Author(s)

Ying Liu ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China

Corresponding Author

Ying Liu

ABSTRACT

As solo living has become increasingly common among women, home repair-a domain traditionally dominated by men-has turned into an unavoidable daily task for women living alone. Drawing on qualitative interviews and thematic analysis, this study explores the motivations, skill-acquisition pathways, and subjective reconstruction of solo-living women who perform independent home repair. Findings show that women engage in self-repair driven by household malfunctions, financial concerns, safety anxieties, and a desire for self-reliance. Their repair skills are acquired mainly through digital platform tutorials and iterative hands-on practice. Home repair practices challenge the stereotype that "women lack technical aptitude," strengthen their sense of control over daily life, reshape gender perceptions and female subjectivity, and constitute a micro-level restructuring of gender order within private domestic spaces.

KEYWORDS

Solo-Living Women; Home Repair; Gender Order; Technical Learning; Subjectivity

CITE THIS PAPER

Ying Liu. Gender Order, Technical Learning, and Subjectivity Construction in Home Repair Practices of Solo-Living Women. Journal of Sociology and Ethnology (2026). Vol. 8, No.1, 143-152. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/jsoce.2026.080119.

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