It All Starts Now! Gay Men and Fatherhood in Sweden

ABSTRACT

This article investigates how Swedish gay men pursue and understand fatherhood, using a qualitative, semi-structured methodological approach. We are interested in how practical issues and different fatherhood arrangements are understood and handled by the fathers; how the construction of “rainbow families” is understood in relation to legal issues; parental responsibilities; and thoughts regarding gender-equal and gender-neutral relationships within Swedish society and culture. The results show that the trajectory of gay men toward fatherhood is shaped by a variety of mediating factors such as interactions with agencies, clinics, attorneys, and the state. There are some significant legal, social, financial, and cultural obstacles to realizing gay parenthood. There are also cases where study participants talked about a sense of intolerance expressed toward gay parents within a gay community. Although there are still strong normative dimensions involved in the construction of modern parenthood, the grip of heteronormative views on family life and sexuality is changing; the narratives presented also represent a questioning of the hegemonic image of fatherhood in Sweden. Consequently, it is possible to discern different attempts at transgressing and changing the cultural landscape of fatherhood and the ways people build families today.     

Family Cohesion in the Lives of Mexican American and European American Parents

This study investigated similarities and differences in relations between stress and parenting behaviors for 509 Mexican American and European American fathers and mothers in Southern California. Our model posited that family cohesion mediates the relation between stressors and parenting behavior, and we found that family cohesion strongly mediated most of the relations between stress and parenting behaviors. Important ethnic and gender differences were evident. In contrast with other groups, Mexican American fathers reported higher levels of family cohesion when faced with economic pressures. Implications for future research on stress and parenting are discussed.     

Keeping the Bar Low: Why Russia’s Nonresident Fathers Accept Narrow Fatherhood Ideals

Although most Russian nonresident fathers feel torn between old and new ideals of fatherhood, they end up accepting older, narrow ideals. Fathers reproduce the dominant gender discourse, which deems men irresponsible and infantile and diminishes the importance of fathers. On the basis of extensive fieldwork, including in‐depth interviews (N = 21) and observational data, I argue that men reproduce minimalist standards of fatherhood because, in part, keeping the bar low enables them to still consider themselves decent fathers. In addition, fathers’ beliefs about the inherent deficiencies of nonresident fatherhood and the increased socioeconomic pressures and loosened constraints surrounding fatherhood in post‐Soviet Russia converge to push fathers to settle for the status quo of detached fatherhood.     

Fathers and Their Infants: Caregiving and Affection in the Modern Family

Despite social work's expressed interest in families and belief in the importance of parents to children, social work researchers have done little to explore the importance of fathers in children's everyday lives. This is especially true for infants. Moreover, as more and more infants and children grow up in single-mother homes, step-families, and other family configurations, knowledge is needed about how these demographic trends affect parents' interactions with their young children.

This article examines men's caregiving of infants and their displays of affection in a longitudinal study of a diverse sample of infants and their mothers, using both person-centered and variable-centered statistical methods. Comparisons are made among various “types” of fathers, including those who live with and separately from their children and men who are not biological fathers but live with and care for infants.

Results indicate that caregiving and expressions of affection appear to represent two distinct domains of fathering behaviors for residential fathers. We found two classes of residential fathers: one with low levels of both types of fathering behavior and one with higher levels, particularly higher expressions of affection. Similarly we found two classes of non-residential fathers with dramatically different levels of fathering behavior. Though surrogate fathers did provide affection to their infants, their levels of caregiving were low.     

Trade union support for fathers' use of work–family benefits – lessons from Sweden

Trade unions have traditionally been male-dominated organizations serving men's interests as family breadwinners, primarily through wage-setting. This study explores whether unions will contest the gendered division of parenting to develop values and practices that support men as caregivers. It takes place in Sweden, where unions are strong and fathers have legislated rights to paid parental leave. A mail survey of local unions revealed that the vast majority of unions did not believe it was important to focus attention on men as family caregivers. Only about one-fourth reported activities to improve men's benefit knowledge; only about one-third reported that they helped to implement parental leave at the workplace and only about one-fourth had negotiated contracts that extended leave benefits for fathers. Unions were more active in supporting men as fathers when they prioritized women's equal employment opportunity and when fathers requested union help. Stronger unions were more likely than others to have won enhanced benefits; contracts tended to increase compensation rather than offer more leave time. Swedish unions are in a strong position to promote, help implement and extend work–family benefits for fathers, dissolving the boundary between work and family spheres, but this potential has not yet been realized.     

