Transition to fatherhood: New perspectives in the global context of changing men's identities

The proposed thematic session aims to highlight the main challenges that the cultural and structural changes within the families and in gender relations and the changing social expectations about men's involvement in the care of children and about fatherhood pose to men's and fathers’ identity. Fathering in contemporary society requires men to be simultaneously provider, guide, household help and nurturer. The difficulties of these roles, and the tensions they sometimes produce, challenge men's relationships with their female partners, the meaning and place of work in their lives and their sense of self as competent adults. We will also explore the relationship between transitions to fatherhoods and the challenges of balancing work and family obligations. How to balance paid work, other interests and relationships with responsibilities, anxieties and pleasures of childrearing are today concerns for both men and women.     

A pole new world: Maneuvering masculinity and sexuality among men who pole dance

Research on cisgender men's experiences in feminized or women-dominated sports, physical activities, and leisure time has revealed strategies men use to circumvent or maneuver stigmas to minimize negative perceptions. Pole dancing is an under-researched activity uniquely positioned to understand dynamics of gender and sexuality. In this research dialogue, we present preliminary results from 13 semi-structured interviews with U.S. men who pole dance to understand how they navigate masculinity and sexuality in pole dancing. First, we find men very strategically disclose their pole dancing to others in the context of the activity's connections to women, gay men, and sex work. Second, we note how men who “pole” often rely on gender essentialist tropes that reinforce the assumption of natural, biological differences between men and women in attempt to legitimize their participation. Third, men who pole are aware of the potential “creepiness” of their presence in pole dance spaces and use this as an opportunity for reflection. Exploring how men rationalize their participation in pole dance is useful to understand the gender and sexual dynamics of men's presence in women-dominated spaces and broader contemporary masculinities.     

Grim reapers: ghostly narratives of masculinity and killing in drone warfare

This article embraces the spectral turn and sociological framework of “Haunting” to investigate the gendered implications of armed drones for the individuals who crew them. Introducing original interview data from former British Reaper drone crews and focusing on their experiences of conducting lethal operations, this article builds on feminist and queer theorizing to illuminate the instability of the binary distinction between masculinity and femininity as traditionally understood. Developing “Haunting,” I draw out three themes: complex personhood, in/(hyper)visibility, and disturbed temporality as the frames through which the intersection of gender and drone warfare can be examined. I draw upon the conceptual metaphor of the ghost to explore the dead that is also alive, the absent that is also present, and that silence that is also a scream. Through this, I argue that Haunting provides a framework for both revealing and destabilizing gendered binaries and is therefore a useful tool for feminist security and international relations scholars.     

The construction of South Texas masculinity: masculine space,the pico de gallo and the barbeque grill

I contend that masculinity formation in South Texas is linked to objects that have been deemed as ‘manly’. This study is significant because it examines a group in the US population that, according to census predictions, account for a large percentage of the fastest growing and largest Latino group in the United States. This autoethnography research examines how pico de gallo – a type of salsa – and the barbeque grill assist working-class Mexican American males in constructing a masculine identity known as macho. The data are based on observing 30 social events in the Rio Grande Valley. The findings reveal a pursuit for an apex status of macho through these objects and the cultural transmission of gender roles to the next generation of males. This study concludes by offering suggestions in examining how masculinity, for men of colour, might be linked to marginalisation practices within a social structure.     

Warriors in suits: A Bourdieusian perspective on the construction and practice of military masculinity of Korean men

Within masculinity scholarship, there is a gap about how masculinity carries over from a broad social context to an organizational context. This article explores the construction and capitalization of masculinity through a series of experiences in social fields such as the military and college, and the transfer of militaristic masculinity into the workplace. Drawing on grounded theory methods, we conducted in‐depth interviews with 20 Korean men who completed their mandatory two‐year military service and subsequently joined large corporations in Korea. We uncovered a four‐phase model that depicts how Korean men's masculinity is constructed during military service and transferred to their organizational positions characterizing them as warriors in suits. Informed by a Bourdieusian perspective, this study shows how masculinities are constructed, reinforced and legitimatized by the structural influences of society, and how masculinity becomes the desired image of men at work, which perpetuates the gender and power gaps among organizational members.     

