Proceedings of The 6th Global Conference on Women’s Studies
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Toxicity in caregiving: Dismantling gender roles in the young caregiver experience
Pinelli, Alicia, Holden, Kaitlin
ABSTRACT:
Globally, there is a hidden, vulnerable population of Young Caregivers impacted by societal views of gender roles. Young Caregivers are those under the age of 25 years, who provide various forms of unpaid support within their homes including medical, physical, and emotional support to a loved one. Societally, caregiving is impacted by gender bias, positioning these roles as the responsibility of women and girls, thus furthering the gendered division of labour. This is mirrored in the younger demographic with research showing an average of 6 out of every 10, identified, young caregivers are female. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, we seek to examine how toxic masculinity and the gendering of caregiving roles impact the identification and support of young male caregivers. Due to the lack of research within the area of gendered division of labour in young caregivers, literature on the impacts of male adult caregivers, and the experiences of young caregivers were reviewed, compared and contrasted. The data collected was analyzed through a feminist framework, finding that the gendered caregiving roles provide a societal expectation that can affect young boys, who may feel pressured by toxic masculinity to avoid publicizing their caregiving experience, causing a barrier making male identified young caregivers less likely to self-identify or seek help. The review highlights the importance of deconstructing the gendered nature of family roles, while also providing education and awareness on the experiences of young male caregivers to address and dismantle the harmful structures of gender bias and toxic masculinity.
keywords: toxic masculinity, socialization, feminist theory, children, youth