Caring masculinities among working-class men in blue-collar occupations in the UK: Understanding biographies of care

Abstract

Research considering men, boys, and the concept of caring masculinities has proliferated in the last five years, although attention has predominantly been given to privileged men's practices of care in the private realm. In this article, we explore caring masculinities among working-class men in the United Kingdom employed in blue-collar work, highlighting the possibilities for transformation and change stemming from men in the margins. Drawing on narrative biographical interviews, we analyze in-depth case studies from two men. Their biographies illustrate practices and an ethos of care interwoven throughout both paid-work and other aspects of their lives, drawing attention to how caring dispositions are formed through histories of care throughout the lifecourse for working-class men. We also consider how care can circulate in workplaces that have been considered “low on care”, and how these men draw on working-class values of care and solidarity to challenge logics of capital at work.