Framing the Other: cosmopolitanism and the representation of difference in overseas gap year narratives

This paper engages with debates surrounding contemporary cosmopolitanism and the outcomes of cultural encounters. It considers if overseas gap years, often put forward in the UK as a way of becoming a global citizen, enable young Britons to ‘broaden their mind’. I explore representations of the people and places encountered during these periods of time out through an analysis of young people's travel blogs. Four key themes are highlighted in these narratives: the exotic place; feeling ‘out of place’; the importance and outcomes of local interaction; and the historical legacies that are implicated in constructing places as ‘different’. Gappers display a willingness to interact with and gain knowledge about their host communities. Yet as gap years are designed to be distinct from the normal course of things, they also demonstrate the ‘difference’ of places. This can often result in the reproduction of established ways of representing the Other in order to frame them as meaningful. There is a tension in the narratives between ‘globally reflexive’ and ‘globally reproductive’ representations of difference, and I suggest that we might question the development of cosmopolitan attitudes and competencies through undertaking a gap year.     

Moderating masculinity in women-dominated digital spaces: Men and masculinity in the sims 4 online community

This article examines gender dynamics within a women-dominated online community centered around The Sims, a feminine-coded simulation computer game in which women are the majority of players. Based on qualitative analysis of 10 threads and approximately 400 comments from both the official Sims 4 forums and unofficial Sims 4 subreddit, as well as online ethnography, I find that some men responded to their minority status within the Sims community by arguing that men were neglected by the developers at the expensive the inclusion of women and LGBTQ players, for instance, due to an imbalance of content designed for men versus women. However, these men experienced pushback against these ideas in such a way that minimized their voices. I argue that this pushback is a form of moderating masculinity to defend the safety of the community for women. This study contributes to our understanding of gender dynamics in digital spaces, particularly those dominated by women.     

Effects of Commitment and Psychological Centrality on Fathering

Propositions from identity theory suggest that interactional and affective commitment to a role identity affects the psychological centrality of that role identity. In turn, the centrality of one's role identity translates into role performance ( Stryker & Serpe, 1994 ). This conceptual model was tested with a sample of 186 fathers in first marriages with at least one child 18 years or younger. The results showed that fathers who perceived their wives as evaluating them positively as fathers were more likely to report higher levels of involvement in child‐related activities and place greater importance on the father role identity. This prominence, in turn, was associated with higher levels of involvement.     

‘I’m a migrant,but I’m the right sort of migrant’: Hegemonic masculinity,whiteness, and intersectional privilege and (dis)advantage in migratory academic careers

Comparatively little attention has been paid to the international careers of many academics, with gender and ethnicity frequently ignored in discussions of migrant academics. Through the lenses of intersectionality, hegemonic masculinity and whiteness, this study explores experiences of migrant academics in Australia and New Zealand, understanding how gender and ethnicity intersect to shape experiences of relative privilege and disadvantage. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 academics at various stages of their careers in both Australia and New Zealand. The data reveals the complex patterns of (dis)advantage which characterize the experiences of migrant academics. While some migrant academics may experience disadvantage, for Anglo white male senior academics, considerable privilege is (re)produced through the migration experience. As such, this article suggests migratory experiences can be better understood through the intersectionality of hegemonic masculinity and whiteness to reveal how privilege is maintained.     

Exaggerated femininity and tortured masculinity: embodying gender in the horseracing industry

Most of the young people enrolling on modern apprenticeships in the horse racing industry are women and many hope to become jockeys. The majority of those who realise these ambitions are, however, men. This paper explores this process of attrition, focussing on gendered embodiment and its relation to the development of the bodily hexis and habitus characteristic of the racing field. We argue that women engage in the bodily labour of engenderment in a context of hostility and harassment and that they develop a contradictorily gendered habitus which brings together attributes which are culturally associated with both masculinity and femininity. In order to achieve this they subject themselves to a disciplining and punishing of the body which creates a ‘tortured’ masculinity. Female bodies are, however, ‘imprisoned’ by the workings of the habitus and, within the racing field, their bodies are read as weak, not fit for hard work and as more suited to an office (or home) than a race horse. These embodied processes and practices place them at a severe disadvantage and result in women being a very small minority of jockeys.     

