Professional Identities of male nursery teachers : Masculinities and stigmatization.
In the present paper an attempt is being made to investigate the perceptions of male nursery teachers for the conceptualization of gendered identity in nursery school. Their presence in this as an exception causes their stigmatization and challenges the prevailing normative norms of masculinity. At the same time, the current views on the role of men in the care and education of young children are being highlighted, causing cracks in the patriarchal structures of Greek society. The present study was conducted in ten male nursery teachers in Attica and highlights the problematic “nature” and “obsession” with bipolar gendered performances, the stigmatization of men who do not mentally masculine their masculinity, and also reflects the conditions of inclusion of new masculinity styles which create the model of the father-nursery.