Man Enough to Care: Intersections of Masculinities, Care, and Aging.

Two contrasting strategies of performing masculinity within a feminized profession were identified among male nurses.

• The first strategy involved adaptation of hegemonic masculinity through incorporation of caring elements.
• The second strategy involved re-masculinization of care through relationality, emotional openness, and rejection of dominance.
• These strategies were identified through thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 12 men employed in nursing in the Czech Republic.
• Data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti software following COREQ guidelines.

Physical strength operates as an ambivalent resource for male nurses, functioning differently depending on age.

• Physical strength grants younger men legitimacy and status within the nursing profession.
• Physical strength becomes a source of vulnerability with age.
• This ambivalence was identified as a key theme intersecting masculinity, care, and aging.
• The finding integrates the perspective of aging into the framework of caring masculinities.

Male nurses conceptualized care as a universal human skill rather than a gendered role.

• This conceptualization was identified through inductive grounded theory and thematic analysis.
• The study used in-depth interviews with 12 male nurses in the Czech Republic.
• This framing contributes to critical research on men and masculinities.
• The finding expands the framework of caring masculinities by integrating an aging perspective.

The practices of men in nursing simultaneously reinforce and challenge the existing gender order.

• The study employed a qualitative design grounded in inductive grounded theory.
• Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed through thematic analysis.
• The sample consisted of 12 men employed in nursing in the Czech Republic.
• The study followed COREQ guidelines for qualitative research reporting.