Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
ASIAN WOMEN, cilt.41, sa.4, ss.105-123, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus)
In recent decades, transformations in aging, labor markets, and gender relations have made early retirement a crucial site for understanding the reconfiguration of masculinity. Within the national context of Turkiye, where hegemonic masculine identity remains central, this study aims to investigate changes in the patriarchal conditioning of middle-class early retirement masculinity. The study employs a qualitative design based on in-depth interviews with 24 early retired men from Turkiye and analyzes their narratives through a gender-sensitive interpretive approach. The findings suggest that in contemporary Turkish society, the patriarchal conditioning of early retirement masculinity in the domestic sphere, which underlies the belief that roles associated with femininity, such as domestic work and childcare, are exclusively for women, has been disrupted. The findings show that with men's participation in domestic and care work, the patriarchal norms shaping masculinity are disrupted, and caring and egalitarian masculinities are being constructed. While some still emphasize traditional gender roles, others combine compassionate, egalitarian, and role-model masculinities. The study reveals how early retired men renegotiate patriarchal norms in a non-Western context and how patriarchal conditioning is being transformed.