Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T12:03:36.516Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Beyond (but not too much) the male breadwinner model: a qualitative study on child care and masculinities in contemporary Italy∗

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2016

Francesco Della Puppa  and
Francesco Miele
Francesco Della Puppa*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Laboratory for Social Research (La. Ri. S), Education and Applied Psychology (Fisppa), University of Padua, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy
Francesco Miele
Affiliation:
Bruno Kessler Foundation, Trento, Italy
*
∗Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study draws on the results of qualitative research conducted in Verona, north-eastern Italy, collecting data from in-depth interviews and examining the ways in which different masculinities emerge in the sphere of child care. The presented research takes as its theoretical frame of reference the plural conception of masculinity developed by Connell during the last 20 years, analysing the dynamics of hegemony and subordination among different masculinities present in some families. The research contributes to the strand of men's studies which analyses the masculinities emerging from practices usually associated with fatherhood. Contrary to the findings of other studies carried out in Italy in the same context, the male breadwinner model seems to have lost strength and legitimacy. The research shows that a multiplicity of social actors (members of couples, educational personnel and users of the early childhood services, employers of parents, local and national institutional actors in the Italian scenario) are constructing and legitimising a ‘male helper’ model of masculinity, which seems more appropriate to the context of reference than other models of masculinity and which is emerging as the hegemonic masculinity in the considered social and geographical context.

Keywords

men's studiesmasculinitieschild caremale breadwinner modelchildhood serviceshegemonic masculinity
Type
Articles
Information
Modern Italy , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , May 2015 , pp. 167 - 184
Copyright
Copyright © Association for the study of Modern Italy 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Balbo, L. 1978. “La doppia presenza.” Inchiesta 32: 3–11.Google Scholar
Becker, G. 1981. A Treatise of the Family. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Bellassai, S. 2011. L'invenzione della virilità. Politica e immaginario maschile nell'Italia contemporanea. Roma: Carrocci.Google Scholar
Bimbi, F. 1985. “La doppia presenza: diffusione di un modello e trasformazione dell'identità.” In Profili sovrapposti , edited by Bimbi, F. and Pristinger, F., 11–92. Milan: Franco Angeli.Google Scholar
Bimbi, F., and Castellano, G.. 1990. Madri e padri. Transizioni dal patriarcato e cultura dei servizi. Milan: Franco Angeli.Google Scholar
Bimbi, F., and La Mendola, S.. 1999. “Contratti di genere e modelli di indentità femminile.” In Nuzialità e fecondità in trasformazione: percorsi e fattori del cambiamento , edited by De Sandre, P., Pinnelli, A., and Santini, A., 255–272. Bologna: Il Mulino.Google Scholar
Bosoni, M. L. 2011. “Uomini, paternità e lavoro: la questione della conciliazione dal punto di vista maschile.” Sociologia e politiche sociali 14 (3): 63–86.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. 1998. La domination masculine. Paris: Éditions du Seuil.Google Scholar
Brandth, B., and Kvande, E.. 1998. “Masculinity and Child Care: The Reconstruction of Fathering.” Sociological Review 46 (2): 293–313. 10.1111/1467-954X.00120.Google Scholar
