Abstract
This essay explores changing attitudes towards male caregivers in postwar America to understand conceptions of prepubescent gender and sexuality. While the 1950s have been viewed as a period of rigid gender conventions, the demands of a baby boom generation allowed men unexpected roles as caregivers. In the 1960s and 1970s, challenges to the status quo along with fears of female-headed households encouraged men to move into the field of child care, but this was particularly short lived. Political backlash and a failing economy turned male daycare workers into suspects, revealing the ambiguity that so often distorts children's interactions with men.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 275-290 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Sexuality and Culture |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2008 |
Keywords
- 1970s
- Babysitters
- Childcare
- Cold War
- Day care
- Homosexuality
- Masculinity