Manliga förebilder inom socialt arbete : föreställningar, praktik och organisation

Among those who graduate from the various schools of Social work in Sweden are a great majority women. At the same time men are sought after in the work field. But not just to level up the equality between the sexes, but also to fill a gender specific niche to counter up a need for male role models. But a closer look at this need and the types of functions set to cater for it shows that male role models as a concept vary between contexts. In this study we examine the concepts and the practices of male role models in three different settings: a municipal social care center offering young boys male bonding activities; a non-profit organization warding young people from drug abuse and criminal behavior; and last, a long term residential home for young boys between the ages 13 and 19. Our research shows that the concept of the male role model vary between the organizations and less so within. By the means of semi-structured interviews we examine representatives from the three organizations and their both personal and professional views on what a male role model is. By using a social-constructionistic frame work to understand and interpret our data we conclude that the concept of a male role model is used out of different ideas of manliness; either a man who transcends gender stereotypes, or a man who manifests them – a fact that per se contests the idea of gender as innate. How these come to vary is a question of the conditions of the organization when it comes to the relationship between professional and client of either being conditioned by official constraints or personal closeness. But the pivotal factor to understand the variations is the gender mix. The organizations representing a stereotypical concept of manliness are almost exclusively of one sex, while the other hold equal amounts of women and men. To transcend the barrier of gender stereotypes it is necessary to share experience of both sexes for creating awareness of sameness, instead of claiming difference. This can also help give the young male client an alternative approach to an adult male identity beyond his socially given horizon.