CARING MASCULINITY OR HYBRID MASCULINITY? AN ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH RESULTS ON MALE NURSES IN POLAND

In studies on men and masculinities, there is an increasing number of theories, which result from development, discussions and criticism in the area. However, in the context of this paper, two ways of describing masculinities are taken into account, i.e. caring masculinities and hybrid masculinities. The article analyses research results on male nurses in Poland, which were performed by means of in-depth interviews, according to theoretical assumptions on caring and hybrid masculinities. The interviews revealed varying ways of perceiving masculinities in the context of care. Out of the ways identified by the Author, the study focuses on the analysis of how to define masculinity as a belief that masculinity is accomplished by ensuring hegemonic masculinity. It also shows how this way of defining masculinity is related to the assumptions of hybrid masculinity. As a result, the analyses show that caring masculinities are not only diverse but also that the very term is disputable with regard to masculinities involved in various types of care.