Desiring the standard light skin: black multiracial boys,masculinity and exotification

Although studies of the multiracial population have long identified the connection between multiraciality and exotification, much of the focus has been on the exotification of multiracial women that are part-white. Consequently, most understandings of exotification in this literature are insufficient to account for how a broader multiracial demographic is exotified and the mechanisms of exotification that are specific to mixed-race bodies. This article analyses black multiracial boys’ experiences of exotification in Northern California. Interviews with the boys revealed how interactions around their multiraciality intimately linked perceptions of their attractiveness to their mixedness. Their physical features, behaviours and dispositions were dissected according to their multiple racial backgrounds in ways that rendered them desirably hybridised. The interaction of black masculinity with their other racialised masculinities is essential to understanding the construction of the black multiracial male as desirable, pointing to the critically important yet understudied intersection of mixedness and masculinity.     

Parental constructions of masculinity at the transition to parenthood: the division of parental leave among Austrian couples

Men and masculinity are considered a key factor in changing gender inequality at the transition to parenthood. Prior research on gendered division of parental leave concentrated on fathers’ perspectives. This paper includes perspectives of fathers and mothers who make use of parental leave in different ways and asks how masculinity is jointly constructed, how these constructions are linked to the use of parental leave, and if and how they are oriented towards hegemonic masculinity. The analysis is based on 44 qualitative interviews with 11 Austrian couples before and after birth when decisions concerning parental leave were made. Our case reconstructions reveal that parents considered parental leave a central element of masculinity as long as it suited fathers’ needs and circumstances permitted. The decisions for sharing parental leave were father-centred as both partners valued father’s leave higher than mother’s.     

The feminine style,the male influence,and the paradox of gendered political blogspace

This article explores gender differences in political communication among blogging politicians. The article sets out to explore two baseline questions: (1) Are distinct gendered ‘blogstyles’ to be found among political representatives? and (2) How do gender and gendered blogstyles interplay and affect the impact of political blogs? The empirical study draws on a survey targeting blogging politicians in Sweden (N?=?523). The analysis identifies substantial differences in how female and male politicians communicate in the blogosphere as well as the outcomes in terms of feedback and impact. Female politicians, to a greater degree than their male counterparts, utilize blogging for the purpose of fostering a stronger connection with their readers as well as to enquire about ideas and policy perspectives. This strategy seems to be successful for fostering qualitative feedback from readers; yet, female bloggers have far less impact than their male colleges. We discuss two potential understandings of these results: relating to gender stereotypes and the network power structure of the blogosphere.     

Gender across family generations: change in Mexican American masculinities and femininities

How do conceptions of gender – attitudes, expectations, and behaviours – change from generation to generation in Mexican American families? The notion of gender as socially constructed allows for the possibility of change, yet existing studies documenting change provide insight into why gender changes occur but do not sufficiently describe how this process happens. Based on interviews with three-generation Mexican American families in California, this article finds that reflection on natal family experiences and intergenerational family communication – autobiographical stories, lessons, and advice – are mechanisms that shift masculinity, femininity, and gender relations. Men use their natal family dynamics to rethink male dominance in favour of improved familial and romantic relationships whereas women consider their biographies and cross-generational advice to challenge patriarchy and become more educated and assertive. Families are crucibles of social change: reflection on natal family experiences and communication that crosscuts family generations actualise and initiate paradigm shifts about gender.     

