Migration, Masculinities and Reproductive Labour

"This pioneering monograph on migrant men and domestic work offers unique perspectives on a globally diverse set of migrant men cleaning, caring and tending to people in Italy. It is a must-read for anyone interested in men, migration and reproductive labor." (Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, University of Southern California, USA) "The authors are to be congratulated for an incisive and innovative analysis of gender, migration and the international division of reproductive labour which challenges the dichotomy between hegemonic masculinity and subordinate forms of femininity. Based on rich ethnographic research extending over a decade, the book highlights the construction of masculinity in the private sphere and not just in public spaces and institutions, and the multiple roles of men as providers, carers, fathers and husbands." (Eleonore Kofman, Middlesex University, UK) "Globalized care work has long been considered a female domain, whether one is talking about the caregivers or the consumers. This original and important book opens up a new dimension in the study of contemporary migration and social reproduction by focusing on masculinities and the role of men. Drawing on ethnography, interviews and narratives over time and using Italy as a case study, Gallo and Scrinzi challenge existing theories of masculinity as well as perceptions of care work. Through sensitive interpretations of their own data, they offer fresh insights into how gender, along with race, ethnicity and, especially in Italy, religion shape care labour, and how male migrants' negotiations of their situations affect family dynamics in both sending and receiving countries. Migration, Masculinities and Reproductive Labour: Men of the Home is bound to become an instant classic in the field." (Sonya Alice Michel, University of Maryland, USA) "This book offers a highly original and critical contribution to the scholarly debate on reproductive labour, global care chains and gender. Francesca Scrinzi and Ester Gallo explore how migrant men enter the area of reproductive labour seeking for respectable and legal employment, how they thus address criminalisation and racialization discourses and seek to strategically turn them on their head. This book unpacks the many facets of masculinity in care work casting new light to our understanding of gendered migrations." (Anna Triandafyllidou, European University Institute, Italy)

Based on an ethnographic analysis of the working and family lives of migrant men within the IDRL, it focuses on the practices and strategies of migrant men employed as domestic/care workers in Italy.

This innovative book analyses the role gender plays in the relationship between globalisation, migration and reproductive labour. Exploring the gendered experiences of migrant men and the social construction of racialised masculinities in the context of the 'international division of reproductive labour' (IDRL), it examines how new patterns of consumption and provision of paid domestic/care work lead to forms of inequality across racial, ethnic, gender and class lines. Based on an ethnographic analysis of the working and family lives of migrant men within the IDRL, it focuses on the practices and strategies of migrant men employed as domestic/care workers in Italy. The authors highlight how migrant men's experiences of reproductive labour and family are shaped by global forces and national public policies, and how they negotiate the changes and potential conflicts that their 'feminised' jobs entail. They draw on the voices of men and women of different nationalities to show how masculinities are constructed within the home through migrant men's interactions with male and female employers, women relations and their wider ethnic network. Bridging the divide between scholarship on international migration, care work and masculinity studies, this book will interest sociologists, anthropologists, economists, political scientists and social policy experts.