Are we softly constructing more inclusive males? An examination of men’s interpersonal emotion work for children and partners

This article investigates gendered differences in emotion work in contemporary Australian society by examining family-oriented emotion work. We examine the ways parents in heterosexual relationships perform emotion work for their children and their partners through qualitative, semi-structured interviews, focusing on changing experiences and shifting structuration processes around gendered norms and emotional inequality. We found some evidence of continuing gender essentialism and hegemonic-masculine behaviours. Female respondents were more likely to perform regular emotion work and adopt empathic attitudes towards their children, as well as manage their own emotions concerning their partners. Many respondents believed that these gender differences were ‘innate and natural’. However, more progressive inclusive-masculine behaviours were evident in men managing their own emotions, seeking more emotional engagement, and performing more caring than authoritative emotion work for their children. It was also evident in men and women both performing numerous forms of care and interpersonal emotion work for each other (that is, their partners). This study points to the emergence of more fluid structuration and ‘softer’ forms of gender social constructionism, in place of the ‘harder’ constructionism and gender essentialism predominant in prior studies.