‘An egalitarian politics of care: young female carers and the intersectional inequalities of gender, class and age’

Author(s): Basak Akkan
Publisher: Feminist Theory
Year Published: 2020
Resource type: Peer Reviewed Research Article

Summary:

A great deal of feminist literature addressed caregiving, gendered care, ethics of care and human rights. The author reviews the concept of ‘care’ by exploring different ‘care’ related research and the inequalities that relate to ‘care-work’ when considering gender and class. They argue that there is not enough information about how age relates to caregiving. Therefore, in this theoretical paper, the author makes a case to consider age within the caregiving context. They argue that age can make young carers experience inequalities that can make them more vulnerable. For instance, young female carers can be considered to have a subordinated status because of how we view caregiving in our society. Caregiving is gendered and since young girls and women engage in more household tasks, it limits their time spent elsewhere (leisure, friends, education). In addition, when young female caregivers do not get recognized for their role, the author argues it can impact their resources and sense of independence. This in turn can shape their identity formation.

Citation:

Akkan, B. (2020). An egalitarian politics of care: young female carers and the intersectional inequalities of gender, class and age. Feminist Theory, 2(1), 47–64.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1464700119850025

Keywords: Dual conceptualisation of care, intersectionality, gender, class and age, young carers,
inequality, participatory parity

Where the data was collected: Not applicable. A theoretical paper without a specified location.