Part II. Stigmas in Relation to Femininity This section will interpret other author’s arguments around socially constructed stigmas in a contemporary context. First, I will critically examine how stigmas around stay at home dads are socially constructed on the basis that domestic labour is a “flight to femininity.” Second, I will discuss how stay at home dads react to this criticism by either perpetuating, resisting, or pushing back against hegemonic masculinity in parenting practices.
Referring to the concept of “doing gender” by West and Zimmerman, stay at home dads are viewed as “failing” to “do” labour that creates a distinction between men and women (West and Zimmerman, 1987: 146). This dichotomy in labour is seen regarding …show more content…
This stigma is socially constructed by companies and other labour related institutions as generating the ideal hegemonic worker, one which will put the companies needs above his families and perpetuate hegemonic masculinity to not be stigmatized. “When men fulfill family obligations by decreasing work time rather than increasing it, they could be subject to stereotyping, labeling and negative judgments about their character and potential as ideal workers” (Coltrance et al. 2013: 282). Some theorists predict that stigmatization and negative consequences for men taking time off work for family related issues will be more prevalent for men compared to women because of gender norms (Allen, Russel, Wayne, & Cordeiro, cited in Coltrance et al. 2013:283). Compared to women, men who take time away from paid labour for obligations of family care are considered to be stuck with a double bind of “simultaneously violating gender expectations at work and in the family” (Allen, Russel, Wayne, & Cordeiro, cited in Coltrance et al. 2013:283). This flexibility stigma appears to depend on the gender of the parent, however the study discovered that “these analyses show …show more content…
An article in The Wall Street Journal addressed these issues with a title that read “ Stay-At-Home Dads Fight Stigma: Men Who Parented Full Time Say They Get Third Degree At Interviews” (Dunham 2003). The first hand account explained that managers kept quizzing the man being interviewed on why he chose to leave his job and stay at home to raise his three daughters (Dunham 2003). One interviewer asked him “if he was gay or just weird since ‘stay –at-home dad’ isn’t something a man is willing to admit to” (Dunham 2003). An interesting
Referring to the concept of “doing gender” by West and Zimmerman, stay at home dads are viewed as “failing” to “do” labour that creates a distinction between men and women (West and Zimmerman, 1987: 146). This dichotomy in labour is seen regarding …show more content…
This stigma is socially constructed by companies and other labour related institutions as generating the ideal hegemonic worker, one which will put the companies needs above his families and perpetuate hegemonic masculinity to not be stigmatized. “When men fulfill family obligations by decreasing work time rather than increasing it, they could be subject to stereotyping, labeling and negative judgments about their character and potential as ideal workers” (Coltrance et al. 2013: 282). Some theorists predict that stigmatization and negative consequences for men taking time off work for family related issues will be more prevalent for men compared to women because of gender norms (Allen, Russel, Wayne, & Cordeiro, cited in Coltrance et al. 2013:283). Compared to women, men who take time away from paid labour for obligations of family care are considered to be stuck with a double bind of “simultaneously violating gender expectations at work and in the family” (Allen, Russel, Wayne, & Cordeiro, cited in Coltrance et al. 2013:283). This flexibility stigma appears to depend on the gender of the parent, however the study discovered that “these analyses show …show more content…
An article in The Wall Street Journal addressed these issues with a title that read “ Stay-At-Home Dads Fight Stigma: Men Who Parented Full Time Say They Get Third Degree At Interviews” (Dunham 2003). The first hand account explained that managers kept quizzing the man being interviewed on why he chose to leave his job and stay at home to raise his three daughters (Dunham 2003). One interviewer asked him “if he was gay or just weird since ‘stay –at-home dad’ isn’t something a man is willing to admit to” (Dunham 2003). An interesting