, 2008). This latter recognition of difference within the notion of men is critical in relation to our findings given the housing programme's explicit support of adults with dependents.…”

Section: Masculinity and Socio-spatial Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies of the geographies of masculinity, and masculinities within development studies, have grown extensively over the past decade with a number of key edited collections on the topic (see Cleaver, 2002;Cornwall et al, 2011;Gorman-Murray & Hopkins, 2014;van Hoven & Hӧrschelmann, 2005) but the focus is commonly on masculine identity, violence, sexualities and activism with very little published where the focus is explicitly masculinities, home and housing (although see Gorman-Murray, 2008; chapters by Atherton, May and Meth, all 2014;and Varley & Blasco, 2000). Atherton, May and Meth (all 2014) drawing on feminist research, explore domesticity, domestic work, homelessness, violence and the significance of home for masculine identity.…”

Section: Masculinity and Socio-spatial Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…We argue here that this oversight is remarkable, given the centrality of housing in shaping men's sense of self, their assumptions about authority, financial security and safety. Men's emotional registers and constructions of masculinities in relation to the home have received some attention (Ahmet, 2013;Atherton, 2014;Meth, 2014;Gorman-Murray, 2008May, 2014;Varley & Blasco, 2000) yet as Varley and Blasco claim this is limited (2000, p. 116), and as we outline below, these important works focus less on the socio-economic realities of housing as a policy intervention in relation to men but rather on home as a socio-spatial construct. The policy backcloth of housing is central to our analysis, as South Africa's current state-subsidised housing programme is dramatically altering the urban landscape.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Men’s experiences of state sponsored housing in South Africa: emerging issues and key questions

Meth

Charlton

2016

Housing Studies

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In South African cities, millions of men and women living informally are being rehoused through the state-directed provision of formal houses to poor beneficiaries. This intervention is reshaping their lives, and innovatively targets beneficiaries with dependents, where over half are women. Aiming to redress the historical context of gendered inequality in housing ownership and house the very poor, these policy and implementation changes necessarily impact on men in terms of their power, resources and employment but in complex ways including positive and negative. The home remains significant for many men's desires for authority and identity. Using the lens of masculinity, this paper considers the ways in which men are experiencing this housing intervention, revealing a complex mix of outcomes in terms of their sense of identity, their relationships and their financial pressures and income generation. It draws on empirical work in South Africa to illuminate the importance of focusing on men in relation to housing and offers key questions for future research.

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Masculinity and the Home: a critical review and conceptual framework

Cited by 109 publications

References 31 publications

Crowded kitchens: the ‘democratisation’ of domesticity?

Crowded kitchens: the ‘democratisation’ of domesticity?

The complications of ‘hiring a hubby’: gender relations and the commoditisation of home maintenance in New Zealand

Men’s experiences of state sponsored housing in South Africa: emerging issues and key questions

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