Browsing by Author "Myntti, Mikko"

When moving to a new dwelling, residents try to make it a home or feel like one. This is done by customizing the space, getting used to it and the surroundings, decorating the apartment with their own things and finally by living there alone or with others. The result of this process is called feeling of home. Home making as is home and family in general is considered feminine. However, men also move and make homes, either alone or with someone else. In this study I look at the formation of the home and the feeling of home of men, as well as their roles at home when they move to live with their companion. I tell three different stories about moving in together: a couple moves into a new dwelling, a man moves into a woman's home and a woman moves into a man's home. The study is narrative in material and in analysis. The narrative analysis is made applying a model by Heikkinen (2018), in which a new wholesome narrative is constructed from fragmented material. The material consisted of three stories of heterosexual couples moving in together, presented in an audiovisual form on Muuttopäiväkirjat -reality show on Finnish public media service Yle. In the analysis I formed new narratives from the short scenes scattered between episodes, describing the formation of home from the man's point of view. I review these narratives comparing them to the theoretical background formed on home, relationship and the role of men, among other things. The results are narratives that construct social knowledge. They are based on my interpretation of the moves presented in the reality-tv series. The narratives are perspective-widening analysis rather than the truth about the moves presented in the series. The narratives I have formed tell about three different situations in which a man’s position in their home and relationship is formed in different ways: 1. A young couple’s expectations of home do not match each other 2. A man’s feeling of home gets broken and rebuild as a woman moves to his home 3. The man moves in with the woman and finds a home from the family