남성의 육아휴직 사용은 돌봄의 탈젠더화를 촉진할 것인가?: 2010년대 중반 이후 남성 육아휴직자의 경험을 중심으로

This study examines the implications of fathers’ use of parental leave for changes in gender relations in Korea by in-depth interviews with men who have taken parental leave since the mid-2010s. In a trend where the expansion of fathers’ leave has impacted encouraging fathers’ involvement in childcare, this study analyzes whether fathers’ use of parental leave will be an opportunity to introduce the degenderization of care and ‘caring masculinity.’ Fathers who have taken parental leave shared housework before parental leave because their spouses were those with high income and job security. Moreover, they did not want to sacrifice their family life for promotion and distanced themselves from the gender stereotype that childcare was a woman’s job. However, only men whose spouses and grandparents could not participate in care could use parental leave, and most of them were unable to continue caring after returning to their jobs. Furthermore, the meaning of care during parental leave was usually focused on an opportunity to build close relationships with their children. Therefore, the expansion of fathers’ parental leave-taking did not mean the degenderizaion of care and ideal worker norm and gender inequality in the labor market should be changed.