Since the industrialization, the role of breadwinning has been part of the male gender identity. Even though it today has become more common with female breadwinners, the previous assumption of the man as a breadwinner is still a norm in society. This study examines what this norm breaking means for women and their relationships with their men. The purpose is to study Swedish women's experiences of being a breadwinner, how it affects the relationship and the roles one has in a relationship. Previous research has mainly been focused on objective financial aspects of female breadwinning but there is a lack of women's subjective experiences. This study is based on qualitative interviews with seven Swedish female breadwinners. The study shows that education is fundamental to explaining their role as female breadwinner. It also shows that the women's personal traits and good relationships with their men explains their experiences of being a female breadwinner. / Rollen som familjeförsörjare har sedan industrialiseringen varit en del av den manliga könsidentiteten. Trots att det idag blivit vanligare med kvinnliga familjeförsörjare, är den tidigare föreställningen om mannen som försörjare fortsatt en norm i samhället. I denna studie undersöks vad denna normbrytning betyder för kvinnorna och deras relationer till sina män. Syftet är att studera svenska kvinnors upplevelser av att vara familjeförsörjare, hur det påverkar relationen och de roller man har i en relation. Tidigare forskning har i hög grad fokuserat på objektiva finansiella aspekter av kvinnlig familjeförsörjning där det finns en avsaknad av kvinnors subjektiva upplevelser. Den här studien är baserad på kvalitativa intervjuer med sju svenska kvinnliga familjeförsörjare. Studien visar att utbildning är grundläggande för att förklara deras roll som familjeförsörjare. Studien visar också att kvinnornas personliga egenskaper och goda relationer till sina män förklarar deras upplevelser av att vara familjeförsörjare.

According to the traditional gender structures the man is seen as the breadwinner and the woman as the housewife. These traditional patterns are slowly being replaced by more equal relationships and today, women are a natural part of the workforce. It is becoming increasingly common nowadays for women in relationships to have a higher income than their partners. Previous research from the United States points out that the connection between the role as family provider and masculinity is still up to date. In this study the man’s experiences about not being the breadwinner is accordingly investigated. Questions about the division of labour in the home, equality in the relationship and how the man experiences the change of the traditional gender structures is in focus. This qualitative study finds its result based on six swedish male respondents experiences concerning not being the main wage earners. The result of the study indicate that these men is actively striving towards an equal daily life as it seems to be the ideal in Sweden. The interviewed men describe that they do not attach significant importance regarding them not being the breadwinner, but shades of strategies that are used to maintain parts of the traditional masculinity can however be interpreted. Keywords: / Enligt de traditionella könsstrukturerna så ses mannen som familjeförsörjaren och kvinnan ses som hemmafrun. Dessa traditionella mönster ersätts sakta men säkert av mer jämställda relationer och idag är kvinnor en naturlig del av arbetskraften. Det blir numer allt vanligare att kvinnan i relationer har en högre inkomst än sin partner. Tidigare forskning från USA poängterar att kopplingen mellan rollen som familjeförsörjare och manlighet fortfarande är aktuell. I denna studie undersöks därmed mannens upplevelser av att inte vara den huvudsakliga inkomsttagaren. Frågor gällande arbetsfördelningen i hemmet, jämställdhet i relationen och hur mannen upplever förändringen av de traditionella könsstrukturerna står i centrum. Denna kvalitativa studie finner sitt resultat baserat på sex svenska manliga intervjupersoners upplevelser angående att inte vara den huvudsakliga inkomsttagaren. Studiens resultat tyder på att dessa män aktivt strävar efter att leva ett jämställt vardagsliv då det tycks vara idealet i Sverige. De intervjuade männen beskriver att de inte fäster någon större betydelse vid att de inte är huvudinkomsttagaren, däremot kan nyanser uttydas av att strategier trots allt används för att bibehålla delar av den traditionella manligheten.

Violating social norms often elicits a negative public response aimed at punishing norm violators and dissuading others from following their lead. One way to understand reactions to norm violations is through the moral panic framework. This framework identifies the reactions that an emergent norm-violating social group is likely to experience. These reactions are characterized as overexaggerated, often blaming the group for the consequences of their norm violation and suggesting that the public should fear the group. I hypothesized that social attitudes towards female breadwinner relationships (FBRs), which violate heteronormative gender norms, would reflect these, and other, moral panic characteristics. However, I expected that these characteristics would be less extreme, and thus I proposed that social reactions to FBRs would reflect a kind of moral anxiety. To test this hypothesis, I conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of 94 magazine and newspaper articles concerning FBRs, and five themes emerged. First, the articles emphasized the social change that these relationships represent. Second, gender role expectations were often discussed, with many more articles reinforcing traditional gender role expectations than non-traditional gender role expectations. Third, most articles described costs of FBRs while only a minority described benefits, and most costs concerned the couple as a whole instead of either partner individually. Fourth, societal reactions to this change were often described, and most reactions were negative. And fifth, many articles offered tips for FBRs, often focused on overcoming the costs associated with such bonds. This pattern of reactions to FBRs ultimately demonstrated many of the characteristics of moral anxiety. Overall, these media articles portrayed FBRs as undesirable relationships involving stressed women and emasculated men: a stigmatizing portrayal that could dissuade others from pursuing such relationships. / Graduate / 2021-04-08

