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The same and the other: Male childcare workers managing identity dissonance
Journal
IRS, International Review of Sociology
ISSN
0390-6701
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2013-07
Author(s)
Research Team
Alexandria Link
Publikationen
Publikationen
Abstract
As childcare workers, men are in a contested position. On the one hand, they are in danger of being depicted as the pedophile; on the other, they are expected to bring something new and innovative to the thus-far female-dominated field. These men are experiencing ‘identity dissonance' and have to find ways to manage and facilitate legitimate subject positions as both childcare workers and as men. Applying a perspective of discursive positioning, this article discusses men's positioning practices in nine qualitative interviews conducted with male childcare workers in German-speaking Switzerland. We identified a total of six discursive practices that men engage in to manage identity dissonance and construct a legitimate subject position. We found that men are engaging in a greater variety of practices than have been discussed so far. Unlike findings from other studies of men in female-dominated occupations, ours do not point to a clear-cut typology with regards to hegemonic and alternative masculinities; instead they show a variety of practices that are mobilized throughout all interviews.
=> http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/7b3d9hmI2zjCU7irm292/full
=> http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/7b3d9hmI2zjCU7irm292/full
Language
English
Keywords
masculinities
doing gender
early childhood education
discourse analysis
subject positioning
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SHSS - Kulturen, Institutionen, Maerkte (KIM)
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Publisher place
London UK
Volume
23
Number
2
Start page
325
End page
344
Pages
20
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
220372