The Doing Masculinity of Older Men

In recent years, research on masculinities, in particular the question of hegemonic masculinity and alternatives to it, has mostly focussed on fathers and men of working age. In our qualitative research project “Comparing three generations of fathers in Poland and Germany: continuity and change in practices of fatherhood”, we interviewed (young) fathers as well as grandfathers and great-grandfathers. The presentation will explore how men who have already retired from working life and are between 70 and 90 years old create masculinity in the sense of Doing Masculinity and present it in the interview. The men were mainly asked about their memories as fathers, i.e. about topics and practices that in some cases date back 50 years or more. However, they also talk about themselves as (great)grandfathers and about their own sons as fathers, sometimes distancing themselves from them or regretting that they themselves were not particularly active as fathers. In all of these interview passages, they always present themselves as men and do masculinity. The reference to paid work, which has formed the centre of their lives for many decades, proves to be central for some of them. For this presentation, we are therefore pursuing the following research questions: Are hegemonic ideas of masculinity, which are usually based on physical activity, professional success and fatherhood, still the relevant criteria for presenting oneself as a man/masculine at this age or are other standards applied here? How important is care, for example, both for oneself and one's own body, but also for others, such as one's partner, children and grandchildren? On the other hand, what significance does professional life/paid work still have for the production of masculinity? We would like to explore these questions in our presentation on the basis of empirical material and theoretical-critical considerations.