Paper short abstract:

Drawing on ethnographic research in a low-income neighborhood in Cairo and recent studies of affect and gender, this paper explores the affective connections and the ethic of care that bind men and women and shape their daily practices and gendered identifications.

Paper long abstract:

Muslim men and women are often assumed to inhabit different spaces and have their own separate domains. Lost in these assumptions are the flows of affective connections and the ethic of care that bind men and women and shape their practices in a strong and effective way. Drawing on ethnographic research in a low-income neighborhood in northern Cairo and recent studies of affect and gender, this paper looks at notions of care and protection and how they are taught and materialized in emotional bonds and concrete engagements. In particular, I explore how women, especially mothers, work to cultivate a gendered ethic of care in young children that is expected to be part of their interaction with older and younger male and female members of their family and community. Looking at ethos and practices central to the constitution of masculinity such as providing, protecting, and aiding, the paper explores some of the challenges that rapid urbanization, unemployment, and lack of security pose to the constitution of masculinity and the affective connections men are expected to establish with significant others. The paper concludes by considering how to account for the ethics of care that connect men and women without losing sight of the gendered norms and patriarchal values that are being reproduced in the process.