Working sole parents and feminist perspectives on the intersection of gender and time

Abstract

Clock-time has been consistently represented in feminist literature as a masculine artefact representative of a ‘time is money’ perspective. This has often resulted in dichotomous conceptualisations of ‘women’s time’ as contrary to clock-time, and clock-time as synonymous with economic rationalism. This article considers the everyday practices of 10 working sole fathers and 17 working sole mothers to explore conceptualisations of gendered time. It is proposed that caring time is often more focused on the clock than generally theorised, and that utilising the clock as a tool can be consistent with a caring rationality. It is also demonstrated that caregiving fathers’ experiences of time shift with their increased responsibility for their children. While dichotomies of ‘men’s time’, ‘women’s time’, clock-time, and caring time can be analytically useful, this article argues that everyday caring practices incorporate a multiplicity of times; and both men and women can engage in these multiples times.