Carework and caring: A path to gender equitable practices among men in South Africa?

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dc.contributor.authorMorrell, Roberten_ZA
dc.contributor.authorJewkes, Rachelen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-11T12:04:50Z
dc.date.available2015-11-11T12:04:50Z
dc.date.issued2011en_ZA
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between men who engage in carework and commitment to gender equity. The context of the study was that gender inequitable masculinities create vulnerability for men and women to HIV and other health concerns. Interventions are being developed to work with masculinity and to 'change men'. Researchers now face a challenge of identifying change in men, especially in domains of their lives beyond relations with women. Engagement in carework is one suggested indicator of more gender equitable practice. METHODS: A qualitative approach was used. 20 men in three South African locations (Durban, Pretoria/Johannesburg, Mthatha) who were identified as engaging in carework were interviewed. The men came from different backgrounds and varied in terms of age, race and socio-economic status. A semi-structured approach was used in the interviews. RESULTS: Men were engaged in different forms of carework and their motivations to be involved differed. Some men did carework out of necessity. Poverty, associated with illness in the family and a lack of resources propelled some men into carework. Other men saw carework as part of a commitment to making a better world. 'Care' interpreted as a functional activity was not enough to either create or signify support for gender equity. Only when care had an emotional resonance did it relate to gender equity commitment. CONCLUSIONS: Engagement in carework precipitated a process of identity and value transformation in some men suggesting that support for carework still deserves to be a goal of interventions to 'change men'. Changing the gender of carework contributes to a more equitable gender division of labour and challenges gender stereotypes. Interventions that promote caring also advance gender equity.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMorrell, R., & Jewkes, R. (2011). Carework and caring: A path to gender equitable practices among men in South Africa?. <i>International Journal for Equity in Health</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14912en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMorrell, Robert, and Rachel Jewkes "Carework and caring: A path to gender equitable practices among men in South Africa?." <i>International Journal for Equity in Health</i> (2011) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14912en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMorrell, R., & Jewkes, R. (2011). Carework and caring: A path to gender equitable practices among men in South Africa. Int J Equity Health, 10(1), 17.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Morrell, Robert AU - Jewkes, Rachel AB - BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between men who engage in carework and commitment to gender equity. The context of the study was that gender inequitable masculinities create vulnerability for men and women to HIV and other health concerns. Interventions are being developed to work with masculinity and to 'change men'. Researchers now face a challenge of identifying change in men, especially in domains of their lives beyond relations with women. Engagement in carework is one suggested indicator of more gender equitable practice. METHODS: A qualitative approach was used. 20 men in three South African locations (Durban, Pretoria/Johannesburg, Mthatha) who were identified as engaging in carework were interviewed. The men came from different backgrounds and varied in terms of age, race and socio-economic status. A semi-structured approach was used in the interviews. RESULTS: Men were engaged in different forms of carework and their motivations to be involved differed. Some men did carework out of necessity. Poverty, associated with illness in the family and a lack of resources propelled some men into carework. Other men saw carework as part of a commitment to making a better world. 'Care' interpreted as a functional activity was not enough to either create or signify support for gender equity. Only when care had an emotional resonance did it relate to gender equity commitment. CONCLUSIONS: Engagement in carework precipitated a process of identity and value transformation in some men suggesting that support for carework still deserves to be a goal of interventions to 'change men'. Changing the gender of carework contributes to a more equitable gender division of labour and challenges gender stereotypes. Interventions that promote caring also advance gender equity. DA - 2011 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1186/1475-9276-10-17 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - International Journal for Equity in Health LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2011 T1 - Carework and caring: A path to gender equitable practices among men in South Africa? TI - Carework and caring: A path to gender equitable practices among men in South Africa? UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14912 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14912
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-10-17
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMorrell R, Jewkes R. Carework and caring: A path to gender equitable practices among men in South Africa?. International Journal for Equity in Health. 2011; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14912.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltden_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentSchool of Educationen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licenseen_ZA
dc.rights.holder2011 Morrell and Jewkes; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.en_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0en_ZA
dc.sourceInternational Journal for Equity in Healthen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.equityhealthj.com/en_ZA
dc.subject.otherCareen_ZA
dc.subject.otherMasculinityen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHIV preventionen_ZA
dc.subject.othergender equalityen_ZA
dc.subject.otherSouth Africaen_ZA
dc.titleCarework and caring: A path to gender equitable practices among men in South Africa?en_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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