This article examines the work of elderly men caregivers who care for wives with cognitive impairment related to Alzheimer's type dementia, stroke, brain injury, or other causes. Two specific areas of care work are investigate, meal preparation and personal care, as well as the subjective meanings ascribed to such work. Men's unique strengths and vulnerabilities are explored in relation to life course perspectives on the many meanings of work. From a social con-structionist perspective, deeper meanings of manhood and late life masculinity are also interrogated, as men draw upon an array of learned adaptive strategies in meeting the complex demands of care work. This qualitative study was based on in-depth, open-ended interviews with 30 elderly men caregivers in Rochester, New York. Analysis of data reveals that many men struggled with the demands of care work, especially within entrenched gender norms and masculine scripting. Data also demonstrates, however, that men are less avoidant of hands-on, personal care than has been reported in the past.
AllenS. (1994). Gender differences in spousal caregiving and unmet need for care. Journal of Gerontology, 49, S187–S195.
2.
ArmottT., & MattaeiJ. (1991). Race, gender and work: A multicultural economic history of women in the United States. Boston: South End.
3.
BianchiS.MilkieM.SayerL., & RobinsonJ. P. (2000). Is anyone doing the housework? Trends in the gender division of household labor. Social Forces79(1), 191–228.
4.
BlasinskyM. (1998). Family dynamics: Influencing care of the older adult. Activities, Adaptation and Aging, 22(4), 65–72.
5.
BoazR. F., & MullerC. F. (1992). Paid work and unpaid help by caregivers of the disabled and frail elders. Medical Care, 30, 149–158.
6.
BoeijeH. R., & Van Doorne-HuiskesA. (2003). Filling a sense of duty: How men and women giving care to spouses with multiple sclerosis interpret this role. Community, Work and Family, 6(3), 223–244.
BrodyE. M. (1981). Women in the middle and family help to older people. The Gerontologist, 21, 471–479.
9.
CalasantiT. M. (2004). Femenist gerontology and old men. Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 59B, S305–S314.
10.
CalisantiT. M., & SlevinK. F. (2001). Gender, social in equalities and aging. Walnut Creek CA: Alta Mira Press.
11.
CampbellL. D., & Martin-MatthewsA. (2003). The gendered nature of men's filial care. Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58B, S350–S358.
12.
CancianF., & OlikerS. (2000). Caring and gender. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge.
13.
ColtraneS. (1994). Theorizing masculinities in contemporary social science. In BrodH. & KaufmanM. (Eds.). Theorizing masculinities (pp. 39–60). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
14.
ConnellR. W. (1995). Masculinities. Berkeley: University of California Press.
15.
CourtenayW. H. (2002). A global perspective on the field of men's health: An editorial. International Journal of Men's Health, 1, 1–9.
16.
DeVaultM. L. (1991). Feeding the family: The social organization of care as gendered work. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
17.
DeVriesH. M.HamiltonD. W.LovettS., & Gallagher-ThompsonD. (1997). Patterns of coping preferences for male and female caregivers of frail older adults. Psychology and Aging, 12, 263–267.
18.
FinleyN. J. (1989). Theories of family labor as applied to gender differences in caregiving for elderly parents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 79–86.
19.
FredriksenK. I. (1999). Family caregiving responsibilities among lesbians and gay men. Social Work, 44, 142–155.
20.
GerstelN. (2000). The third shift: Gender and care work outside the home. Qualitative Sociology23(4), 467–483.
21.
GoldD. P.CohenC.ShulmanK.ZuccheroC.AndresD., & EtesadiJ. (1995). Caregiving and dementia: Predicting negative and positive outcomes for caregivers. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 41, 183–201.
22.
GubermanN.MaheuP.MailleC. (1992). Women as family caregivers: Why do they care?The Gerontologist, 32, 607–617.
23.
HibbardJ.NeufeldA., & HarrisonM. J. (1996). Gender differences in the support networks of caregivers. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 22(9), 15–23.
24.
HimesC. L. (1992). Future caregivers: Projected family structures of older persons. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 47, S17–S26.
25.
HochschildA. (1990). Second shift. New York: Avon Books.
26.
HooymanN. R., & GonyeaJ. (1995). Feminist perspectives on family care. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
27.
HoudeS. C. (2002). Methodological issues in male caregiving research: An integrative review of the literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 40(6), 626–640.
28.
KayeL. W., & ApplegateJ. S. (1994). Older men and the family caregiving orientation. In ThompsonE. (Ed.), Older men's lives (pp. 197–217). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
29.
KayeL. W., & ApplegateJ. S. (1990). Men as caregivers to the elderly: Understanding and aiding unrecognized support. Lexington, MA: Lexington.
30.
KimmelM., & MessnerM. (1998). Men's lives. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
31.
KramerB. J. (2002). Men caregivers: An overview. In KramerB. J. & ThompsonE. H.Jr. (Eds.), Men as caregivers: Theory, research and service implications (pp. 3–19) New York: Springer Publishing.
32.
McDonaldD. (2001). Examining the daily interweave of fathers' work and home experiences. Dissertation Abstracts International: The Humanities and Social Sciences61(10), 4191A–4192A.
33.
McMullinJ. A. (2000). Diversity and the state of sociological aging theory. The Gerontologist, 40, 517–530.
34.
MillerB., & CafassoL. (1992). Gender differences in caregiving: Fact or artifact?The Gerontologist, 32, 498–507.
35.
MontgomeryR. J. V., & KamoY. (1989). Parent care by sons and daughters. In ManciniJ. A. (Ed.), Aging parents and adult children (pp. 213–230). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
36.
National Alliance for Caregiving and the American Association of Retired Persons (1997, June). Family caregiving in the U.S.: Findings from a national study. Washington, DC.
37.
Robert Woods Johnson Foundation (1996). Chronic care in America: A 21st century challenge. Princeton: The Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.
38.
SingletonJ. (2000). Women caring for elderly family members: Shaping non-traditional work and family initiatives. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 31(3), 367–375.
39.
SpillmanB. C., & PezzinL. E. (2000). Potential and active family caregivers: Changing networks and the “sandwich” generation. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 78, 347–374.
40.
SpitzeG., & WardR., (2000). Gender, marriage, and expectations of personal care. Research on Aging, 22(4), 451–69.
41.
StollerE. P. (1993). Gender and the organization of lay health care: A socialist-feminist perspective, Journal of Aging Studies, 7, 151–170.
42.
StoneR. I.CafferataG. L., & SanglJ. (1987). Caregivers of the frail elderly: A national profile. The Gerontologist, 27, 616–626.
43.
TennestedtS. L.McKinlayJ. B., & SullivanL. M. (1989). Informal care for frail elders: The role of secondary caregivers. The Gerontologist, 29, 677–683.
44.
ThompsonE. (1994). Older men as invisible in contemporary society. In ThompsonE. (Ed.), Older men's lives (pp. 197–217). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
45.
ThompsonE. T. (2002). What's unique about men caregivers? In KramerB. J. & ThompsonE. H.Jr. (Eds.), Men as caregivers: Theory, research and service implications (pp. 20–50) New York: Springer Publishing.
46.
WagnerD. L. (1997). Comparative data of caregiving data for caregivers to the elderly, 1987 and 1997. Bethesda, MD: National Alliance for Caregiving.