Browne, I., and Misra, J.. 2003. “The Intersection of Gender and Race in the Labor Market.” Annual Review of Sociology 29 (1): 487–513. 10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100016.Google Scholar
Bruni, A. 2012. “Attraverso la maschilità. Posizionamenti e sconfinamenti di genere in sala operatoria.” About Gender 1 (2): 152–174.Google Scholar
Bruni, A., and Gherardi, S.. 2001. “Omega's Story: The Heterogeneous Engineering of a Gendered Professional Self.” In Knowledge, Identity and the New Professional , edited by Dent, M. and Whitehead, S., 174–198. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Cacace, M., and D'Andrea, L.. 1996. Padri nei servizi all'infanzia. Manuale sulle buone prassi nella condivisione di responsabilità tra uomini e donne. Rome: Centro di Cooperazione Familiare.Google Scholar
Cardano, M. 2003. Tecniche di ricerca qualitativa. Roma: Carocci.Google Scholar
Cardano, M. 2011. La ricerca qualitativa. Bologna: Il Mulino.Google Scholar
Ciccone, S. 2012. “Il maschile come differenza.” About Gender 1 (2): 152–174.Google Scholar
Collinson, D., and Hearn, J.. 1994. “Naming Men as Men: Implications for Work, Organization and Management.” Gender, Work & Organization 1 (1): 2–22. 10.1111/j.l468-0432.1994.tb00002.x.Google Scholar
Collinson, D., and Hearn, J.. 1996. Men as Managers, Managers as Men. Critical Perspectives on Masculinity. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Connell, R. 1987. Gender and Power: Society, the Person, and Sexual Politics. Stanford: Standford University Press.Google Scholar
Connell, R. 1995. Masculinities. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Connell, R. 2005. “A Really Good Husband. Work/Life Balance, Gender Equity and Social Change.” Australian Journal of Social Issues 40 (3): 369–383.Google Scholar
Connell, R. 2009. “Accountable Conduct: “Doing Gender” in Transsexual and Political Retrospect.” Gender & Society 23 (1): 104–111. 10.1177/0891243208327175.Google Scholar
Connell, R. W., and Messerschmidt, J.. 2005. “Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept.” Gender & Society 19 (6): 829–859. 10.1177/0891243205278639.Google Scholar
Corsi, C. 2008. “Il Ricongiungimento familiare.” In Immigrazione e cittadinanza , edited by Morozzo Delia Rocca, P., 283–297. Turin: Utet.Google Scholar
De Sandre, P., Pinnelli, A., and Santini, A.. 1999. Nuzialità e fecondità in trasformazione: percorsi e fattori del cambiamento. Bologna: Il Mulino.Google Scholar
Donati, P. 2010. Il costo dei figli: quale welfare per le famiglie? Milan: Franco Angeli.Google Scholar
Donati, P., and Prandini, R.. 2008. La cura della famiglia e il mondo del lavoro. Un piano di politiche familiari. Milan: Franco Angeli.Google Scholar
Emslie, C., and Hunt, K.. 2009. “‘Live to Work’ Or ‘Work to Live’? A Qualitative Study of Gender and Work-life Balance among Men and Women in Mid-life.” Gender, Work & Organization 16 (1): 151–172. 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2008.00434.x.Google Scholar
Gregory, A., and Milner, S.. 2011. “What is “New” about Fatherhood?: The Social Construction of Fatherhood in France and the UK.” Men and Masculinities 14 (5): 588–606. doi: 10.1177/1097184X1141294010.1177/1097184X11412940.Google Scholar
Groenendijk, K., Fernhout, R., van Dam, D., van Oers, R., and Strik, T.. 2007. The Family Reunification Directive in Eu Members States. The First Year of Implementation. Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers.Google Scholar
Halberstam, J. 2010. Maschilità senza uomini. Pisa: ETS.Google Scholar
Hearn, J. 2004. “From Hegemonic Masculinity to the Hegemony of Men.” Feminist Theory 5 (1): 49–72. 10.1177/1464700104040813.Google Scholar
ISTAT. 2012. Uso del tempo e ruoli di genere: tra lavoro e famiglia nel ciclo di vita. Rome: Istat.Google Scholar
