The New Politics Of Fatherhood

This book makes a unique contribution to contemporary research into masculinities, men’s movements, and fathers’ rights groups. It examines the role of changing masculinities in creating equality and/or reinforcing inequality by analysing diverse men’s movements, their politics, and the identities they (re)construct. Jordan advances a typology for categorising men’s movements (‘feminist', ‘postfeminist', and ‘backlash’ movements) and addresses debates over the construction of ‘masculinity-in-crisis’, arguing that ‘crisis’ is frequently invoked in problematic ways. These themes are further explored through original analyses of material produced by ‘feminist’, ‘postfeminist’, and ‘backlash’ men’s groups. The main empirical contribution of the book draws on interviews with fathers’ rights activists to explore the (gendered) implications of the ‘new’ politics of fatherhood. The nuanced examination of fathers’ rights perspectives reveals multiple, complex narratives of masculinity, fatherhood, and gender politics. The cumulative effect of these is, at best, postfeminist and depoliticising, and, at worst, another vitriolic ‘backlash’. The New Politics of Fatherhood expands scholarly understandings of gender, masculinities, and social movements in the under-researched UK context, and will appeal to readers with interests in these areas.

Prominent gender studies scholars consider how institutional settings and policy shape new models of fatherhood.

In Essential Dads, sociologist Jennifer Randles shares the stories of more than 60 marginalized men as they sought to become more engaged parents through a government-supported "responsible" fatherhood program. Dads' experiences serve as a unique window into long-standing controversies about the importance of fathering, its connection to inequality, and the state's role in shaping men's parenting. With a compassionate and hopeful voice, Randles proposes a more equitable political agenda for fatherhood, one that carefully considers the social and economic factors shaping men's abilities to be involved in their children's lives and the ideologies that rationalize the necessity of that involvement.

Are fathers being marginalized in the contemporary family? Responding to fears that they are, the self-proclaimed "fatherhood responsibility movement" (FRM) has worked since the mid-1990s to put fatherhood at the center of U.S. national politics. Anna Gavanas's Fatherhood Politics in the United States analyzes the processes, reveals the internal struggles, and traces the myths that drive this powerful movement. Unlike previous investigations that rely on literary or other secondary sources, Fatherhood Politics works from primary ethnographic material to represent a wider range of voices and actors. Interacting with and interviewing members of the most powerful and well-known national fatherhood organizations, Gavanas observed Promise Keeper rallies, men's workshops, and conferences on masculinity, fatherhood, and marriage. Providing a detailed overview of the different organizations involved and their various rhetorical strategies, Gavanas breaks down the FRM into two major wings. The "pro-marriage" wing sees marriage as the key to solving all social problems, while the "fragile family" organizations worry about unemployment, racism, and discrimination. Gavanas uses her extensive anthropological fieldwork as the basis for discussions of gender, sexuality, and race in her analysis of these competing voices. Taking us inside the internal struggles, tensions, and political machinations of the FRM, Gavanas offers a behind-the-scenes look at a movement having real impact on current social policy. Fatherhood Politics is an essential work for anyone interested in the politics of masculinity, parenthood, marriage, race, and sexuality.

Every president has had some experience as a parent. Of the 43 men who have served in the nation's highest office, 38 have fathered biological children and the other five adopted children. Each president's parenting style reveals much about his beliefs as well as his psychological make-up. James Garfield enjoyed jumping on the bed with his kids. FDR's children, on the other hand, had to make appointments to talk to him. In a lively narrative, based on research in archives around the country, Kendall shows presidential character in action. Readers will learn which type of parent might be best suited to leading the American people and, finally, how the fathering experiences of our presidents have forever changed the course of American history.

Annotation Explores the new politics of masculinity and gender identity, examining the contemporary discourses of masculinity by focusing on male pro-feminist movements and locating them within the context of feminist debates.

Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood combines the best pieces from the award-winning zine Rad Dad and from the blog Daddy Dialectic, two kindred publications that have tried to explore parenting as political territory. Both of these projects have pushed the conversation around fathering beyond the safe, apolitical focus most books and websites stick to; they have not been complacent but have worked hard to create a diverse, multi-faceted space in which to grapple with the complexity of fathering. Today more than ever, fatherhood demands constant improvisation, risk, and struggle. With grace and honesty and strength, Rad Dad’s writers tackle all the issues that other parenting guides are afraid to touch: the brutalities, beauties, and politics of the birth experience, the challenges of parenting on an equal basis with mothers, the tests faced by transgendered and gay fathers, the emotions of sperm donation, and parental confrontations with war, violence, racism, and incarceration. Rad Dad is for every father out in the real world trying to parent in ways that are loving, meaningful, authentic, and ultimately revolutionary. Contributors Include: Steve Almond, Jack Amoureux, Mike Araujo, Mark Andersen, Jeff Chang, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jeff Conant, Sky Cosby, Jason Denzin, Cory Doctorow, Craig Elliott, Chip Gagnon, Keith Hennessy, David L. Hoyt, Simon Knapus, Ian MacKaye, Tomas Moniz, Zappa Montag, Raj Patel, Jeremy Adam Smith, Jason Sperber, Burke Stansbury, Shawn Taylor, Tata, Jeff West, and Mark Whiteley.

Changes in Fatherhood How do structural changes in the welfare state, in gender relations and work affect concepts and realities of fatherhood? The authors analyse cultural images and representations of fatherhood, varieties of fatherhood in relation to social backgrounds, organisational infl uences, as well as the impact of political and legal interventions on confi gurations of fatherhood. With an interdisciplinary approach this book’s contributions investigate the sometimes contradictory relationship between cultural representations and social practices of fatherhood. They contextualise diverse fatherhoods in various social backgrounds, ethnicities, ages and different national contexts. Refl ecting methodological challenges is crucial to the volume’s approach: Which parameters are used to quantify change? Which links and interactions between cultural, individual, organizational and societal dimensions do exist regarding the development of new social confi gurations of fatherhood? How can the complex interaction between structural constraints and agency be analysed? Can certain agents of change be identifi ed? How can social change be conceptualized? This volume links to international comparative research and shows how fruitful it can be to break disciplinary boundaries.