Stay-at-Home Fathering as a Feminist Opportunity: Perpetuating, Resisting, and Transforming Gender Relations of Caring and Earning

ABSTRACT

This study explains and critiques how discourse and related practices of stay-at-home fathering perpetuate, resist and/or potentially undo hegemonic gender relations of work and family. Changes in everyday micro-discourses of fathering can contribute to a feminist politics of macrostructural transformations in gender relations. First, masculinity in relation to historic cultural scripts of fathering is explored. Second, data collection and discourse analysis procedures employed in this study are described. Next, an analysis is presented of the various ways 45 at-home fathers’ use discourse to position themselves and their domestic labors in relation to hegemonic masculinity. Finally, three critical reflections are offered along with steps for future research and activism.

Notes

¹ On average each participant included six different reasons in their accounts of becoming stay-at-home fathers. For more information on these men’s explanations, contact the author at [email protected].

² The National At-Home Dads Network posted a notice of the study on their websites. Leaders of individual chapters also responded indicating that they would share the study announcement with their members, including chapters in Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, and New York. Personal networks also allowed us to connect with a number of at-home fathers in the East Coast, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest. For more information, see Medved, Ryan, & Okimoto (2012).

³ Key studies of stay-at-home fathers report talking with men with significantly less time performing the role of SAHF: Doucet’s (2004) study of 70 Canadian fathers reported that to qualify for the study men had to be engaged in full-time fathering for no less than 1 year; Chesley’s more recent study reported findings from men who had been at home full-time with children for no less than 6 months.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this manuscript was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (B-2007-50) and PSC-CUNY.