For decades, the man has been seen as the ideal of the role of the main breadwinner and the woman as the nurturing carer. As women become more educated, this leads to more females becoming breadwinners. Thus, being the main breadwinner as a woman is still a norm-breaking role today, but one that is likely to become increasingly common in the future. The aim of the study is thus to gain an understanding of the division of unpaid labour as these women may be considered norm-breakers. Furthermore, we want to reach an understanding of how/ if these women experience conflict when it comes to the role of primary breadwinner and her role as a mother. This qualitative study is based on interviews with female breadwinners who work full-time and are mothers. The theoretical framework of the study consists of Berger and Luckmann's theory of socialization, West and Zimmerman's theory of Doing Gender, the Doing Family theory by David Morgan, and the work-family conflict by Greenhaus and Beutell. The results of the study suggest that the women experience a conflict between their roles as mothers as well as working women. It also shows that women have different perceptions of equality in the home and the distribution of unpaid work. / Mannen har länge ansetts vara idealet för rollen som den huvudsakliga familjeförsörjaren och kvinnan som den omhändertagande omsorgstagaren. I takt med att kvinnor utbildar sig i allt högre utsträckning leder det till att allt fler kvinnor blir familjeförsörjare. Att vara den huvudsakliga familjeförsörjaren som kvinna är således än idag en normbrytande roll men som förmodligen kommer att bli allt mer vanligt förekommande i framtiden. Syftet med studien är således att nå en förståelse för hur uppdelningen av det obetalda arbetet ser ut då dessa kvinnor kan anses vara normbrytande. Vi söker dessutom att nå en förståelse för hur/om dessa kvinnor upplever en konflikt när det kommer till rollen som huvudsaklig familjeförsörjare och hennes roll som mamma. Denna kvalitativa studie baserar sitt resultat utifrån intervjuer med kvinnliga familjeförsörjare som är heltidsarbetande och mammor. Studiens teoretiska ramverk består Berger och Luckmanns teori om socialisation, West och Zimmermans teori Doing Gender, teorin Doing Family av David Morgan samt Work- family conflict av Greenhaus och Beutell. Studiens resultat tyder på att kvinnorna upplever en konflikt mellan sin roll som mamma såväl som huvudsaklig familjeförsörjare. Det framkommer även att upplevelsen av uppdelningen av hushållsarbetet anses vara ojämnt fördelat i olika mån.

In modern South African society, many women have overcome traditional notions of gender by becoming breadwinners in their homes and providing primary financial support for their families. Employing a Phenomenological Feminist viewpoint, this dissertation contextualises the meaning that South African female breadwinners (FBW) ascribe to their experiences within their lived environment, utilising data collected from in-depth, unstructured interviews with FBW from the Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces. While taking into consideration their intersectional experiences of gender, race, as well as cultural and traditional societal pressures, this study represents these womens’ voices in order to understand how they make meaning of and negotiate their spaces and roles as breadwinners. In the course of interviews and analysis, the realities faced by FBW revealed experiences, individual and communal, shared and unique, which expose archaic divisions of gender within our society, which have been hiding behind constructions of reform advocating equality among the sexes. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

In modern South African society, many women have overcome traditional notions of gender by becoming breadwinners in their homes and providing primary financial support for their families. Employing a Phenomenological Feminist viewpoint, this dissertation contextualises the meaning that South African female breadwinners (FBW) ascribe to their experiences within their lived environment, utilising data collected from in-depth, unstructured interviews with FBW from the Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces. While taking into consideration their intersectional experiences of gender, race, as well as cultural and traditional societal pressures, this study represents these womens’ voices in order to understand how they make meaning of and negotiate their spaces and roles as breadwinners. In the course of interviews and analysis, the realities faced by FBW revealed experiences, individual and communal, shared and unique, which expose archaic divisions of gender within our society, which have been hiding behind constructions of reform advocating equality among the sexes. / Psychology / M. A. (Psychology)