Men, Masculinity and Unpaid Work: Experiences of Indian Millennials

Are Indian millennial men more engaged in household chores? Are they resisting hegemonic masculinity and traditional gender norms? Do they practise masculinity that is characterised by higher engagement of men in household chores and gender-atypical division of household chores? In-depth interviews with 17 educated, married, middle-class urban Indian millennial men working at managerial positions in different Indian organisations provide interesting answers to the above questions. This study explores the changing notions of masculinity among Indian millennials from (un)doing gender perspective and the factors behind it. Findings suggest weakening perceptions of hegemonic masculinity tenets among Indian millennial men as they do not believe in the concepts such as 'men as primary breadwinner', 'men as the head of the family', and 'male privilege’. Though exposed to traditional gendered views and hegemonic masculinity ideals during their childhood as they saw their parents preach and practice doing gender for fulfilling household responsibilities, our respondents profess gender-neutral attitudes about household chores. Their accounts show that their masculinity is characterised by egalitarian division of household chores, i.e., they practice masculinity that retrenches hegemonic masculinity. Our findings suggest that several economic and demographic factors have reshaped Indian millennial men's attitudes towards gender norms and masculinity. Implications are discussed.