Men's work, masculinities and gender divisions of labour

Gender analysis with an explicit focus on men and masculinities has yet to be applied to many developing country contexts or to issues of gender divisions of labour. This article explores the shape that such analyses might take, arguing for a greater conceptual emphasis, in studies of gender divisions of labour on embodied subjectivities, on agency and on the complexity of gender domination, and for further methodological critique of definitions and measurement of work. Through a discussion of mainly south Asian examples it is suggested that specific groups of men experience well-being threats as a consequence of high work intensity. It is also proposed that we gain a better understanding of gender divisions of labour including how women might make use of codes of manliness, through greater analytical attention to men's work and masculinities, since women's investments in subject positions, and agency, develops in relation to men's.