Dad is Rad?- Women' Studies

What does it mean to be a "real" man?

Difference b/w a good man and a real man Google image search for masculinity Physical strength Hide your emotions Breadwinner Ruling or dominant in a social context Social construction Changes over time and space Violence Not the norm- but is constructed as a cultural ideal

Boys are forced into a man box

Encouraged to use the voices of the men in their lives to inform their understanding of masculinity More human than gender Get traits methodically driven out of them You will be policed by your peer culture from stepping outside of the box Performing it for and judged by other men Programmed to have certain goals Choices they make wont be authentically themselves

Dadvertising

How do men negotiate the feminine terrain of domesticity while preserving their masculinity? Consider the links to marketplace fatherhood- similar to marketplace feminism? Currently trendy to be a compassionate dad- girl dad

vs real man

Tough Don't show emotions Young men betray their own ethics in order to prove and become that ideal hegemonic ideal End in serious consequences

Good man

Universal qualities Honour Integrity Doing the right thing

Coming to terms with ambiguity and uncertainty

Unsure about their feelings with their newborns No surge of delight and confidence No dad mode kicking in the delivery room American father= second string father

Breadwinner + pal + role model=

traditional father Meant to compliment each other

dove

Always fun, play Dads will do anything for their kids-self-sacrificing A lot of the activities cost money- middle class lens

tide

Backlash from dad community Dad mom Reinforce certain aspects of masculinity and nurturing role

Documentary #1- The Representation Project- The Mask You Live In

Be a man Dominate and control people Throw punches Not man enough Manifest hypermasculinity= earn it When did someone tell you to be a man Most destructive phrases in todays culture Being seen as weak is a fear starting from a young age Prove it Not feminine, not gay Masculinity is reactive not organic Taught Masculinity= athletic ability First lie boys are taught Masculinity= economic ability Second lie Comparison results in an incredibly empty life Masculinity= sexual Third lie- dehumanizing Take away the restrictions of the man box Freedom to be whoever you want to be= whole

the father as pal

Companion Playmate Fun

final thoughts

Consider how fatherhood is being used to sell products much like feminism has been used to sell products- consider what the companies are doing behind the scenes to advance Does broadening definitions of masculinity help to broaden representations of fatherhood?

Modern Family: Just how modern are they?

Contributes to the idea that there's multiple ways to be a dad Fatherhood is explored thru a generational lens Mitchell and Cam: ground-breaking traditionalists There are arguable the most traditional family on the show Mitchell= lawyer Cam= stay at home dad Hetero family structure- not as groundbreaking Phil: the "peerent" father Tries to be the pal Claire often says I have four children Incompetent father Connection with son most often portrays the peer role= foolish dad Immature, foolish-not very ground breaking Reinforces the notion that men are out of their element in regards to parenting and domesticity Both the above embody the new father by being actively involved in their children's lives Jay: the "second chance" dad Two adult children + adopted child+ new baby Generational lens Traditional father originally Excited about becoming a dad for the second time Allowing himself to be a different kind of dad due to cultural shifts Generally all pretty traditional Superficial representation

Changes within the last decade

Dad summit 2.0 annual conference 2012-nyc dads group has more than 1100 members and provides father-child outings, playgroups, opportunities for male parents to socialize and support each other; actively engage in community and social media campaigns to change negative representations of fatherhood Dove men+ care hired sociologist and masculinity scholar Michael Kimmel to assist in analyzing market research- highlights how fatherhood has become a big business Men using social media to voice frustrations with how they have been depicted and to command greater recognition and respect Public washrooms and changing facilities Dads were outraged by huggies ad Incompetent, unable to function as a parent without the mother Men have time off from being the parent 2015 Superbowl commercials mark a change in ads focused on men as fathers Many ads specifically dads in ads Using trendy things about fatherhood for financial gains A focus on fathers as caregivers and an emphasis on the nurturing capacity of men is directly connected to challenging hegemonic

Negotiating breadwinner stereotypes

Have to be provider Cant look into kids eyes without seeing financial challenges- if we don't provide Pressure= biological Cannot be involved in the psych development of children Sacrificing time with family to be a provider

Food for thought: Where are we headed?

Increase visibility and representations of co-parents Somewhat increased visibility and representation of queer and transgender parents "woke dads in teen films" To all the boys I loved When nurture is placed at centre of fatherhood, multiple levels of care are emphasized Involved fatherhood counters myth of women as the only nurturers Impact on sons and daughters are equally significant and game-changing Fathers are in a leadership position to focus on constructing better roles of men Subtlety of reinforcing certain traditionally masculine tropes

father as male role model

Instilling the importance of the bread winner Being the parent, especially your son look up to

Strategies of bonding

Insulting to dad- manipulative Need to be coaxed into interacting with their kids- strength Need outside assistance to parent All articles are very heteronormative

nissan

Navigate the line between traditional

Portrayals of Fatherhood Magazines

Need more representation in mainstream parenting magazines Active in kids lives but secondary to the mother 3 recurring themes Negotiating breadwinner stereotypes Coming to terms with ambiguity and uncertainty Strategies of bonding

Implications of the man box?

Not allowing boys and men to explore their authentic selves Develop an inability to access a full range of emotions

cheerios

Playing both the new and traditional dad roles Work hard, dad hard

The "new" father

Ruddick (1983): the most revolutionary change we can make in the institution of motherhood is to include men in every aspect of childcare Three men and a baby Fathers want to be involved Trope= the duffus dad Daddy daycare Being a good father= nurturing father Being taken up by men as a new form of emotional empowerment for men Good father now synonymous with nurturing father Getting more involved in all aspects of parenting, at earlier ages, accessing parent leave at highest levels However, its not as simple as men as stir Do men mother?- highlights some of these broader cultural issues Stay at home dads or single fathers Struggled with finding play groups that were not totally dominated by mothers and praised for watching kids Insulted Social institutions need to be more accommodating to men as parents Ex/ public washrooms with change tables

Breaking Dad: Walter White and Fatherhood

Show about a father Premise- he has cancer, in order to pay for chemo he needs to make a lot of money to ensure his family is not in debt WW consistently models his parenting behaviours on ideals of traditional fatherhood Particularly the breadwinner trope Not a lot of fathering From the pilot episode, we see that walt's self worth is tied to his role as breadwinner and his ability to be financial provider for his family Endless pursuit of breadwinner is presented as manic This contributes to his inability to fulfill the other expectations of father as pal and role model In the end, presents himself as self-sacrificing Lies, cooking and selling meth, murders etc all for the greater good of his family If the father is the breadwinner- he is spending some time away from the home Promises he will turn himself in if his wife keeps the money and passes it on to the children Consider in what ways he may demonstrate father as pal and role model Jesse- ex highschool student Biological children are not the centre role Self sabotages with his obsession on being a good provider

The Father: Definitions and Histories The "traditional" father

• Father as breadwinner is consistently constructed as important, particularly in early constructions of Western models of fatherhood - 1900s-1950s (but certainly beyond that, including today) • Speaking historically: "Such a father spends little time with children and generally feels no guilt about it; he is much more likely to experience feelings of guilt If he loses an opportunity for economic gain, even if the loss results from no fault or lack of his own - father's identity as evermore dependent on his success in the marketplace" (Podnieks 2016) • Our cultural vision of a 1950s father was supposedly the most traditional in terms of gender roles, yet research on fatherhood tells us that this was the time where new conceptions of fatherhood actually emerged post WWII • "the father as pal" and "the father as male role model"