Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2020, 21 (1): 130-153 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2020.007

The Male Childlessness the Perspective of Hegemonic Masculinity

Hana Maříková
Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i.

In contemporary (not only) Czech society, the share of childless persons is increasing. Research in the field of social sciences focuses mainly on explanation of female childlessness than male one. This text tries to at least partially fill the gap in research when focusing on male childlessness from the perspective of masculinity, resp. hegemonic masculinity. Thematic analysis of repeated problem-oriented interviews with 12 heterosexual men (of different age and education) focuses on explanation of the life experience of these men with childlessness, respectively their perception of childlessness in relation to the conditions and circumstances of their lives according to the construction of their masculinity along the main axes, i.e. "values and norms", "perception and meaning of close relationships", "meaning of work and leisure activities", "experiencing the individual's life situation". The combination of these basic axes leads to the re-production or disruption of hegemonic masculinity characteristics. The analysis has shown that even in the case of childlessness, men more often construct their masculinity in terms of its hegemonic mode than crossing it. However, the construction of hegemonic masculinity also occurs through "unspoken", "concealed", i.e. what is not directly articulated in interviews, so attention should also be paid to this issue in research on masculinities.

Keywords: childlessness, men, hegemonic masculinity, qualitative research, Czech Republic

Published: August 27, 2020Show citation

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Maříková, Hana. 2020. "The Male Childlessness the Perspective of Hegemonic Masculinity." Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 21(1):130-153.
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