Fathers in Prison

ABSTRACT

The parenting roles and responsibilities of incarcerated men have not traditionally been considered an important public concern. The impact of criminal justice policies and practices on family functioning has rarely been addressed by policy makers or family scholars and men's family obligations have not been a priority for the individuals responsible for the safety and security of correctional institutions. Similarly, and with few exceptions, fathers in prison have been out of sight and out of mind of community organizations concerned with family life and children's wellbeing. Several recent developments challenge this historical approach to handling parental incarceration and responsible fatherhood initiatives involving incarcerated fathers are being promoted. This article examines the individual and societal issues that must be addressed if responsible fatherhood among incarcerated men is to become a serious social goal. It presents an overview of the complex family roles and relationships of incarcerated men and describes ways in which individual situations and family preferences affect their ability to function as parents. Analyses of prison location strategies and communication regulations and the post-release environment are used to show how public policies influence and shape family relationships and responsible fatherhood. The article concludes with an agenda for research to guide informed and humane policy decisions.     

从该隐杀弟看上帝的父性

在《圣经》中,上帝"严父"的父性特质贯穿整个犹太人的历史,但是在该隐杀弟这一事件中,上帝对该隐的父性却显示出独特的一面,即在"严父"的父性之外,还蕴含着几分"慈母"的母性。这种极具阶段性特征的父性,有其特定的形成原因。     

Motivating perpetrators of domestic and family violence to engage in behaviour change: The role of fatherhood

Policies and practices around domestic and family violence (DFV) increasingly focus on perpetrator accountability. With growing evidence that punitive responses alone have a limited deterrent effect on perpetrators, behaviour change programs play a significant role in creating accountability and improving safety for victims and children. Motivating perpetrators to engage in such programs can, however, be challenging. Few perpetrators seem to recognize the need to change for their intimate (ex)‐partner due to victim‐blaming attitudes and a sense that relationships are replaceable. Relationships with their children on the other hand seem to hold more value. This article explores the role of fatherhood as a motivating factor for male perpetrators to engage in relevant behaviour change programs. Based on face‐to‐face interviews with 18 fathers in a court‐mandated intervention program, findings alert to the need for education of abusive fathers in 3 key areas: the impact of DFV on children's well‐being, the impact of DFV on the parent–child relationship, and the impact of DFV‐related repercussions on the parent–child relationship. Fathers' desire to have a relationship with their children suggests fatherhood offers a viable angle to motivate their engagement in interventions that address gendered forms of DFV and subsequently improve victims' and children's safety.     

The Importance of Parenting and Financial Contributions in Promoting Fathers' Psychological Health

This study explores the relationship between residential, biological fathers' parental engagement, financial contributions, and psychological well‐being in 2‐parent families. Specifically, this study focuses on how fathers' parental engagement and financial contributions are related to their self‐esteem, self‐efficacy, and psychological distress. Analyses utilize data from the first 2 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics' Child Development Supplement and employ a subsample of father‐child pairs (N = 771). The most consistent finding was that fathers' engagement in parenting and financial contributions to the family predicted improvements in fathers' psychological well‐being. On the other hand, the results found very limited support for the more common proposition that healthy psychological functioning promotes increases in fathers' parental engagement and financial contributions.     

Paternity leave implementation in Switzerland: a challenge to gendered representations and practices of fatherhood?

Transition to parenthood in Switzerland takes place in a particularly gendered institutional context. It is the only European country where men do not have access to any kind of statutory parental or paternity leaves. This study empirically investigates the extent to which institutional change – through paternity leave implementation at the company level – challenges gendered representations and practices of fatherhood. The study draws on a mixed methods case study conducted in a public administration which implemented a one-month paid paternity leave. Using register data about leave recipients (N = 95), we adopt a longitudinal and typological approach of leave uptake patterns by means of sequence and cluster analyses. In-depth interviews conducted with recipient fathers and managers working for the company (n = 30) enable an analysis of the implementation process and the meanings associated with paternity leave and fatherhood. Results show that paternity leave implementation challenged, in a limited way, gendered representations and practices of fatherhood. Fatherhood was made more visible within the company, but workplace characteristics and informal norms influenced fathers' leave uptake. Overall, motherhood and fatherhood were associated with different and specialized responsibilities. Fathers mainly had a secondary and temporary role with the newborn, while mothers were the central and taken-for-granted parent.