Do Men also Sell Garden-eggs?’: Paternal Childcare Among Teachers in Accra

Abstract

Childcare and other household tasks have in many cultures been seen as the domain of women, thus affecting the way both boys and girls are socialized. In Ghana, such role stereotypes are expressed in proverbs and everyday sayings, for instance, “women sell garden-eggs and not gun-powder”, indicating how men and women are constrained by specific norms. So in today’s Ghana, where husbands are not considered to be the sole providers for their families and where many women are educated and in formal, paid employment away from home, and where related female domestic helpers are scarcely available, how are men coping with potential pressures to do domestic work and childcare? – A matter of selling garden-eggs and thus a woman’s domain. This chapter looks at childcare by some male teachers in Accra. The study reported combined survey data, interviews and observations regarding factors linked to fathers’ childcare activities; care for and about not just their own biological children, but also relatives’ children. Thus male teachers are seen not only “selling gun-powder” (by staying within the bounds of a stereotyped caricature of male roles) but also (becoming involved with) “garden-eggs.”