“women’s work” to be a chore that lowers their worth, as the feminine role is less valued
than the male role. For these reasons, men are antipathetic not only to women’s work,
but also to the sphere of women—the private sphere. And, aside from the nature or value
of the work, egalitarianism confers additional responsibilities and demands upon men,
thereby causing men to perceive it as an unfavorable alternative.
Also problematic is the fact that no legitimate successor to the good provider role
has materialized; no new masculine identity has become available to men (Bernard, 1981;
Riley, 2003). Riley (2003) asserts that the egalitarian gender role is understood to be a
gender-neutral, rather than a masculine, role. Because of this, men who engage in the
egalitarian role are not viewed as men, and often revert to the good provider role in order
to assert their masculinity. Furthermore, the construction of egalitarianism as genderneutral
and provision as masculine posits them as noncompetitive alternatives, and allows
the simultaneous acceptance of both without the critical questioning of the provider role.
Men’s lack of support for egalitarian gender roles can further be explained by the
culturally framing of manhood as something that must be achieved or accomplished,
most often through a successful career or family provision. In contrast, womanhood is
perceived as something that is “natural.” Nurturing is thought to be intrinsic to each
woman’s being. Due to this cultural framework, men feel the necessity to prove their
masculinity. Such proof entails the avoidance of departures from the masculine norm and
the constraint of feminine attributes. Subscription to or support for egalitarian gender
roles may be construed as evidence against a man’s masculinity, and is therefore
suppressed (Brines, 1994).