Men in our culture are experiencing various crises to which pastors and pastoral caregivers are called to respond. These crises include changing role definitions and gender expectations, as well as diminishing economic opportunities. In light of these crises, men need new foundations for self-esteem and identity and new support for changing. With their different experiences and specialties, the contributors to The Care of Men examine some crises and provide helpful ideas for caregivers in diverse situations with diverse populations of men.

Sharing the care of children in families is increasingly becoming the norm in modern-day society as more mothers enter paid work and government campaigns endeavour to increase the number of men working in childcare. However, running alongside debates of gender imbalance in childcare, there has also been mounting anxiety from the media and public about the risks of child abuse, often perceived as being mostly perpetrated by men and calling for firmer regulation of men’s involvement with children. This book asks whether men’s care for children, both as fathers and practitioners, actually differs at all from the care provided by mothers and female carers? In what ways do men and concepts of masculinity need to change if they are to play a greater role in the care of children or are such societal perceptions based on outdated gender stereotypes? Bringing together cutting-edge theory, up-to-date research and current practice, this book analyses the role of both fathers and male professionals working with children and highlights the implications of this for future policy and practice. It also examines dominant notions of masculinity and representations of male carers in the media and popular culture, asking how our societal expectations may need to evolve if men are to play an equal role in the care of children as demanded by current policy and wider social developments.

The idea of the sensitive, post-feminist 'new man' has received great attention. This book sets out to determine how much of the hype is based on fact, and why such images have proliferated in the media. McMahon focuses on the pivotal issue of men's relationship to the vital daily work of caring for people - both physically and emotionally - revealing much confusion about the extent and the interpretation of change. Using statistical data, as well as interview transcripts and media analysis, McMahon draws insightful distinctions between pleasure and performance, assistance and responsibility, gendered personality and gendered jobs, and - underlying all - between consumption and production. Incorporating social theory, psychology and popular culture, this book argues that recent social conversation about men largely avoids the important political point that men's material interests provide a major motivation for resistance to pro-equity change.

The role of men in early childhood education and care is crucial for the future of all children growing up in a gender sensitive world. Achieving greater diversity and gender balance in the workforce has proved a challenging goal, despite concerted efforts on the part of individuals, institutions, and governments around the world. Many men remain reluctant to enter the profession, and once they choose this work many leave. This book explores how men in the field make their career decisions to remain in or leave the profession. Taking a broad international perspective and exploring the role of gender in these career decisions, contributors from around the globe unpack how gender concepts influence men’s career trajectories. Through their collaborative research, the team of 17 gender and early childhood researchers investigate various critical and relevant factors such as professionalisation, workplace environment, leadership, day to day interactions in the workplace, societal considerations, internal motivations, agency, masculinities, and critical moments in career decision making. Using cultural, racial, ethnic, and social class lenses to examine men’s career decisions over their professional lives, the contributors’ unique approach uncovers the complexity of the issue and offers evidence-based recommendations for policy both on national and local levels. These include practical suggestions to directors and managers who care about achieving a gender-mixed workforce. Accessible and enlightening, this is a unique resource for scholars, policymakers, and any others in the education community who support boosting the inclusion of men in early childhood education.

EPUB and EPDF available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Some have argued that more men should play a role in ending violence against women – but what do we know about those men who are already doing so? Using case studies from Spain, Sweden and the UK, this book highlights those men who are already taking action. Examining the social, cultural, political and economic factors that support men to take a public stance, the authors explore what we can learn from their experiences in order to help build the movement to end violence against women. This important study will inform scholars and students of sociology and gender studies, as well as social movements and organisations working to involve and engage men and boys in achieving gender equality.

′Working with Men in Health and Social Care is a very welcome contribution to the stock of books on men and masculinities. It is especially useful for those interested in direct practice and policy applications in the fields of welfare, and for those who work with the problems men create, the problems men experience, and their interconnections′ - Jeff Hearn, co-editor Men and Masculinities, University of Huddersfield and Linköping University Working with Men in Health and Social Care is an important and timely book that introduces the complex issues and debates involved in working with men in a range of professional settings. The authors locate academic and popular discourse on masculinities within the specific context of health and social care settings, critically analysing the theory and policy that underpin and inform practice, and continually linking theoretical frameworks to ′real-life′ practice examples. Section 1 contextualises the topic with a discussion of gender theory, social policy and the occupational culture of relevant organisations Section 2 provides a summary of practice models, examining practice with men as individuals, as well as in groups, families and communities Section 3 is organised according to specific groups of service users and includes chapters on fathers, abusive men, physical and mental health, boys, and older men This thought-provoking and topical book will be essential reading for students and academics in social work, health care, probation, counselling, and allied disciplines, and for those facing the reality of working with men in their day-to-day practice.

This book fills a major gap in the literature by providing comprehensive guidelines for the care of male patients through the lifecycle and across healthcare settings. Devoted solely to improving men’s health, this book serves as an accessible, practical reference for clinicians treating these patients. It focuses on the psychosocial challenges that men encounter in obtaining healthcare as well as acute and chronic medical and psychological diseases. The book also offers current evidence-based guidelines for wellness and health maintenance. Topics include the problem of help seeking, preventative services, sexual dysfunction, cardiovascular health, prostate cancer screening, and testosterone deficiency. Men’s Health in Primary Care is a valuable resource for primary care clinicians and students in family medicine, internal medicine, and adolescent medicine.

Caring is all around us and is manifested in diverse settings such as parenting, friendships, volunteering, altruism, mentoring, teaching, pet adoption, and gardening. The study of caring, the giving end of our relations, has been dispersed among a large variety of research paradigms (e.g., evolution, brain research, attachment theory, feminism, altruism, volunteering, parenting, social support, prosocial development, organizational citizenship behavior and sustainability) and this has impeded our understanding of caring. The Caring Motivation is a pioneering attempt to bring the diverse research on caring together and to examine caring as a motivation from a broad perspective that relies on these very diverse literatures. Author Ofra Mayseless underscores that we as a species have an innate, biologically driven and evolutionarily chosen, yet contextually sensitive, general motivation to care, tend, empower, and nurture. Several intriguing insights emerge, and a conceptual model of caring as a fundamental and encompassing human motivation is presented. This is the first time that such a model is discussed in detail and its presentation helps us understand core common processes of caring across diverse targets as well as unique adaptations. The model presents for the first time a comprehensive view on how caring is psychologically activated and sustained and underscores the importance of life meaning and purpose in its enactment. The book also introduces a preliminary and innovative model of the universal developmental course of the caring motivational system from infancy to adulthood. This novel and pioneering view opens up exciting new arenas for research and for applications in psychotherapy, education, human growth, spirituality and religions, leadership and organizational behavior, and human sciences in general and highlights the pivotal place of care in our lives.

Health and Illness provides a comprehensive, concise and accessible introduction to the topic, presented in an attractive manner, with relevant activities and exercises to ensure that students' learning is as active as possible. The activities, which are a central feature of the book, develop study skills such as essay writing, note-taking and responding to data/stimulus questions.