Theorising fatherhood,welfare and the decline of patriarchy in Japan

This paper investigates social policies concerning men's transitions to fatherhood and the changing role of fathers in Japan. A review of fathering research reveals a predominantly agency-level emphasis on role-strain between work and paternal identities with a specific discourse of weakened Japanese fatherhood. Previous research suggested Japanese gender equality and work-life balance initiatives stalled due to an absence of women's influence within Japan's corporate culture. This study offers a historical perspective to show modern family policies were essentially rooted in gender-equality campaigns led by women's organisations dating back to post-WWII era. The findings situate Japanese social policy and epistemology in the international vanguard of a ‘Nordic turn’ towards structural-level research and improved social citizenship rights to support men's transitions to fatherhood.     

Constructing the Deviant Other: Mothering and Fathering at the Workplace

Gender stereotyping is a widely described and documented process that permeates working life in western societies. It is characterized by ascribing greatly simplified attributes to women and men and forging a dualistic view of gender in which women and men are conceptualized as antipodes to each other. Through this ongoing reproduction of simplistic views; contradictions, variations and complexities are concealed, together with the richness of individuals’ competence and experiences. Intimately related to this gender stereotyping are assumptions that distinct kinds of jobs and positions fit either men or women. In this article I investigate the constructions of motherhood and fatherhood as important elements in the processes of gender stereotyping. I argue that the production of stereotypes is part of an inter‐discursive contest which has a significant impact on gender relations and women's opportunities. My discussion derives from an anthropological study of one workplace.     

Masculinity and Class in the Context of Dirty Work

Through an ethnographic study of ‘dirty work’ (refuse collection and street cleaning), this article explores how masculinity and class intersect — how, in a mutually constitutive sense, they produce attitudes and practices, strengths and vulnerabilities, which are shaped by shifting relations of privilege and power. We find resistance to class subordination through adherence to traditional forms of masculinity and through esteem‐enhancing social comparison (e.g., with women; with migrant workers). Men also mobilized powerful nostalgic themes around the loss of traditional jobs as well as trade union power. We argue that displays of masculine resilience in the face of devaluation are less indicative of a culture of masculine dominance but more an expression of vulnerability and social dislocation, serving both as a source of resistance whilst simultaneously reinforcing anchors of social disadvantage that characterize forms of dirty work. We suggest that combining social comparison with intersectionality can potentially highlight how categories of difference are strategically deployed in response to varied and unequally valued social positionalities.     

War and security,women and gender: an overview of the issues

This article addresses the gender division of war and the significance of men and masculinity in processes of militarisation. Three phases of the continuum of war are considered. In periods of war-readiness, societies see a diversion of spending from social provision to the armed forces, accompanied by an increase in patriarchal ideology and authority. The actual waging of wars calls for the delivery of extreme but disciplined violence, and combat training shapes masculinity to this purpose. Armed conflict often involves a massive sexual assault on women. Women have recently intervened internationally to argue that if peace is to be more than a mere cessation of hostilities, ‘security’ must be redefined to mean the satisfaction of human needs, including comprehensive safety for women. Women's peace movements, worldwide, are theorising that gender power relations are significant among the causes of war, and transformative change in how we ‘live’ gender can be a significnt resource for peace.     

The Evolution of Fathering Research in the 21st Century: Persistent Challenges,New Directions

Since the last decade review of the fathering literature in 2000, scholars across numerous disciplines such as demography, family studies, medicine, nursing, law, psychology, social work, and sociology have continued to produce a steady stream of work on fathering and father–child relationships. This literature is reviewed selectively with a focus on key developments, persistent challenges, and critical directions for future research. Significant developments include greater availability of large and nationally representative datasets to study fathers; expansion and evaluation of U.S. federal policy regarding fathers; thoughtful consideration of conceptualization and measurement of fathers' parenting; growth in research on coparenting, maternal gatekeeping, and fathering; increased attention to issues of diversity in fathering; and awareness of the effects of fathering on men's development. Persistent challenges and critical new directions in fathering research include full and routine inclusion of fathers in research on parenting, improved assessment and appropriate data analysis, adherence to evidence-based portrayals of fathers' roles in children's development, generation and use of scientific evidence to guide policy-making, and sustained attention to diversity and fatherhood. These should be priority areas of focus as fathering research proceeds into the next decades of the 21st century.