Masculinities

Aims and objectives: This study aimed to develop knowledge on the experiences of male partners of women with cervical cancer during and after the illness. We explore men's experiences of becoming caregivers as well as how the illness trajectory affects or has affected the relationship. Background: Receiving a cancer diagnosis has a significant impact on the lives of both the cancer patient and their family members. However, studies of male partners' experiences with cancer patients are scarce.

Engaging men and boys to do unpaid care work is key to achieving gender justice. This article argues that caregiving programmes with men can be effective and serve as an entry point to engage men as allies for feminist agendas. There is a need to increase the uptake and scale-up of such initiatives, while ensuring quality, local contextualisation and ownership, and full accountability to women and girls.

Providing care to a partner with cancer can have a significant impact on a carer’s well-being and experience of subjectivity. However, there is little research examining how men experience the role of cancer carer, and in particular, how they negotiate constructions of gender in this role. This paper draws on a single case study of a heterosexual man caring for his partner, and conducts a narrative analysis of the construction and performance of masculine subjectivity.