ABSTRACT
This chapter details a generational frame of reference among young working-class men that presupposes the possibility for gender non-conformity, rather than attachment to traditional notions of a gendered domain in the home. This opening up of acceptable behaviours and reference points is consistent with the core tenets of Anderson’s Inclusive Masculinity Theory, where the prospect of being ‘feminised’ invokes less cultural fear, but also reflects a contemporary working-class masculine habitus, infused with productive and egalitarian attitudes. The current configuration of economic, social and political contexts means that retaining gender-equal ideals from one’s early twenties can and sometimes needs to be realised as young men become partners and parents into their late twenties. This particular applicability for working-class young men, who, the chapter contends, are most likely to transition toward such gender non-conformity.
