Distances and proximities of care : Analysing emotio-spatial distances in informal caring

Abstract

This article analyses how emotio-spatial distances in informal caring are experienced by Finnish women who are employed and simultaneously caring for an ageing relative. The article's research questions are: how do spatial distance and proximity shape informal carers' emotional responses to caring? What kinds of emotion do spatial ‘distance’ or ‘proximity’ evoke in the interview accounts of informal carers? The article draws on theorisations regarding emotional geographies of care. The data consists of two focus group interviews with a total of 12 women who were combining employment with caring. The analysis shows that spatially proximate carers have difficulty detaching from caring, whereas spatially distant carers experience feelings of worry and insecurity regarding the well-being of their care partner. However, in some cases spatial distance also functions as a way for carers to set limits on the amount and intensity of care. The article illustrates the complex ways emotions enter and shape caringscapes, i.e. the spatio-temporal frameworks of care. The analysis also highlights gendered dynamics both among (potential) carers and in care partnerships, and how these dynamics are reflected across varying distances.