'The Masculine Mystique'

The following article offers an interesting insight into what could be seen as the ‘baggage of being a bloke’. Traditional gender roles such as breadwinner and housewife it is widely held are now not as concrete as in the past, with more women now working for instance. The assumption being that men would adapt to changes in society and as more women went out to work, men would assist with housework and childcare. However, many feminists still argue that despite improvements for women in society, there is still a huge divide between the tasks women perform versus those men do in the household. The term dual burden refers to when an individual performs work outside of the home as well as complete the majority of household tasks like cleaning and childcare. Feminists argue that women are more likely to experience this.

This article focuses on how some of these changes in society have impacted men since the 1950s and significantly, how men are expected to be both traditionally masculine (strong, sexually assertive) as well as being able to adapt to non-traditional roles such as being stay-at-home dads or working part-time. Another fascinating aspect of the article is the influence, or lack thereof of appropriate role models for men in contemporary society.

The article and its follow-up discussion links to a number of sociological topics and concepts, including; culture and identity, gender and equality and families and households.