To cook, sew, to be a man: The socialization for competence and Black men's involvement in housework
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2006
Journal / Book Title
Sex Roles
Abstract
The context in which Black children do housework and its effect on adult behavior have been relatively unexplored. This article presents analyses of the recollections of 45 Black fathers of young children about performing household chores when they were children and its relevance for their involvement in housework as adults. The fathers' relatively high involvement in housework is traced to the 'socialization for competence' that most of them experienced as boys. Four dimensions in the socialization for competence are discussed: the actual household chores done in childhood, the ways of performing them, the rationale for assigning them, and parents' justifications for making children engage in housework. Although the childhood socialization for competence does not translate uniformly into men's sharing housework equally, it takes away ineptitude as an excuse for resisting housework as adults. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
DOI
10.1007/s11199-006-9343-1
Journal ISSN / Book ISBN
33746385816 (Scopus)
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Penha-Lopes, Vânia, "To cook, sew, to be a man: The socialization for competence and Black men's involvement in housework" (2006). Bloomfield College of Montclair State University Scholarship and Creative Works. 5.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/bloomfield_facpubs/5