Full Description
Over the past few decades, scholarly and policy interest in fatherhood and fathering has burgeoned, in large part because of profound social changes in women's and men's lives in the last half of the twentieth century. However, this research has remained largely national in focus, with little cross-cultural dissemination of knowledge about fathering practices and supportive or constraining social policies.
This insightful volume presents a transatlantic perspective on fatherhood and fathering comparatively across nation states, as well as in individual countries (including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Norway.) Exploring the diversity of fatherhood, it encompasses differences across social class, race and ethnicity, age and life course, and varied household formations. The articles examine young fathers, separated and divorced fathers, fathers from minority ethnic and immigrant groups, working-class fathers, new fathers, gay fathers, and fathers of children with special needs. Readers can gauge the different "epochs" of fathering over time and explore the tension that fathers may experience between being good financial providers and actively caring for their children.
Topics of adversity in the face of fatherhood include non-residence, homelessness or poor housing; marginalization in wider society; racism; low-paying, unstable or lack of employment; and the struggle to find a work-family balance.
When looking at fatherhood on an international scale, it is imperative to ask if fathers' subjectivities and actions can be understood outside of their social and material contexts. The articles here take the reader through these contexts - such as family and neighborhood supports, the labor market, welfare state conditions and the way in which policy measures interact with preexisting and varying conditions.
Authored by leading figures in fathering research from North America, Europe, and Scandinavia, the multilayered and intriguing articles in this volume of The ANNALS point toward the need for sustainable policy frameworks that enable fathers to be involved in their children's lives in ways that do not include biased assumptions about the expression of that involvement.
Students, scholars and policymakers will find that this collection of cutting-edge articles challenges current social policies and public law regarding fatherhood across nations. It provides an important global outlook on an intriguing and important topic as well as inspiration for future research.
Contents
Preface - Rosalind Edwards, Andrea Doucet, and Frank F. Furstenberg
Exploring the Absent/Present Dilemma: Black Fathers, Family Relationships, and Social Capital in Britain - Tracey Reynolds
Fathering in the Shadows: Indigenous Fathers and Canada's Colonial Legacies - Jessica Ball
Understandings and Experiences of Involved Fathering in the United Kingdom: Exploring Classed Dimensions - Val Gillies
Fathers' Perceptions of Children's Influence: Implications for Involvement - Kerry Daly, Lynda Ashbourne and Jamie Lee Brown
Dad and Baby in the First Year: Gendered Responsibilities and Embodiment - Andrea Doucet
Why Do Poor Men Have Children? Fertility Intentions among Low-Income Unmarried U.S. Fathers - Jennifer Augustine, Timothy Nelson, and Kathryn Edin
Men's Relations with Kids: Exploring and Promoting the Mosaic of Youth Work and Fathering - William Marsiglio
The Perceptions and Experiences of Russian Immigrant and Sudanese Refugee Men as Fathers in an Urban Center in Canada - David C. Este and Admasu A. Tachble
Family Man in the Other America: New Opportunities, Motivations, and Supports for Paternal Caregiving - Maureen R. Waller
Gendered or Gender-Neutral Care Politics for Fathers? - Berit Brandth and Elin Kvande
Fathers, Parental Leave Policies and Infant Quality of Life: International Perspectives and Policy Impact - Margaret O'Brien
Competing Scenarios for European Fathers: Applying Sen's Capabilities and Agency Framework to Work-Family Balance - Barbara Hobson and Susanne Fahlén
Father-Friendly Policies and Time-Use Data in a Cross-National Context: Potential and Prospects for Future Research - Oriel Sullivan, Scott Coltrane, Linda McAnnally and Evrim Altintas