Kimmel, M. 1995. The Politics of Manhood. Profeminist Men Respond to the Mythopoetic Men's Movement (and the Mythopoetic Leaders Answer). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Kollind, A. K., and Björnberg, U., eds. 1996. Men's Family Relations: Report from an International Seminar. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell.Google Scholar
Kraler, A. 2009. “Family Migration in Europe. Policies Vs Reality.” Imiscoe. Policy Brief , 16. Icmpd 20 Years. Accessed July 23th 2013. http://research.icmpd.org/1423.html Google Scholar
Lewis, J. 2001. “The Decline of the Male Breadwinner Model: Implications for Work and Care.” Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society 8 (2): 152–169. 10.1093/sp/8.2.152.Google Scholar
Losito, G. 2007. L'analisi del contenuto nella ricerca sociale. Milano: Franco Angeli.Google Scholar
Magaraggia, S. 2011. “Ricerca sulle questioni di genere: sangue, sudore e lacrime. Intervista a Raewyn Connell.” Studi Culturali VIII (1): 79–93.Google Scholar
Martin, P. Y. 2004. “Gender as Social Institution.” Social Forces 82 (4): 1249–1273. doi: 10.1353/sof.2004.008110.1353/sof.2004.0081.Google Scholar
McDonald, P. 2000. “Gender Equity, Social Institutions and the Future of Fertility.” Journal of Population Research 17 (1): 1–16. 10.1007/BF03029445.Google Scholar
Micheli, G. A. 2002. “Modelli di legami forti e segnali di disagio.” In Scenari demografici in Lombardia , edited by Ire, R. Milan: Guerini e Associati.Google Scholar
Murgia, A., and Poggio, B.. 2009. “Challenging Hegemonic Masculinities: Men's Stories on Gender Culture in Organizations.” Organization 16 (3): 407–423. 10.1177/1350508409102303.Google Scholar
Nentwich, J. C. 2008. “New Fathers and Mothers as Gender Troublemakers? Exploring Discursive Constructions of Heterosexual Parenthood and Their Subversive Potential.” Feminism & Psychology 18 (2): 207–230. 10.1177/0959353507088591.Google Scholar
Pateman, C. 1988. The Sexual Contract. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Piazza, M. 1994. “A cura di …: simmetrie e assimmetrie del lavoro di cura nel corso di vita femminile e nel ciclo di vita familiare.” Dialogare. Accessed July 23th 2013. http://www.dialogare.ch/Dialo_Attiv_testi/D_303_312.pdf Google Scholar
Piccone Stella, S. 2000. “Gli studi sulla mascolinità. Scoperte e problemi di un campo di ricerca.” Rassegna Italiana di Sociologia 16 (1): 81–108.Google Scholar
Ranson, G. 2012. “Men, Paid Employment and Family Responsibilities: Conceptualizing the ‘Working Father’.” Gender, Work & Organization 19 (6): 741–761. 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2011.00549.x.Google Scholar
Ruspini, E. 2012. “Chi ha paura dei men's Studies?” About Gender 1 (2): 37–49.Google Scholar
Santi, E. 2003. “Contratti di genere. Un'applicazione e confronti europei.” In Differenze e diseguaglianze. Prospettive per gli studi di genere in Italia , edited by Bimbi, F., 161–187. Bologna: Il Mulino.Google Scholar
Silverman, D. 2007. Come fare ricerca qualitativa. Rome: Carocci.Google Scholar
Silverman, D. 2008. Manuale di ricerca sociale e qualitativa. Milan: Feltrinelli.Google Scholar
Strasser, E., Kraler, A., Bonjour, S., and Bilger, V.. 2009. “Doing Family.” The History of the Family 14 (2): 165–176. 10.1016/j.hisfam.2009.02.005.Google Scholar
Tognetti Bordogna, M., ed. 2004. Ricongiungere la famiglia altrove. Strategic, percorsi, modelli e forme del ricongiungimento familiare. Milan: Franco Angeli.Google Scholar
Trappolin, L., ed. 2008. Omosapiens 3. Per una sociologia dell'omosessualità. Roma: Carocci.Google Scholar
Ventimiglia, C. 1996. Paternità in controluce. Padri raccontati che si raccontano. Milano: Franco Angeli.Google Scholar
Zajczyk, F., and Ruspini, E.. 2008. Nuovi padri? Mutamenti delta paternità in Italia e in Europa. Milano: Baldini & Castoldi.Google Scholar
Zanatta, A. 2011. Nuove madri e nuovi padri. Bologna: Il Mulino.Google Scholar