Stay-at-home men

A stay-at-home husband (also ‘househusband’) may be defined as a husband that chooses to stay at home instead of working at a career. A stay-at-home father (alternatively, ‘stay-at-home dad’, ‘house dad’, ‘housespouse’) is a term used to describe a father who is the main carer of the children and is the homemaker of the household.

As we will see in the next section, the number of househusbands and stay-at-home fathers has been gradually increasing, especially in Western nations. Although the role is still subject to many gender stereotypes, and men may have difficulties accessing parenting benefits, communities and services targeted at mothers, it is becoming more socially acceptable. The roles offer economic benefits to the family, and enable strong emotional development for the children. However, in some regions of the world, the stay-at-home husband/father remains culturally unacceptable.

Stay-at-home husbands and fathers are of interest to researchers and service providers for several reasons. To begin with, they are a testimony to the changes occurring in gender identities. Househusbands have broken with traditional gender role norms and, as a result, must carve out their own paternal and masculine identities within spaces traditionally considered feminine (Doucet, 2004, 2006). This is a challenge for social theory and social research. Home and private life have been significant in the formation of modern female identities (Giles, 2004). As seen in the introductory chapter to this book, the transformation from household artisan production to early industrial production was grounded in the creation of an outside-the-home male wage worker who was economically dependent on a boss, but also functioned as an independent economic provider for dependent wives and families. Consequentially, men became dependent on women's care and support. Employment has for a long time played a key role in the construction and reproduction of masculinity. For example, traditionally male jobs became a proving ground for masculinity, and organisational structures and practices provided the means to demonstrate one's virility (see, eg, Iacuone, 2005). Women's care and support in the household were seen as necessary pillars of that identity.